How Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather could happen without UFC permission

3.5 During the Term, ZUFFA shall have the exclusive right to promote all of Fighter's bouts and Fighter shall not participate in or render his services as a professional fighter or in any other capacity to any other mixed martial art, martial art, boxing, professional wrestling, or any other fighting competition or exhibition, except as otherwise expressly permitted by this Agreement.

Step 1 would be for Conor McGregor to attain a boxing license, preferably in New York or California.

Step 2 would be for Mayweather and McGregor to book a match against each other. Again it was suggested that New York or California would be the preferable location.

As soon as it was announced that Mayweather vs McGregor was booked the UFC would likely file an injunction, claiming a breach of contract, with a court in Nevada. As all UFC contracts stipulate that all such disputes are to be settled in Nevada this is pretty much a given. But before they can do that it's recommended that McGregor move on to

Step 3 and immediately file for declaratory relief against the UFC citing the Muhammad Ali Reform Boxing Act's provision against coercive contracts to make the claim that the restrictive provision in the UFC's contract is restraining McGregor from boxing and that he is a licensed boxer under an applicable boxing commission falling under the jurisdiction of the ABC.

This might sound absurd, but remember as a licensed boxer McGregor would now (theoretically) be covered by the Ali Act. Sec. 10 of the Act offers protection from coercive provisions, and a provision that prevents someone from boxing at all could possibly be interpreted as a restraint of trade. This is reinforced by the fact that the promoter has a provision in their own contracts claiming exclusive rights over any "mixed martial art, martial art, boxing, professional wrestling, or any other fighting competition or exhibition" the fighter engages in. This would seem to make the UFC a promoter of all combat sports, including boxing. In which case, the contract would be illegal (or at least illegal in part) under existing Federal law.

Furthermore, if the contract is illegal does any hearing on it have to take place in Nevada as required by the (possibly illegal) contract? If not, then not only can another state preside over the dispute, but that state's laws can also come into play.

New York §208.17 has the following restrictions on contracts between a boxer and a promoter:

(a) No contract between a promoter and a boxer entered into on or after the effective date of this regulation shall be for a fixed term of more than three years, excluding any time that a boxer is unable to compete due to injury or other cause.

(b) No contract between a promoter and a boxer shall contain a provision permitting the contract to be automatically renewed or extended. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such contracts may contain a provision granting the promoter an option to renew for a period not to exceed one year, excluding any time that a boxer is unable to compete due to injury or other cause. Such contracts may not contain more than two such options.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/5/13/11669764/conor-mcgregor-vs-floyd-mayweather-without-ufc-permission