UFC 229: How Much Will Conor McGregor Make From Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight?

Conor McGregor expects to make the biggest payday of his MMA career when he faces Khabib Nurmagomedov on Saturday night for the lightweight title at UFC 229 in Las Vegas.

The fight is being billed as the biggest in UFC history with president Dana White, having earlier claimed it could cross 2 million pay-per-view buys, now revealing the event is trending close to 3 million which would blow the current UFC record of 1.6 million.

With McGregor likely to have a huge cut of the pay-per-view revenue as well as his recently announced six-fight deal following his nine-figure payday with Floyd Mayweather, the Irishman can expect to make more out of this event than all his previous UFC fights combined.

The estimated figure according to McGregor is $50 million, an unprecedented amount for any fighter in MMA.

“We’re estimating around 3 to 3.5 million (pay-per-view buys), I’d say I’ll close in around the $50 million mark,” McGregor said during the final pre-fight press conference on Thursday. “So for a mixed martial artist to make $50 million in a mixed martial arts bout, it’s quite breathtaking."

It is certainly a huge step up from just two years ago. The 30-year-old lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196, with his opponent making just $40,000 as his base pay, not counting sponsorship money or pay-per-view cuts.

Diaz would then go on to earn a base figure of $2 million in their highly-anticipated rematch at UFC 202 with McGregor earning a then company-high $3 million on the night.

“To think where we have come from," McGregor added. "When I fought Nate Diaz the first time, he was on $20,000 to show and $20,000 to win. The game has gone to so many new heights so quickly, and we’re all just trying to keep up and catch up."

"And it’s a great time to be involved in the sport for myself, for the fighters, for the promoters, for the managers, for the media in attendance, for the fans, for everyone. Times are good, so let’s enjoy these momentous occasions,” he said.

McGregor can certainly expect a much bigger base pay than the $3.5 million he earned from UFC 205 in what was his last fight, but there are other factors that are likely to contribute to a potential $50 million windfall other than his likely massive pay-per-view cut.

As part of his new UFC fight deal, it was confirmed that his newly released whiskey "Proper Twelve" will be a sponsor in each of the fights he takes part in, with the logo likely to be on display on the canvas of the octagon.

The whiskey is already said to be a huge financial success, according to White who claimed shops are struggling to keep it on the shelves.

In addition, McGregor recently signed a lucrative deal with Monster Energy while his Reebok deal was also renewed to a multi-year deal in excess of $5 million which would significantly dwarf the rest of the UFC roster who are also sponsored by Reebok.