Getty Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are both getting a nice paycheck for UFC 229.
There is a reason UFC 229 caused Conor McGregor to come out of retirement with the fighter expected to make at least $65 million from the fight. The exact purse for McGregor has been reported to range from $50 to $65 million. Nature is Metal cited a UFC source noting McGregor would make about $65 million, even if the fighter loses.
Conor made $100 Million dollars for his fight with Floyd Mayweather last year and for his next fight in the UFC with Khabib Nurmagomedov, he is expected to make north of $65 million according to a UFC Official who wishes to remain nameless.
The report also noted McGregor would make around $85 million if he wins. While Khabib Nurmagomedov’s portion of the check has not been announced, Nature is Metal indicated there is $20 million at stake for the winner of the fight. McGregor sounded pleased when he spoke about the deal reached with UFC.
“My team and myself have done a lot of great work – and with the UFC – we’ve done a lot of good work,” McGregor told The Sun. “It’s give or take [nine figures]. The Mayweather fight was nine figures but we’re almost there, it’s a good, solid eight figures – half way there.”
UFC Predicted a Record Number of Close to 3 Million Pay-Per-View Sales for McGregor vs. Khabib
UFC president Dana White originally predicted two million pay-per-view purchases for UFC 229, which would have been a record. Now, it looks like the fight shattered the previous record with close to three million pay-per-view sales.
“I could just go on for days with numbers and how it’s scaling,” White told ESPN per MMA Weekly. “It’s going to be big. I told you guys that we trending at 2 million pay-per-view buys — we’re closer to 3 million now. We’re trending close to 3 million pay-per-view buys for this fight…This is the biggest fight we’ve ever done.”
Much has been made about how much McGregor will earn from the fight, but Khabib was in a bit of a standoff with UFC over the deal prior to it officially being announced.
“I don’t know. It’ about UFC, it’s about Conor, too,”Khabib said per SB Nation. “They make decision. It’s an interesting situation. If they want to make the money fight, they have to pay me, too. I’m not going to give him chance to use my name and Conor make money, UFC make money and I make $200,000. No way.”
Khabib was not the only one with demands, as it sounds like McGregor had even more. With the way pay-per-views sales went, both fighters are going to get a nice payday win or lose. Here is what an anonymous UFC official told Nature is Metal about McGregor’s negotiations.
“Conor had quite a few stipulations before he signed for the Khabib bout. First he demanded that no fighter who gets pay per view percentages should be allowed to participate on his cards. He said and I quote “I’m not feeding any of these bums!”. When Dana said he’s getting paid like an owner he wasn’t lying. Conor worked in his new whiskey as an official sponsor for the event and it will be sold at the concession stands. I’m told he’s getting around $85 million if he wins and on top of that he gets a percentage of the gate, concessions and pay per view.”