SUMMARY
- Conor McGregor is a renowned UFC superstar.
- He is about to make his Hollywood debut opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in "Road House" (2024).
UFC has had many many superstars in its relatively short history like Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Royce Gracie, and Chuck Liddell. However, not many have reached the heights that Conor McGregor saw during his career inside the Octagon. The charismatic enigma has broken many many records in the the company and has been the face of the UFC since 2015.
“The Notorious One” made his UFC debut in April 2013. However, even before his UFC debut, Conor McGregor was tearing up the regional MMA scene and became a double champion in Cage Warriors. UFC President Dana White added that he was getting requests from Irish MMA fans to sign the Dublin native years before McGregor made his way into the Octagon. However, his chance to fight on the biggest stage of them all came against Marcus Brimage.
The bout took place in the prelims of UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Latifi in Stockholm, Sweden. Fighters with such hype behind them often perish under the pressure, but Conor seemed to thrive in it! He KO’ed Brimage and got off to a flying start. He did not look back after that as Conor accomplished everything that the sport had to offer and created some benchmarks along the way.
Conor McGregor’s achievements in his combat sports career are unmatched
After winning the interim featherweight title at UFC 189 against Chad Mendes, McGregor defeated Jose Aldo with a thunderous KO to unify the 145lbs title at UFC 194. After that, he took the UFC to new heights with two legendary bouts against Nate Diaz at UFC 196 and UFC 202. Then, the Irishman became the first-ever UFC fighter to hold two titles in separate divisions simultaneously as he KO’ed Eddie Alvarez to capture the lightweight title and become a double-champ.
After that, he did something that many MMA fighters could only dream of. Conor called out Floyd Mayweather and got the boxing GOAT to accept the fight! While the bout did not go his way, Conor managed to walk away with a $100 million pay-cheque, which no other MMA fighter has replicated since. However, since then, his fighting career has witnessed nothing but disappointments.
On his return to MMA after fighting Mayweather, Conor lost to his arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Not only did Khabib beat the trash-talking Irish phenomenon, the Dagestani wrestler utterly humiliated McGregor after a toxic build-up to their fight. McGregor lost his aura of invincibility since the bout as he lost 2 out of his last 3 fights. Both the losses came against Dustin Poirier and the last one at UFC 264 left a devastating effect on his career.
The 35-year-old was out to take revenge after losing to Poirier at UFC 257 in their previous clash. Hence, leading upto their trilogy bout in 2021, McGregor decided to bring up Dustin’s wife Jolie Poirier in the build-up to the bout. However, the move backfired as “The Diamond” not only won the bout, but Conor also ended up breaking his leg after that contest. The injury was so severe that Conor hasn’t returned to fighting till now.
Conor McGregor is the biggest draw in MMA history and the numbers prove it
Conor McGregor is not only a fighter, he is also a massive brand! At his peak, Irish fans used to flock everywhere “The Notorious One” traveled and showed their support. For someone new to the sport of MMA, it is hard to fathom the craze for Conor during the peak of his run in the UFC. His stardom is very evident in the PPV numbers for his fights.
To date, UFC 229, which took place in 2018, remains the highest-selling UFC PPV of all time! Not only that, he also features 8 times in the 10 best-selling UFC PPVs of all time. According to a report from Give Me Sport, UFC 229 sold 2.4 million PPVs with $180 million in revenue. Next comes his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, which sold 1.8 million PPVs and generated $120 worth of revenue.
McGregor’s second bout against Nate Diaz at UFC 202 also features on the list with 1.65 million PPVs and it made over $90 million in revenue for the company. The rest of the list features, UFC 257 with 1.6 million PPV buys ($100 million in PPV revenue), UFC 196 with 1.5 million PPV buys ($80 million in revenue), UFC 246 with 1,353,429 PPV buys (with $90 million revenue), UFC 205 with 1.3 million PPV buys ($83 million), and UFC 194 with 1.2 million PPV buys ($80 million in revenue).
However, McGregor’s PPV dominance does not end with his UFC run either. In 2017, the boxing bout between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather pulled in 4.3 million PPV buys.
It is the second-highest-selling PPV of all time behind Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in 2015. The fight between Conor and Floyd also generated over $600 million in revenue as per a report from ESPN. With over 17 million PPV buys and over $1.4 billion in revenue, there is no argument that McGregor is the biggest star that MMA has ever had!
Conor McGregor’s net worth and career earnings
With him being the highest-grossing UFC fighter in history, there is no surprise that Conor McGregor is also the richest MMA fighter of all time! In his time with the UFC so far, McGregor has earned over $108 million as per MMA Salaries. He earned $23,011,000 and $20,510,000 for his bouts against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 and UFC 257 respectively. At UFC 246, Conor earned $15,475,613 to dispatch Donald Cerrone with 41 seconds.
But his biggest payday in the UFC came against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Conor bagged $28,480,00 which included $2,950,000 in base salary and $25,500,000 as a PPV bonus. But, the biggest payday of his fighting career was against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, which saw him earn around $100 million as per talkSPORT. However, a Forbes report added that Conor bagged $85 million for the bout.
