Conor McGregor estimates $80 million payday to fight Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 246

Conor McGregor pried eyes wide open when he earned an estimated $100 million for his professional boxing debut opposite Floyd Mayweather, Jr. But the Irishman said in a recent interview that he will make nearly as much for his return to the Octagon this week.

“I’m estimating around $80 million,” McGregor told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani when asked what he anticipated his payday would be for fighting Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the UFC 246 main event in Las Vegas.

What avenues of revenue that includes, McGregor didn’t detail, but with numerous business endeavors outside of the Octagon, he has many revenue streams to draw from. His Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey alone has rocketed to monster sales in the world of spirits.

”I’m confident it’s going to be a nice paycheck. Probably (the most I’ve made) in my mixed martial arts career,” McGregor said.

“I’m estimating around $80 million. Because, like I said, we’ve got Australia and Canada and England and Ireland; should be a good one.”

The fighter payroll that is disclosed to athletic commissions ahead of the fights will show nowhere near that number. The disclosed number, which will be in the millions, is only a portion of what McGregor will make from the fight, even from the UFC. As the biggest star in the sport, he receives other incentives, such as pay-per-view bonus points that are more generally reserved for UFC champions. That number doesn’t appear in the public records.

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It’s not a drastic leap for McGregor, however, even in the MMA world. He said that he earned somewhere around $50 million for his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. Yet, he only earned a disclosed $3 million on the athletic commission’s reported payouts.

After more than a year removed from that bout, McGregor star is as bright as ever. Of course, he needs a win to get things back into full stride, but that is certainly his plan, as McGregor has boasted of at least three UFC bouts in his 2020 season. That would certainly drive him to even greater heights in the record books, at least in regard to pay.

“They think I’m toast, but I’m still the bread.”