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Last year was a good year for Conor McGregor, to say the least.

Having come in at number 85 last year, “The Notorious” made his second appearance on the prestigious Forbes list, this time rocketing up all the way to 24.

2016 was a marquee year for the brash Irishman, who became the first man to simultaneously hold two titles in two separate weight classes after TKOing former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205.

McGregor made $18 million with $4 million in endorsements last year to make the number 85 spot during his first appearance on the Forbes Highest Paid Athlete list, however he claimed to have made upwards of $40 million.

This year, McGregor earned his spot at number 24 after making $27 million in fight purses and $7 million in endorsements, suggesting that the McGregor money train appears to keep on plowing forward.

Hard to believe when he was on the dole in his native Ireland before being signed to the UFC.

However it will be a difficult task breaking into the list’s top three highest paid athletes, with Lionel Messi earning $80 million, LeBron James making $86.2 million and Cristiano Ronaldo a cool $93 million.

If McGregor vs. Mayweather does happen this year as predicted, the Irishman could see himself even closer to the top ten highest paid athletes, considering what he stands to make in doing so.

UFC president Dana White has said McGregor stands to make $75 million if and when the Mayweather boxing bout goes down.

McGregor remains the only athlete to appear on the prestigious list.

The post Conor McGregor Climbs Up Forbes’ Highest-Paid Athletes List appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Reigning UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor has never been afraid to talk about his money, and he clearly makes quite a bit of it.

In fact, the Irish knockout artist recently earned a spot on Forbes 100 Highest Paid Athletes list for 2016. McGregor was the only mixed martial artist to appear on the prestigious list, coming in at No. 85 with an estimated amount of $22 million dollars taken in.

Check out a breakdown of McGregor’s massive earnings over the last year below (Via MMAMania.com):

“UFC star Conor McGregor fought three times over the past 12 months, including headlining two of the three best-selling UFC fights ever on pay-per-view. UFC 194 where McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds had 1.2 million buys. McGregor lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 (their rematch will be at UFC 202 in August) which sold a massive 1.5 million units. His cut of PPV revenue pushed McGregor’s earnings in the Octagon to $18 million. The Irishman also banked an estimated $4 million outside the Octagon through appearances and endorsement partners Reebok, Fanatics, Monster Energy, BSN, Bud Light, Rolls Royce and Electronic Arts.”

McGregor will indeed look to avenge the only loss of his Octagon career when he meets Nate Diaz in their highly-anticipated welterweight rematch in the main event of August’s UFC 202 from The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Will the Irishman be able to make up for his submission loss against Diaz last March, or will he suffer another disappointing setback?

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