‘That’s a nightmare’ – Conor McGregor ‘became bigger than the UFC’ after meteoric rise, says boxing promoter Eddie Hearn

EDDIE HEARN claimed Conor McGregor 'became bigger than the UFC' which is 'a nightmare' for the MMA promotion.

McGregor has become the poster boy and highest-paid star in the UFC's history.

But it has not always been smooth sailing between employee and employers, with the Irishman at the centre of several public fallouts.

Boxing promoter Hearn, watching from afar, said McGregor is the only MMA fighter to have transcended the UFC.

He said on The MMA Hour: “For UFC, where they’ve been very smart is by – it’s such an honour to get a UFC deal.

"You see these kids coming out of Bellator, or Cage Warriors, or wherever it is; but the thought of getting a UFC contract is everything.

"But I feel in the UFC, they don’t want you to get too big.

"And when you do – and I used to almost laugh at Conor, because I could just imagine just the disruption that he was causing in that organisation, because that’s not really the name of the game.

"We don’t want a star that is bigger than the UFC. Conor McGregor became bigger than the UFC. Really. And that’s a nightmare for those guys.”

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Hearn and UFC president Dana White have formed a friendship in recent years, despite their rivalling sports.

And Anthony Joshua's promoter has no problem admitting he has watched and learned from the UFC over the years.

Hearn said: "A lot of what we do as a business follows suit from the UFC and I never mind admitting that I tell our team, 'Watch they they're doing'.

"In terms of everything, from the live streams at the press conferences to the graphics, to the look and feel, the branding, the ring, everything."