Where does UFC fan favorite Conor McGregor rank among the highest paid athletes of all time?
Conor McGregor is by far and away the biggest star to ever step foot inside the Octagon.
In 2013, the Irishman made his promotional debut against Marcus Brimage at UFC on Fuel TV 9. At the time, McGregor was a highly touted prospect out of the UK-based Cage Warriors promotion, but nobody could have guessed just how far his star would rise over the next three years. Following his sensational 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194, he was officially off to the races. McGregor quickly became one of the biggest names in the sport, leading him to legendary matchups with Nate Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Today, McGregor is responsible for eight of the 10 highest-grossing pay-per-views in Ultimate Fighting Championship history.
As a result, McGregor was recently named the 50th highest-paid athlete of all time by Sportico. He sits right behind NFL quarterbacks Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers who tied with $560 million apiece. The only combat sports star to crack the top 10 was legendary pugilist Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather who brought in $1.14 billion over the course of his career.
Notable names from the world of boxing and mixed martial arts making the list include:
- 18. Mike Tyson $905 ($460M non-adjusted earnings)
- 22. Manny Pacquiao $750M ($565M non-adjusted earnings)
- 26. George Foreman$705M ($360M non-adjusted earnings)
- 29. Oscar De La Hoya $685M ($410M non-adjusted earnings)
- 37. Canelo Alvarez $640M ($550M non-adjusted earnings)
- 40. Evander Holyfield $630M ($315M non-adjusted earnings)
- 50. Conor McGregor $555M ($465M non-adjusted earnings)
“For so long, in my mid-to-late 20s when I started to acquire wealth and acquire money, I was fascinated with materialistic things, I would buy myself cars, watches,” McGregor told Tony Robbins. “I switched off of that. I realized I was spending things on material items and not things on myself, on my being, on my fitness, on my health. [LeBron James] spent $1.5 million a year annually on himself — physical therapists, masseuse, nutritionists, trainers, all of that. I spent $0.” (h/t MMA Mania).
McGregor may have cut down on some of the more extravagant spending, but he did drop $3.5 million on a Lamborghini Tecnomar yacht in 2021.
Conor McGregor still aiming for a return to the octagon in 2024
After capturing the lightweight title at UFC 205, Conor McGregor used his fame to secure a fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. Though he lost the bout via TKO in the 10th round, ‘Mystic Mac’ reportedly walked away with a $130 million paycheck for the fight.
McGregor has only one win since beating Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound crown in 2016, but the Irishman hopes to turn it all around when he makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon later this year against former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler.
