Conor McGregor Tops UFC's 20 All-Time Highest-Paid Fighters

MMA superstar Conor McGregor leads the way for the all-time highest-paid UFC fighters, according to industry figures.

The 31-year-old Irishman has been out of the octagon since his stunning defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018.

But that hasn't stopped McGregor, who has hinted at a UFC return in December, from being the most lucrative fighter in the sport's history.

The 'Notorious' earned a whopping $9.5m from his UFC fights alone and it places him firmly ahead of UFC legend Michael Bisping, who pocketed $7.1m during his time in the octagon.

Behind McGregor and Bisping is UFC legend Georges St-Pierre, who secured $7m before he retired from MMA earlier this year.

TheStreet has identified the top 20 UFC fighters based on the earning from their bouts alone, saying that the figures are on earnings after 2004.

According to the American publication, UFC wasn't officially tallying its fighters' earnings prior to 2004.

The entries also excluded any earnings that were received in bonuses.

And TheStreet says that sponsorship opportunities that were linked to UFC appearances aren't included because 'they can't be substantiated.'

Posted below are the fight earnings for the top 20 highest-paid fighters of all time.

20. Frankie Edgar ($4.34m)

19. Nate Diaz ($4.37m)

18. Chuck Liddell ($4.38m)

17. Dan Henderson ($4.4m)

16. Stipe Miocic ($4.48m)

15. Mauricio Rua ($4.54m)

14. Lyoto Machida ($4.58m)

13. Rashad Evans ($4.6m)

12. Andrei Arlovski ($5.08m)

11. Jon Jones ($5.1m)

10. Brock Lesnar ($5.1m)

9. Vitor Belfort ($5.1m)

8. Daniel Cormier ($6.06m)

7. Alistair Overeem ($6.1m)

6. Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone ($6.14m)

5. Mark Hunt ($6.4m)

4. Anderson Silva ($7m)

3. Georges St-Pierre ($7m)

2. Michael Bisping ($7.1m)

1. Conor McGregor ($9.5m)

UFC's top 20 highest-paid fighters dwarf the earnings of the average fighters, according to the figures.

UFC fighters' earnings are based around $138,000, which is substantially higher than the average US full-time workers' salary of $45,000 yearly.

The figures also revealed that around 187 UFC fighters earned over $100,000 last year, though 37 per cent of fighters earned less money than the average American's yearly salary.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Donald Cerrone, Conor Mcgregor, Nate Diaz, Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar, Stipe Miocic, Anderson Silva, Daniel Cormier, UFC News, MMA News, Vitor Belfort, Mark Hunt, UFC, MMA, Brock Lesnar, Georges St-Pierre

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9