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Audie Attar

Audie Attar18 posts

Audie Attar manages fighters such as Conor McGregor, Chris Weidman, Michael Bisping, Uriah Hall and Stephen Thompson,

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5 Apr, 2016

Manager: McGregor will defend featherweight title after UFC 200

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McGregor’s manager responds to comments that McGregor, who has yet to defend the featherweight title, will leave the division.

No, that would have already happened. That was something that Conor was adamant about. He’s going to keep his belt, he’s going to defend. At the end of the day, if he was going to vacate, he would have done it already.

7 Apr, 2016

Manager: McGregor would have fought at 155 or 170

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McGregor’s manager says McGregor initially asked for the UFC 200 fight with Diaz at 170 pounds — the same weight as UFC 196. Then, after listening to Coach Kavanagh and the rest of his team, McGregor said he’d be willing to do it at 155.

At the 11th hour, before we signed the bout agreement, [McGregor] said, ‘Look, I’m hearing everybody. If everybody wants to do 155, fine. Let’s do 155’. The contract was already written at 170. And so, in Conor’s defense, he really didn’t give two sh*ts. He really wanted it at 170, because he wanted to prove he could beat him there…Conor is his own CEO, but intelligently he listens to the people around him and then makes his own final decision.

The fight will be at 170. Attar also says the rematch is not about McGregor wanting to avenge his only loss in the UFC.

For him, that loss in itself, because of how he was performing until it went the other way is yet again fueled by his own self-belief system, confidence and desire to want to continue to push the envelope with his athletic ability and his skills, no matter who is in front of him. It happens to be the guy who beat him. He wants to put the same canvas up and paint a different picture for the audience to watch.

Attar says that immediately after the loss to Diaz, McGregor watched the fight on his phone with his coach around 20 times on a loop, even before the press conference started.

[He’s] obsessed. Obsessed with it.

11 May, 2016

Not receiving death threats

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Attar, McGregor’s manager, says reports of McGregor receiving death threats are untrue.

Yes we have security, no not due to death threats. Security is in everyone’s best interest and for everyone’s safety.

13 Oct, 2016

Manager: Sparring KO is ‘BS’

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Attar talks with Sonnen about McGregor’s alleged knockout during sparring.

It’s BS. If you go to Coach John Kavanagh’s page, I love that he posted a picture of him wearing a unique looking hat, sand said ‘I want to believe,’ and it reminded me of Mork & Mindy. They are false and definitely not true.

23 Nov, 2016

Agent: McGregor would ‘Entertain’ Offer from WWE

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Attar says that McGregor will consider offers from WWE:

I think it’s all about business, man. If [WWE] is going to come with an offer, we are willing to entertain it. We are here. Have their people call his people – which is me. We can have a conversation…It’s ultimately like, look — I think Conor had his say via social media at times, but he also is someone that appreciates people that sacrifice and train and are dedicated to their craft, whatever it may be…Again, I think ultimately Conor will say, ‘Let me talk to my friend Benjamin [Franklin] to see how many of his friends he’s bringing with him before we talk about what the obligations are’.

Agent: McGregor ‘very interested’ in Mayweather fight ‘if it’s serious,’

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Attar says McGregor is interested in a ‘serious’ fight with Mayweather:

Look, it wasn’t something we started, right? It was something Floyd started and Conor responded in kind on social media. It’s obviously built up public interest. Part of that may have been Floyd testing waters — I really don’t know what his motives are. All I can tell you is we are very interested if it’s serious. Ultimately, I think we have to see if it’s real or not. That’s what it comes down to. Floyd may have been waiting to see if Conor is the real deal and I think how he handled his first adversity with Nate [Diaz], beating Nate the second time at 170 [pounds], dominating the lightweight champion, the first to hold two belts — I think he’s shown he’s for real. I don’t know if Floyd is enjoying the retirement life too much, if it’s a PR stint to keep the fun going of what he has going on in the boxing world,” Attar said. “Ultimately, I think we’ll find out soon enough if [his interest in fighting McGregor] is real or not.

30 Nov, 2016

Agent backs McGregor’s equity demand

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Attar, McGregor’s agent, supports his fighter’s demand for equity in UFC. The two pay-per-view events McGregor headlined in 2015 brought in over a quarter of the UFC’s pay-per-view buys — the equivalent of $50M in earnings; in 2016 McGregor has doubled his pay-per-view buys accounting for $100 million in earnings.

When you’re starting to get more and more information on the economics of the sport, and when you really start to learn how much Conor drove that business and that growth, it’s a fair question for any businessman to ask: if he’s getting his fair share. Especially since there’s a precedent now where active athletes in other sports are getting ownership in a company you’re helping drive to the next level.

McGregor and Attar have yet to speak with Ari Emanuel and WME-IMG’s other top execs since they joined Dana White at the company.

We want to understand if that’s going to be different now. The time has come for all of us to sit down and have that discussion.

1 Dec, 2016

McGregor gets California boxing license

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McGregor has applied for, and been granted, a boxing license in the state of California. McGregor’s manager Audie Attar:

All I can comment on is that we have been granted a boxing license by the State of California.

16 Feb, 2017

Attar: ‘It feels more real now than it ever has’

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McGregor’s manager says the McGregor-Mayweather fight is becoming more real.

