Conor McGregor is Forbes’ highest paid athlete.
There was a time when names like Lebron James, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao dominated Forbes’ highest paid athlete list. While James still made it onto the list it’s clear that there’s a new king in town. It appears that former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has topped the list.
One of the most popular and polarizing figures in sports today, Conor McGregor has come a long way. In 2013 he was still collecting welfare to make ends meet. Now he has seen his net worth skyrocket in the past 12 months.
Hard Work Pays Off
Besides his massive fights with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor would earn a tremendous amount of money outside of fighting. Getting inside the octagon once paid the bills for McGregor. Now his entrepreneurial ventures have earned him the lump sum of his millions in the last calendar year.
His sale of his majority stake in his Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand to Proximo Sports saw Conor McGregor earn a cool $150 million. Not too shabby for the Irishman who didn’t know how he’d manage to pay his bills just eight short years ago. His total earnings tally in at $180 million.
So now that Conor McGregor has made tons of money from his fighting career, businesses, and endorsements, does that mean he’s hanging it up?
Well apparently not.
Conor McGregor is still scheduled to have the trilogy match with Dustin Poirier this summer. The two are one and one heading into the third fight. In fact, McGregor’s loss this past January is likely to make this third match with Poirier even bigger. Both men are set to earn a ton of money in this third match. The amount will easily eclipse their first to two bouts.
While Conor McGregor may have all the money he could ask for, the fact that he’s still competing says something about his yearning to leave a legacy. There’s no reason for him to compete outside of getting revenge and cementing himself as the better man in this rivalry. Most other people who have earned as much as him would kick their feet up and chill out, enjoy the good life and retire. But the fact that he still wants this fight shows that his competitive fire is still burning bright.
What do you think of Conor McGregor topping the Forbes’ highest paid athlete list?
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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.