Conor McGregor is the self-proclaimed king of the UFC and its exhausting to disclaim his claims on that title.
Regardless of the Irish fighter solely entering into the octagon a handful of instances since 2016, he continues to be the promotion’s most marketable asset.
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For a few years, combined martial arts was extra of a fringe sport that steadily grew in reputation because of a faithful fanbase.
McGregor helped deliver the game to the mainstream and that’s mirrored by how a lot cash he makes.
Regardless of preventing simply as soon as in 2020, he nonetheless ranked as among the best paid sports activities stars on the planet.
McGregor will come out of retirement this weekend as he takes on Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Battle Island and a measure of his enchantment shall be seen within the quantity of curiosity the principle occasion produces.
When a McGregor battle is on, one thing totally different occurs and he actually rivals Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton and Anthony Joshua for mainstream superstardom.
There are solely a handful of athletes on the planet who can deliver visitors to a standstill.
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Conor McGregor
Social media following – 8.4m Twitter, 38.4m Instagram
Earnings in 2020 – $48m (£38m), Forbes no.53
McGregor has solely entered the octagon twice since 2016 however extremely remains to be one of many highest paid sports activities stars on the planet.
He’s reportedly stated to have made $30million from his first spherical knockout of Donald Cerrone in January 2020.
His sponsorship take care of Reebok nets him $5million per 12 months and his Correct No. Twelve Irish whiskey continues to be an enormous moneymaker.
McGregor’s battle with Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 holds the report for many PPV buys (2.4m), whereas his conflict with Cerrone was the most important in 2020 with greater than 1.4m.
The battle lasted simply 40 seconds with some reviews suggesting he might have made greater than £1.6million per second.
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In 2015, he was paid round £385ok to battle Jose Aldo and landed 5 blows on Aldo, incomes £77ok per strike in his 13-second featherweight title win.
A 12 months later, in opposition to Eddie Alvarez, he earned about £2.31m, which equates to about £57,750 per strike – he landed 40 this time en path to profitable one other UFC belt.
It’s an analogous story in his loss in opposition to Khabib. Taking dwelling a primary pay of £2.31m, he landed 96 strikes on his rival, touchdown him £24,063 per strike.
From the NFL, NBA and Premier League, essentially the most well-known athletes have been noticed practising the ‘billionaire strut’.
Everybody needs to be his pal, even The Terminator waxed lyrical about him.
“Conor can also be the uncommon character who has change into larger than his sport,” Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote in Time Journal when McGregor was named one in all their most influential folks on the planet in 2017.
“From the primary time I met Conor, I knew he wasn’t the kind of star you might field into one class.
“His vitality is totally contagious, to the purpose the place you virtually begin shouting in an Irish accent after 30 seconds of listening to that world-famous mouth.”
How his rivals for no.1 on the Forbes record rank
Cristiano Ronaldo
Social media following – 90.5m Twitter, 255.9m Instagram
Earnings in 2020 – $105m (£83m), Forbes no.4
Ronaldo is essentially the most adopted athlete on social media with a ridiculous 255.9m followers on Instagram.
He’s midway via his four-year contract with Juventus that’s stated to internet him $64million yearly.
Whereas endorsements with Nike, Unilever, MTG, Herbalife, DAZN and Altice herald round $45million so as to add to that.
His model is among the most recognisable on the planet and Juventus reportedly bought greater than 500,000 of his jerseys again in 2018 inside 24 hours of him signing.
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Lionel Messi
Social media following – 178.8m Instagram
Earnings in 2020 – $104m (£82m), Forbes no.5
Messi could have wished to go away Barcelona final summer time however he’s nonetheless one of many highest paid athletes on the planet along with his contract, which expires in June, incomes him roughly $80million yearly.
His different endorsements, together with a lifelong take care of Adidas, internet him one other $32million. In addition they embrace Gatorade, Huawei, Mastercard and Pepsi.
Messi as additionally launched his personal clothes line and The Messi Retailer opened in Barcelona in 2019.
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Anthony Joshua
Social media following – 3.2m Twitter, 12m Instagram
Earnings in 2020 – $47m (£37.2m), Forbes no.57
AJ fought simply as soon as in 2020, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic, and that conflict with Kubrat Pulev in December netted him round £10million ($13m).
This might have been considerably greater if a full stadium had been allowed – some estimates declare he missed out on £8million.
The battle was additionally stated to have had in extra of 600,000 PPV buys within the UK alone.
AJ’s rematch in opposition to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 additionally landed him a staggering £50million.
The heavyweight champion additionally has a spread of endorsement offers with the likes of Underneath Armour, Beats, Jaguar Land Rover, Sky Sports activities and Hugo Boss.
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Roger Federer
Social media following – 8m Instagram
Earnings in 2020 – $106.3m (£84m), Forbes no.3
Roger Federer was the best paid athlete on the planet final 12 months attributable to his profitable endorsement offers.
Federer’s prize cash on the court docket has reached a decent $130million however that is no match for the quantity he will get off the court docket.
He penned a 10-year $300million take care of Uniqlo again in 2018 and in addition has offers with the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Rolez, Credit score Suisse Group and loads of others.
His social media profile is just not as massive as a few of his rivals however that has not stopped the cash coming in via his endorsements.
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Lewis Hamilton
Social media following – 6.1m Twitter, 21.5m Instagram
Earnings in 2020 – $54m (£42.7m), Forbes no.40
Hamilton is a seven-time world F1 champion, reigning Sports activities Character of the 12 months and in addition beat a number of racing information in 2020.
His take care of Mercedes, which has now ended, was stated to have paid him greater than $40million per 12 months.
Hamilton has a number of endorsement offers with the likes of Bose, L’Oreal, Monster Vitality, Puma, Sony, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vodafone that internet him in extra of $12million.
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