Boxing promoter turned MMA promoter Oscar De La Hoya recently was involved in one of the biggest sports deals in history with his fighter Canelo Alvarez.
Canelo inked a $365 million deal to fight over 11 fights with streaming platform DAZN which is expected to be stretched over five fights.
Canelo had been the biggest pay per view star in US boxing previously and opted to join subscription service with DAZN moving forward.
Speaking to Luke Thomas on the MMA Fighting Show, De La Hoya said fighters like Conor McGregor could get a similar deal in the future:
“Why not? There’s guys out there who are phenomenal fighters that can have those types of deals. You take a look at Conor McGregor. These fighters who are big household names. Imagine if Conor McGregor was an independent contractor? He could easily get a deal like that (like Canelo”s) on DAZN or ESPN+. But obviously they are with UFC and UFC works differently.”
Streaming is not only the future but the present for all sports really.
The fragmentation between the different platforms at the moment and the existing television players have made it more expensive to be a fight fan than ever at the moment in the US.
Time will tell who wins the long-term streaming arms race.
