UFC superstar Conor McGregor has made it into Forbes’ ‘Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes’ list for 2016.
‘The Notorious’ Irishman reached No.85 on the annual list, with Forbes claiming that he banked over $22 million in the past year alone, with $18 million of that coming by way of the UFC, with an additional $4 million coming from endorsements.
Helping McGregor to that impressive total was the fact that he appeared in two pay-per-view events that breeched the million barrier, with his UFC 194 victory over Jose Aldo to seize the bantamweight title being watched by 1.2 million on PPV, while his short-notice fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 196 rivalled the historic UFC 100 show with 1.5 million buys.
Flanking McGregor on the list are Chelsea soccer player Eden Hazard and Red Sox baseball star David Ortiz, who both also earned $22 million in the past year.
However, they still fall far short of the overall leaders on this years list, with soccer sensation Cristiano Ronaldo leading the pack with no less than $88 million, while another soccer superstar Lionel Messi is next on $81.4 million and basketball great James LeBron takes the third spot with $77.2 million.
McGregor’s eagerly awaited rematch with Nate Diaz was just announced this past weekend for UFC 202 in August, and due to the intense media interest in this fight since their original clash at UFC 196, this could result in his biggest payday yet.
