Conor McGregor has been blamed for other UFC champion's low pay despite being the highest-paid fighter in the promotion.
McGregor hasn't fought since July 2021 when he lost for a second consecutive time to Dustin Poirier, but the Irishman remains the biggest star on the UFC roster. 'The Notorious' is considered the highest-paid star in the promotion's history and is on a lucrative contract which is unmatched by any other champion in the sport.
A long debate continues to be had over UFC fighter pay which has seen UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou depart after being left unhappy with his financial reward. But former UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell believes the promotion will refuse to make the same mistake with the Irishman having set precedent to make higher demands.
"Maybe for Conor McGregor and Conor makes a special deal at a special contract, but I'm pretty sure the UFC, after what they went through with him, are never going to let that happen again," he said during an interview with MMA Junkie when discussing UFC fighter pay. Be a wild man, being crazy, making the demands, getting the crazy pays that he got.
"They don't want that. Anything that hurts the pocketbook. The s***'s going to come to a stop with that. That means fighters are going to suffer. It means fighters aren't going to get what they deserve. You talk to a lot of UFC champions, they are happy with what they are getting paid, they have made a lot of money. But it is not the mountain of gold that you think it is going to be."
McGregor has featured in eight of the UFC's ten highest-selling pay-per-views including his clash with Khabib Nurmagomedov which sold over two million units. The star has an estimated net worth north of £200million, and Forbes revealed McGregor topped the rich list in 2021 earning a mega $360m in 12 months.
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Although McGregor is now the highest-paid fighter on the roster, it has been claimed that former UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar set the record until 2017. The high-profile fighter took on the likes of Alistair Overeem and Cain Velasquez while making a huge fortune in the process.
"McGregor is probably the highest paid fighter," MMA journalist John Nash told Luke Thomas. "There was actually information floating around on his contract before the Mayweather fight and I don't think it has changed that much. "I have got a feeling he is not making as much as some people think, he is making a lot like in the teen bus I don't think it is $25- $30 million.
"My guess would be that he is making somewhere between $15-$18 million in that ball park. "This one I know legally I can disclose for fact is that Brock Lesnar, first in the lawsuit it says $8 million was the highest pay cheque in the UFC ever. He was also the highest-paid UFC fighter ever up until some time in 2017."
