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Conor McGregor Named The Highest-Paid Athlete In The World

Conor McGregor Named The Highest-Paid Athlete In The World

The Irishman has surpassed the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Dana, 60 G's baby!

It seems like a lifetime ago that a fresh-faced, tattoo-less Conor McGregor burst onto the scene with a knockout-of-the-night performance in his UFC debut.

Now, eight years on, the wild Irishman is making a lot more than $60,000 in a night's work.

Former UFC dual-division champion McGregor has just been named as the highest paid athlete on the planet.

The 32-year-old is now at the summit of Forbes' prestigious list, surpassing the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.

According to the figures crunched by Forbes, McGregor pocketed a whopping US$180million in 2020 despite only stepping foot inside the octagon once.

While it's understood the majority of his earnings came from his multi-million-dollar business ventures away from fighting, McGregor did still make an impressive $22million for his fight against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.

Proximo Spirits have become the majority stakeholder but it's understood UFC megastar McGregor will remain as the face of the brand.

The rest?

Well, that came from his highly-popular Proper No.12 whiskey company which made a reported $158million.

You can only begin to imagine where McGregor will place on next year's rich list after he recently sold his majority stake in the business to well-known tequila company Jose Cuervo for around $600million.

1990s: Bullied as a kid in Ireland 2000s: Collected welfare while working 12-hour days as a plumber 2008: Makes his MMA...

When McGregor looks down at the other big-name figures on the rich list, it's safe to say that it's pretty stacked.

Just behind the UFC fan favourite is football megastar Lionel Messi, whose 'leaked' Barcelona contract indicates he'll probably catapult up the rankings next year.

Cristiano Ronaldo takes up third spot having made a cushty $120million - just $10million less than Messi.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott comes in at fourth spot with $108million thanks to his mega-money NFL deal.

And taking up the last spot inside the top 5 is NBA legend LeBron James who took home $97million.

They're followed by Neymar, Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton, Tom Brady and Kevin Durant.

Conor McGregor has just sold his Proper No. 12 whiskey label to tequila giants Jose Cuervo with the Irishman set to...

When news broke of McGregor's Forbes achievement, a classic video from 2017 re-surfaced online showing an old conversation between a younger McGregor and Cristiano Ronaldo - who, at the time, was top of the rich list.

"You were number one on the Forbes list, I was like number 35 or something," he told Ronaldo.

"I'll get up. Maybe next year I'll get ya!"

Mystic Mac has become known for his bold predictions throughout his decorated career.

He certainly wasn't wrong with that money-making prophecy back in 2017.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Conor Mcgregor, Lionel Messi, UFC, lebron james, Australia, MMA, Cristiano Ronaldo

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

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@maxysherry