Conor McGregor is on track to become sport’s next billionaire after his appearance in Road House, it has been claimed.
UFC superstar McGregor made his Hollywood debut earlier this month, starring opposite Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal in the action movie Road House.
In the Prime Video release McGregor plays Knox, a malicious enforcer employed by a land baron to pressure Frankie (Jessica Williams) into selling her valuable property. First, however, Knox must deal with Gyllenhaal’s character, Elwood Dalton, whom Frankie has hired to stop violent troublemakers at her club.
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McGregor has repeatedly claimed his fee for Road House broke a record held by The Rock (£4.36million) for the highest-paid debuting actor following his appearance in Road House.
Irrespective of the veracity of the Irishman’s latest claim, he is well on course to becoming a billionaire, according to sports finance expert Dr Rob Wilson.
Dr Wilson, a professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, told Grosvenor Sport: “Conor McGregor has built his fortune on the first phase career in MMA and done incredibly well financially. He has created a very personal brand.
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“Even in Roadhouse he might as well be a UFC fighter walking around in that because the image is the same and that helps with Hollywood and boosting people watching his films because of his name and brand.
“Regardless of his acting prowess, it will also help him to move into new markets.
“In terms of being the next billionaire in sport, he's certainly on the trajectory. Getting from multimillionaire status of hundreds of millions to billionaire status is a big jump but it is possible, although unlikely.
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“I think it's highly dependent on his lifestyle and the investments that he makes, The stuff that he can grow outside of sport and if he invests in the right sort of projects whether it’s property or potentially stocks - it could also depend on how his potential Hollywood career takes off. He will never be short of a few quid.
“It’s very similar to Floyd Mayweather, although not quite with the same level of brand exposure, not yet.”
Topics: Conor McGregor, UFC, MMA, Boxing
Chris Byfield