It was another dud year for top MMA fighters as none of them made more than $35 million in 2024 according to Sportico.
Sportico just released it’s big ‘Highest Paid Athletes In The World’ list for the past year, and while boxing has several names on the list there are no MMA fighters to be found.
The list starts at No. 1 with top dawg soccer player Cristiano Ronaldowho made $260 million and ends at 100 with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones (no relation to Jon) who made $37.5 million.
It should be no surprise considering the UFC’s pay practices that no MMA fighter came close to sniffing that much money in a year. And no surprise that some boxers did.
There were six boxers that made enough to make Sportico’s list: Tyson Fury came in at No. 3 with $147 million. His dancing partner Oleksandr Usyk came in No. 7 with $122 million. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is next at No. 20, making $73 million. Anthony Joshua landed at No. 30 with $60 million. Jake Paul is No. 52 with $48 million, and Naoya Inoue is No. 81 with $42 million.
The Highest-Paid Athlete in Each Sport (Out of 100):
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#43 pic.twitter.com/DU8JwkOfzs— Sportico (@Sportico) February 12, 2025
Now before you shrug off boxing’s decent representation as a result of Saudi Arabia splashing the sport with cash it definitely didn’t make back, let’s note that Canelo Alvarez, Jake Paul, and Naoya Inoue all made their money in 2024 without the involvement of Turki Alalshikh.
Alvarez and Inoue have since signed deals with the Saudis, but their earnings were legit and a proper reflection of the money athletes can make off big fights in combat sports when there isn’t a monopsony at the top hoovering in all the money.
You have to go all the way back to 2022 to find an MMA fighter. Sportico reports that Conor McGregor made $32 million off purses and $20 million off endorsements for $52 million total, putting him at No. 22 on the list. 2021 was an even better year for the Irish sports star. He was No. 1 with $208 million, $180 million of that off endorsements (mainly the sale of Proper 12 whiskey).
All that was enough to get him placement in the Top 50 Highest Paid Athletes Of All Time list.
Since then McGregor hasn’t managed to get back into the cage. A broken leg kept him out in 2023. A broken toe kept him out in 2024. And for whatever reason, the UFC seems determined to keep him out of the cage until the end of 2025. The only other MMA fighter capable of sniffing the Sportico Top 100 is Jon Jones, who may never fight again because the UFC refuses to pay him a fraction of what he’s worth.