It started with Floyd talking, right? And now it’s evolved to the UFC making offers. So it feels more real now than it ever has. That then makes it a very, very intriguing and interesting business opportunity, and athletic opportunity for Conor. So we’re excited. Hopefully it comes to fruition…I think people are sleeping on Conor’s power. Again, Floyd is super experienced, you’re going into his domain. But Conor’s counter-striking, his timing, and his power…Floyd’s never faced anyone with his reach. So as a fan, I’m excited to see that. With the bigger gloves, I don’t think Conor is going to get knocked out. But I do believe he has a chance of knocking Floyd out.

McGregor Manager "It feels more real now than it ever has!" on Mayweather vs McGregor fight talks

24 Apr, 2017

McGregor manager: Mayweather fight moving in the right direction

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Attar, McGregor’s manager says there is still a long way to go to a Mayweather fight, but that everything is moving in the right direction.

It’s a work in progress but definitely trending in the right direction. It’s not done. Until the ink drys and beyond that, the fight happens, you don’t know. A lot of Conor’s focus and visions have ended up becoming a reality and I think that’s something that he’s always subscribed to in his career. So it’s all trending in the right direction. [On a scale of one to ten] I could tell you five but I still don’t know it until it happens.

30 Apr, 2017

Attar: Diaz has to get McGregor excitied about a trilogy fight

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McGregor’s manager says Diaz has to get McGregor excited, if he wants to get a fight with him.

The Nate Diaz fight interests him..Nate’s sitting on the sidelines (but) you’ve got to get Conor excited. If you want Conor to be excited about you, you gotta go in there and fight, if you want to fight him in the future. Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson for the interim title, that creates narrative. If this thing happens with Floyd, you gotta get Conor excited to get back in there with you

16 Jun, 2017

McGregor’s manager: The fans are going to be really happy

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Attar, McGregor’s manager and founder of Paradigm Sports Management, talks about the McGregor-Mayweather deal.

Early on it was really still a vision that not too many, other than I think Floyd, Conor and our team, really saw as being a viable opportunity. Fan interest started building up; the fans really want to see this and then the UFC sat down with us. That was when it started to feel real. I think credit to all parties involved. Going through the negotiation process, figuring out what’s important to all parties and then being able to connect all the dots and make a deal is unprecedented…The fight is unprecedented. I think what we’ve done, just in regards to having Conor cross over and box arguably the greatest boxer of all time is unprecedented and I think this event will be unprecedented. I think the fans are going to walk away feeling really happy. The naysayers think that Conor is walking in there for a payday but he’s going in there to compete; he is going in there to shock the world. He’s kinda had that approach an chip on his shoulder throughout his entire, and young, fight career thus far. This fight is no different. The stakes are really high. We’re really happy from a business standpoint how the deal ended up but make no mistake about it, he is going in there to compete.

19 Jun, 2017

Attar: If not Diaz, Ferguson will fight Nurmagomedov in fall

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During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Attar says that if Diaz will not fight Ferguson, then he will likely fight Nurmagomedov in the fall

My assumption is that if Nate [Diaz] doesn’t sign on, it’s gonna be Khabib come this fall.

Manager: McGregor wants to return to MMA after Mayweather fight

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Attar, McGregor’s manager, confirms that McGregor will return to MMA.

Conor is a very ambitious young man. That’s the key two words: Young man. He has a lot more that he wants to accomplish athletically, and as a businessman. He definitely wants to fight again in MMA. If all things go well and he feels good then it could potentially happen at the end of the year. There’s no guarantee, but it’s definitely in his plans to return to MMA.

As for the Mayweather fight:

Everyone that’s doubting him – it’s a mistake. On August 26th I’m confident he’s going to go out and shock the world…I think wer’re gonna stop him, but you’re gonna have to tune in august 26 and find out for yourself.

Manager: McGregor a free agent for megafight sponsorship deals

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While talking on The MMA Hour, Attar, McGregor’s manager, says that the fighter is a free agent when it comes to sponsorship deals for the fight with Mayweather.

Well we let a lot of our deals lapse, so there’s a lot of categories that we’ve been negotiating with reebok, and other brands. He’s currently a free agent as it relates to athletic apparel. We’re still in discussions with Reebok and other brands…If he signs with Nike, he can sign with Nike for this fight…It’s definitely a great opportunity for Conor and for any brands we decide to align with.

7 Apr, 2018

Attar: McGregor looking forward to getting back to fighting

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McGregor’s manager says his client is looking forward to getting back to fighting.

Conor is a great father, a fiercely loyal friend, and one of the best athletes in the world. He looks forward to getting back to fighting as soon as possible.

14 Jun, 2018

Attar: McGregor team focusing solely on legal matters

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McGregor’s manager tells Helwani that McGregor’s team is solely working on his legal issues.

Today we’re here to focus on court, we’re not going to focus on any future plans until we handle this matter. Right now we’re in good negotiations with the district attorney, so we’re going to focus on that and we’ll focus on the future later.

26 Jul, 2018

Attar: McGregor is ‘in shape, ready to go’

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Attar gives a statement after McGregor leaves court, having pled guilty to disorderly conduct.

Now that this is passed us, we can focus on things that have been on hold for some time. Conor’s been training. He’s in shape. He’s ready to go. Now it’s just about getting back to business and we hope to have some news to announce very soon.