Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
One of the biggest fights of the year will unravel tomorrow night (Sat., Jan. 18, 2020) at UFC 246 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as combat superstar Conor McGregor returns to action against veteran finisher and UFC record holder Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
While other matchups may have produced more hype and bad blood leading into McGregor’s UFC comeback, a welterweight clash with Cerrone is exactly what the Irish doctor ordered. “Cowboy” is not only willing to stand and bang with McGregor in effort to satisfy paying fight fans everywhere, but the veteran fighter has been finished in the past and ultimately gives “Notorious” the best chance to get back in the UFC win column.
In exchange for their main event duties, UFC is paying both McGregor and Cerrone quite handsomely.
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (via MMA Fighting), McGregor stands to earn a whopping $3 million flat fee for his return to the Octagon, which is the same amount the Irishman banked for his UFC 229 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor, who believes he will score a $80 million total payday for UFC 246, is expected to bring in a lot more on the back end.
As for Cerrone, the former UFC lightweight title challenger will earn a solid $200,000 for his main event bid with the potential for another $200,000 should he win. It may not be the payday you’d expect for the UFC’s all-time leader in fights, wins, finishes, and post-fight bonuses, but ‘Cowboy’ doesn’t seem to be complaining. He, too, will make some extra money when it’s all said and done.
Here are the complete UFC 246 main card salaries:
Conor McGregor: $3 million (no win bonus)
vs. Donald Cerrone: $200,000 to show, $200,000 to winHolly Holm: $150,000 to show, $50,000 to win
vs. Raquel Pennington: $63,000 to show, $63,000 to winAleksei Oleinik: $75,000 to show, $75,000 to win
vs. Maurice Greene: $30,000 to show, $30,000 to winAnthony Pettis: $155,000 to show, $155,000 to win
vs. Diego Ferreira: $50,000 to show, $50,000 to win
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 246 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.