McGregor breaks into top 25 on Forbes highest paid athletes

According to Forbes, McGregor is the 24th placed highest paid athlete in the world. He earned $34 million over the past year, which including his pair of fights against Nate Diaz as well as his lightweight championship win over Eddie Alvarez. McGregor earned $27 million from his fight purses with another $7 million earned in endorsements and sponsorships. Since Floyd Mayweather’s retired in 2015, McGregor is the highest paid combat sports athlete, and is  the only mixed martial artist to make the top 100 list. The highest ranked boxer is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who earned a reported $28.5 million. McGregor is ahead of NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony ($32.6 million), Kyrie Irving ($29.9 million) and NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown ($31.9 million). The UFC lightweight champion was the first ever mixed martial arts to crack the top 100 last year when he came in at No. 85 with $18 million in reported earnings.