Conor McGregor reacts after defeating Jose Aldo during a featherweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 194, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Conor McGregor reacts after defeating Jose Aldo during a featherweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 194, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Ultimate fighting featherweight champion Conor McGregor is tipped to be the first MMA fighter to make $100 million from the sport.
Lorenzo Fertitta, chairman and chief executive officer of UFC told the Bleacher Report he believes the Irishman will hit nine figures solely from the sport alone-that is,based on "fight earnings, bonuses and pay-per-view revenue" and not even including sponsorship, endorsement and entertainment deals.
The 27-year-old forged a reputation as one of UFC's most fearsome fighters and recently solidified that standing when he stunned previous champion Jose Aldo with a sensational 13-second knockout-the fastest ever in a UFC world title fight.
MMA Junkie's Chamatkar Sandhu believes he has overtaken Ronda Rousey as the top name in UFC:
After letting the events of last week sink in I'm now comfortable saying McGregor has replaced Rousey as the biggest star in our sport IMO.
Indeed, like Rousey-who featured in The Expendables 3 and Furious 7 and will star in the upcoming reboot of Patrick Swayze's cult classic Road House-Hollywood also seems to have come knocking for McGregor, with TMZ reporting on Tuesday he has been offered a role in Vin Diesel's second xXx sequel, which would no doubt further supplement his considerable income.
As Rovell reveals, McGregor was well-compensated for his victory at UFC 194, raking in $500,000 for the fight itself as well as $90,000 in bonuses and a thus-far-undisclosed share of the PPV buys, estimated at "more than 1 million."
