What Was Conor McGregor's Highest Paid UFC Fight?What Was Conor McGregor's Highest Paid UFC Fight?

When the common person hears “UFC”, they automatically think of Conor McGregor. While “The Notorious” may not be one of the greatest fighters of all time, he is without a doubt the biggest draw in MMA, and one of the biggest in combat sports history in general.

As of 2024, he has a reported net worth of $200 million, thanks to his huge boxing payday against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, and his business ventures such as Proper No.Twelve, Irish Forged Stout, and even cigars. 

But, before all of that came along, he made his name in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. McGregor became a global superstar after knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to win the UFC featherweight championship. Less than a year later, the Irishman stepped up a weight class to go to lightweight and he eventually won the lightweight title by stopping Eddie Alvarez to become a double champ, something that is extremely rare in the UFC.

In his career, McGregor has had some viral moments and heated rivalries, but what was his highest paid UFC fight?

According to Forbes, Conor McGregor's highest paid UFC fight was his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier. Despite suffering a broken leg against Poirier in July 2021, the Irishman earned an estimated $33 million. The fight earlier that year between the pair netted McGregor an estimated $22 million.

His highest official UFC payday, as we know, came against Nate Diaz in August 2016, at UFC 202, where he earned a reported $3 million base salary. This was ultimately boosted by the PPV buys of over 1.5 million, and thus his overall pay for the fight ended up being between $15 million and $20 million. 

McGregor's grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 229, in 2018, matched the base salary of what he earned for the Nate Diaz rematch. However, a record-breaking 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, which is still the record, completely blows away his payday against Diaz. The PPV points boosted McGregor's total purse to between $50 million and $55 million. 

Will Conor McGregor Ever Fight in the UFC Again?

Dustin Poirier punches Conor McGregor//Getty Images

If Conor McGregor doesn't fight in the UFC again then can anyone really blame him? He's already made generational wealth, and nowadays he makes tens of millions per year just from his businesses alone.

With that being said, “The Notorious” has a huge ego, and I can't imagine him wanting his final ever UFC fight to be the one where he was carried out on a stretcher after he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier three years ago. 

Since then, McGregor has competed with Michael Chandler as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter season 31, and the two were supposed to meet earlier in 2024, at UFC 303, but McGregor pulled two weeks from the event due to a broken little toe, which let's be honest, isn't a great look when Alex Pereira fought twice in just over two months with a broken toe in order to save the UFC 303 event. But, I think that sums up where McGregor's fighting career is at now; he's mentally checked out. 

Since pulling out of UFC 303, McGregor has voiced that he wants to continue to compete in combat sports, with the Irishman having two fights remaining on his current UFC contract. The question is: who is even a potential fight with him in the UFC? 

Chandler, who wasted 2023 and most of 2024, waiting for the McGregor fight, has now moved on with his career and is fighting Charles Oliveira at UFC 309, and the winner of that fight is more than likely getting the next lightweight title shot. 

At this point, the only fight that makes sense is a fight between former lightweight title challenger Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor, however, Gaethje's management team claim that McGregor has turned that fight down five times.