Conor McGregor is all about the money, proclaiming himself important enough to UFC to hold a stake in the business.
While that might be true – and the pay-per-view statistics for 2016 suggest it is – he’s still a long way behind many of his fellow athletes in terms of earning power.
The Irishman is ranked 85th in Forbes’ 100 highest paid athletes of 2016 list – a whole 69 places below Floyd Mayweather and 22 below Manny Pacquiao, although The Notorious does come in seven places above Canelo Alvarez.
It’s worth noting that McGregor is the only MMA fighter to make the list – and his $22 million in earnings puts him just below top Premier League earners Eden Hazard and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The 28-year-old took $18 million in wages/winnings from UFC in 2016, according to Forbes, with a further $4 million coming from endorsements.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest paid athlete with a huge $88 million in 2016 – $56 million of which came through wages – followed by Lionel Messi who amassed $81.4 million in earnings.
Lewis Hamilton sits 11th, Rory McIlroy 17th, with Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gareth Bale, Usain Bolt, Serena Williams and Wayne Rooney also in the top 50.
