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The true extent of Conor McGregor’s UFC fight purses has been revealed in court as a class action lawsuit against the MMA promotion plays out. Hundreds of MMA fighters are suing UFC for billions of dollars in wages with a trial date now set for next April 2024 after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal from the sports entertainment outfit to revoke the class action last week.
UFC has denied any wrongdoing but the ruling will give a group of fighters who competed in UFC-promoted contests in the US between December 2010 and June 2017 their day in court.
Court documents that were recently unsealed have revealed some of the UFC’s biggest payouts for fights from the same period, which coincided with the peak of McGregor’s powers in the sport.
According to Fox Sports Australia, the purses are determined by matching the largest amount with the biggest-name fighter on each card who is most likely to have received the sum.
Popular MMA website Bloody Elbow has broken down a selection of the payouts that will have been received by McGregor and top female UFC competitor Ronda Rousey.
Referring specifically to the class action period, the article reads: “Conor McGregor was compensated nearly $20 million (£16.4 million) for participation in nine UFC bouts of which he won eight.”
The run of fights stretches from the Irishman’s UFC debut until his second fight against Nata Diaz. The report also says that eight of the 10 biggest UFC pay-per-view events featured McGregor in them.
When it came to Rousey, Bloody Elbow said: “Rousey was compensated $13 million (£10.6 million) for participation in seven UFC bouts of which she won six.”
McGregor’s biggest UFC payday came against Eddie Alvarez when he walked away with $6.81 million (£5.6 million), although the pay-per-view event made UFC over $66 million.
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Despite the huge numbers involved, the sums pale into significance when compared to the estimated £81.8 million ‘Notorious’ is believed to have banked from his crossover boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
McGregor has not fought in UFC since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. He is now on the comeback trail, however, and is expected to face Michael Chandler in the middle of 2024.
The 35-year-old was the first UFC fighter to hold UFC championships in two weight classes simultaneously when he held the featherweight and lightweight championship belts.
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