Conor McGregor says he could make $50 million for UFC 229 fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov

Everyone knows Conor McGregor made a ton of money in his last fight. His last fight, however, was not in the Octagon, rather in a boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather.

Boxers typically make more money than mixed martial artists, but that is slowly changing. The UFC superstar McGregor claims he will be making around $50 million for his Saturday night fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“They’re estimating around 3-3.5 million [pay-per-view buys], I’d say I’m closing around the $50 million mark,” McGregor said at the UFC 229 press conference. “For a mixed martial artist to make $50 million for a mixed martial arts bout, it’s quite breathtaking.”

That amount, as McGregor implies, is based on his cut of the card’s pay-per-view sales. With his new Irish whiskey brand Proper Twelve, which apparently is flying off the shelf, and his other ventures such as The Mac Life and McGregor F.A.S.T., McGregor claims he will be a billionaire by the age of 35.

It is definitely impressive to see how much Conor McGregor is banking. Something that does pop out, however, is the fact that McGregor is saying UFC 229 will sell 3-3.5 million pay-per-view buys. While that is a lot, Dana White has said it is trending close to 3 million. No one truly knows how many pay-per-view buys this fight will do, but it will do a lot, and the more it does, the more money the former double-champ will make.

McGregor even recognized how the times are changing. When McGregor fought Nate Diaz the first time, Diaz was making 20 grand to show and 20 grand to win, undeniably paltry numbers considering the draw Diaz is now.

The money is definitely flowing into the Irishman’s bank account. Yet while the money is a huge bonus, he is focused on Saturday and trying to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov and recapture his lightweight belt.

First, both fighters will have to make weight tomorrow, and following that the fight will officially be on. If the press conference showed anything, it was that McGregor is ready to fight.

How many pay-per-view buys do you think UFC 229 will do? Let us know in the comments section

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/4/2018