Conor McGregor has quite the journey since joining the UFC in 2013.
‘Notorious’ was a talented fighter on the rise, but his skills weren’t paying the bills, and he was collecting social welfare cheques before debuting in MMA’s premier promotion 11 years ago.
McGregor won two Cage Warriors belts but didn’t earn big moeny until he joined the UFCCredit: Cage Warriors
McGregor didn’t need to sign on for long as his charismatic personality quickly made him one to watch before he’d even stepped foot in the Octagon.
On fight night, he performed flawlessly. Marcus Brimage couldn’t deal with his elite-level striking and fell victim to a first-round TKO at the hands of the Irishman.
The future legend used his post-fight mic time to famously ask UFC boss Dana White for a $60,000 performance bonus – and he was blown away after receiving it.
“I’m here to make money,” McGregor said at a post-fight press conference.
“I didn’t have money before this. I was collecting off the social welfare and now here I am with 60G’s bonus and my own pay. I don’t know what the f*** is going on.”
Fast forward a decade and McGregor wears outfits that cost more than the bonus he was so happy to receive all those years ago.
The 35-year-old has amassed a £200 million fortune after becoming a two-weight UFC champion and featuring in high-profile fights against Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier.
McGregor has been sidelined since breaking his leg at UFC 264 in July 2021, but he continues to cash in with his successful business empire and a new career in acting.
‘Notorious’ repeated the feat in the UFC and made millionsCredit: Zuffa LLC via Getty
McGregor’s launched a new acting career during his injury layoffCredit: Getty
The MMA superstar recently made his film debut alongside Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal in a reimaging of the 1989 cult classic Road House, which has been available to stream on Prime Video since March 21.
After breaking The Rock’s record to become the highest-paid first-time actor of all time, McGregor spoke with talkSPORT’s MMA channel about his seamless transition from fighter to film star.
“I certainly am a lucky Irish motherf*****,” he said.
“I landed on my feet here with this. This is as high as it gets in the Hollywood game.
“I’ve got co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, and director Doug Liman, who does phenomenal movies. I’ve got producer Joel Silver, and I’m with Amazon and it’s a mega-production.
“I landed on my feet, I’m a lucky man, for sure.”
Perhaps McGregor is lucky, as everything he touches seems to turn to gold.
Road House attracted a record-breaking 50 million viewers to Amazon Prime in its first two weekends on the platform to become its most-watched movie ever.
McGregor hopes to keep his winning run going in 2024 when he makes a long-awaited and eagerly anticipated return to fighting this summer.
Michael Chandler is the man who will welcome him back to MMA, it’s now just a matter of waiting for UFC CEO Dana White to announce an official date for their fight.
Fans think McGregor’s return will be confirmed at UFC 300 this Saturday, but the MMA mogul always does things at his own pace and could keep everyone waiting a little longer.