Conor McGregor achieved two division champion status in the UFC and also became the highest paid MMA fighter by a mile. He became the highest paid in. UFC star in 2021. As Forbes recently shared the list of highest paid female athletes, McGregor shared his opinion on the state of women’s pay in sports in a recent tweet.
Forbes recently released the list and Tennis player Iga Swiatek topped the list with $23.9 million in earnings. Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier was second on the list with an income of $22.1 million. The likes of Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka rounded out the top five. Conor McGregor reacted to the following report saying,
“Women deserve to be paid more.”
There are a few interesting things to note with regards to the list. For starters, most of the athletes in the top 20 are Tennis players. Secondly, their off field earnings account for most of their earnings in 2023. And finally, there is no combat sports athlete in the top 20 this year.
In comparison to men, the top paid male athlete in 2023 earned $136 million. In comparison soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo earned close to six times more than Swiatek in 2023. Ronaldo earned $46 million on the field and $90 million off the field.
Interestingly, eight out of the top 10 highest paid male athletes earned more than $100 million. The gap between the highest paid female and male athletes have always been extremely high. This explains why Conor McGregor thinks it is time to make changes. McGregor himself has a chance to add to his already massive net worth with a return to action in the UFC.
A closer look at Conor McGregor and his return to action
Dana White in a recent interview stated that he will be meeting with Conor McGregor. White is currently in Abu Dhabi and Conor McGregor is in Dubai. UFC fans will be hoping that the two men come to an agreement for a fight sooner rather than later. As things stand, Conor McGregor has a net worth of $200 million.
In his most recent outing, Conor McGregor took on Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Reports suggest that ‘The Notorious’ made over $20 million in that fight. For his return, there is a very strong chance that McGregor might make more than his fight at UFC 264 further adding to his $200 million net worth.
