Conor McGregor’s return may ring up $200M in UFC pay per view sales

Brandon Magnus | Zuffa LLC | Getty Images

Conor McGregor hits the heavy bag during a media workout at the UFC Performance Institute on August 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In May, UFC signed a 5-year $1.5 billion media partnership deal with ESPN and Disney. ESPN will broadcast 30 UFC events per year, beginning in 2019.

The event also does well in sponsorship and ticket sales. High profile guests expected to attend include LeBron James, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Rory McIlroy, and Elon Musk.

White said he is very happy that HBO will no longer be airing UFC matches. “”I love that HBO is getting out of it. I’m actually looking to get into it,” he said.

William Morris Entertainment (WME) acquired UFC for $4 billion in 2016. With the possibility of WME going public, White thinks that the company’s potential IPO would be mutually beneficial for WME and UFC.

“This business is fun to be in, I think it will do well with investors. There’s fans for the UFC all over the world. People love this sport, love this brand. I think it would do well,” he said.