However, his earnings did not stop there. Conor is also a savvy businessman as well. He invested money into the liquor business and opened up his very own whiskey brand, Proper 12. Due to aggressive marketing and Conor’s association, the whiskey became a fan favorite and a top-seller. Taking advantage of that, the UFC fighter and his associates sold Proper 12 to Proximo Spirits and earned over $600 million in profits.
However, McGregor himself made $150 million from the total amount. Aside from that, McGregor has endorsed several brands like EA Sports, Beats by Dre, Burger King, Monster Energy, etc. While the exact values of his partnerships are not available, one can assume that the former UFC lightweight champion has made a lot of money from the endorsements. As per Celebrity Net Worth, Conor is worth $200 million in 2024.
Conor McGregor is a budding Hollywood superstar
Conor McGregor’s primary fame came because of his destructive skills in an MMA cage. However, he has crossed over into being a mainstream superstar thanks to his businesses, charity work, and surprisingly, his acting abilities. The MMA superstar was cast in the remake of the 1989 classic, “Road House” opposite Hollywood A-lister, Jake Gyllenhaal.
As per some reviews, McGregor even outshined Jake and put up an amazing performance on the screen. Hence, it will not be surprising to see the UFC star bag roles in many more Hollywood tentpole projects in the future. But the question is, does he want to continue acting instead of taking more and more damage inside the cage? MMA stars like Gina Carano, Rampage Jackson, Ronda Rousey, and Randy Couture have all acted on the big screen. Is McGregor next?
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Speaking of his acting future in an interview, Conor added, “There’s potentially maybe an opportunity for something down the line.”
So it does seem like the 5’9 fighter is definitely open to pursuing the business going forward. Even Jake Gyllenhaal admitted in an interview with Total Film that McGegor’s inputs during the film’s amazing action set-pieces really helped to make them look authentic. Hence, with a potential career in the movie business, is there any need for McGregor to step inside the Octagon ever again?
Should Conor McGregor move on from fighting?
To borrow a famous chant from Conor McGregor’s favorite soccer club Manchester United, ‘he has seen it all and he has won the lot’! For the uninitiated, it means the Irish superstar has seen every peak that combat sports have to offer and he has achieved all that he can in MMA. The only thing that Conor has left to do and is yet to attempt, is to become the first-ever UFC triple champ.
But, looking at it logically, there is no reason why Conor would want to fight ever again. He recently did the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter with Michael Chandler and it was announced that Conor would fight his opponent coach at a later date. Although the show ended a long time ago, there is no word on when the showdown will actually take place. UFC President Dana White is also clueless about McGregor’s availability.
In the UFC 298 press conference, White addressed the issue and added, “The first problem was, he broke that shin bone, he was recovering from that. That was one of the reasons we had it on (referring to TUF 32). The other problem is he’s f*cking rich.” He further elaborated, “Conor McGregor doesn’t need money.”
Upon being asked whether McGregor will ever fight in the UFC, Dana simply added, “I don’t know. Conor McGregor has got a lot of money and you know, any time we get Conor, we’ll be happy to, you know, be thrilled when he comes and fights but money complicates a lot of things. (Conor) just filmed a movie, he’s got to do the press for the movie and he’s got obligations with that and he does want to fight this year (2024), but we’ll see what happens.”
Although Dana has complaints about Conor’s punctuality, the 54-year-old is extremely happy to do business with McGregor. However, as White mentioned, McGregor isn’t exactly hungry to earn more and has a budding Hollywood career. So there is no particular urgency for him to put his health on the line and spend time away from his lovely fiancee Dee Devlin and his four beautiful children.
McGregor is not a spring-chicken either at the age of 35. On top of that, the devastating leg injury is nothing that he should take lightly. As fans saw in former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s case, he was never the same after breaking his shin bone against Chris Weidman. Perhaps, it is the ideal time for Conor to retire from fighting and enjoy a rather successful career in Hollywood. However, McGregor isn’t exactly ready to call it quits!
Conor McGregor discusses his future in fighting
No matter how much money he makes, Conor McGregor is a true fighter. Not many would have had the courage to bounce from such a career-ending injury and come back to training. Not only did the $200 million rich fighter power through a tough rehab process but he also started kicking with the same injured leg in early 2023. So the fire to do good inside the Octagon is still very much alive within the former UFC featherweight champion.
Conor McGregor was asked about his plans going forward in Hollywood. His answer:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 12, 2024
“There’s potentially maybe an opportunity for something down the line, but right now… hopefully I get a fight date booked. I’m looking to compete a couple of times by the end of the year. I’d love… pic.twitter.com/INDB6uqM7x
During the promotions for the “Road House” remake which is releasing on March 21, 2024, worldwide on Amazon Prime Video, Conor prioritized his fighting career over acting. He added, “Right now… hopefully I get a fight date booked. I’m looking to compete a couple of times by the end of the year. I’d love 2 fights in by the end of the year…But for me, my game inside that octagon is far from over.” (h/t via Sportskeeda)
Hence, it does seem like fans may not have seen the last of the Irishman inside the Octagon. Although Michael Chandler is the most probable opponent for McGregor, it remains to be seen when he will finally decide to end his exile from the cage and do what he does best. But what do you make of his potential in the long run? Do you see him climb the mountain once more and win a UFC title? Let us know in the comments below.