Conor McGregor expecting biggest payday of MMA career for UFC 246 fight

Conor McGregor is far and away the highest paid fighter in MMA history, and he expects that status to continue when he takes on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246 this weekend in Las Vegas.

Speaking to ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC, McGregor divulged that he made a hefty $50 million for his October, 2018 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. For his imminent scrap with Cowboy, he expects to earn a whopping $80 million, which he says will be the biggest payday of his MMA career.

"They think I'm toast, Ariel, but I'm still the bread." 🍞@TheNotoriousMMA says he made $50 million for the Khabib fight and predicts an $80 million payday for #UFC246 (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/UjpLhbDBAC

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 13, 2020

“I’m confident it’s going to be a nice paycheck,” McGregor told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

“Probably [the most ever] in my mixed martial arts career,” he added. “I’m estimating a good $80 million. Like I said we’ve got Australia and Canada and England and Ireland — it should be a good one.

“They think I’m toast, Ariel, but I’m still the bread.”

A significant portion of McGregor’s UFC 246 purse will be accounted for by his share of the pay-per-view revenue. The better the fight sells, the more money he’ll make.

McGregor has not fought since his loss to Nurmagomedov, which marked a failed bid to reclaim the UFC lightweight belt. His next most recent fight before that was a blockbuster boxing match with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather Jr., while his second most recent MMA fight occurred all the way back in 2016, when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight belt. Because he still held the UFC featherweight belt at the time, this made him the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously. He’s 21-4 in MMA competition.

Cerrone, on the other hand, is coming off a pair of stoppage losses to top lightweight contenders Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson. Prior to that, he rattled off back-to-back wins over lightweight contenders Al Iaquinta and Alexander Hernandez, and a welterweight win over “Platinum” Mike Perry. Cerrone holds the UFC records for most wins and most finishes. He’s 36-13 overall.

Do you think Conor McGregor will make $80 million for his UFC 246 fight?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/13/2020.