Conor McGregor could be set for massive UFC 197 payday

The numbers have been crunched.

Conor McGregor's fight against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 197, which was confirmed last night, could worth over $8 million (€7.11 million) to the Irishman. The Notorious will seek to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts at once, and Fox Sports are predicting a mega payday to boot for McGregor. Holly Holm's first title defence has already been scheduled for the March 5 event in Las Vegas, and the American media outlet believe UFC 197 has the potential to break pay-per-view records. UFC 100, back in 2009, currently holds the record. However, UFC 194 will reportedly take second place in the all-time records for PPV buys. Fox writer Tim Elbra claims this suggests that, along with the interest in Holm's defence on the same card, and the undoubted interest in McGregor v Dos Anjos, UFC 197 has the potential to break the previous all-time record.

"He (McGregor) may well have taken second spot on this list already, while his highest number is around 1 million for his UFC 189 hiding of Chad Mendes last year to win the interim featherweight title. McGregor’s earnings have become enormous as his UFC star has risen. For starters, he has a $US500,000 contracted fight salary. He also got a $50,000 performance of the night bonus for the Aldo KO, plus a $40,000 sponsorship bonus. But his PPV cut is what is truly making him rich. Forbes broke down McGregor’s KO of Aldo, with the estimate that he gets $3-$5 per PPV buy. They projected these figures against a low buy of 1 million and a high of 1.5 million: meaning he made between $3 million and $4.5 million from PPV on a 1 million buy, or $5 million and $7.5 million on a 1.5 million buy. Using both the highest dollar and highest buy figures, McGregor would have made $622,000 per second in beating Aldo. Best case scenario based on these figures, McGregor made more than $8 million beating Aldo. He will surely get more views for this fight given its historic nature, even though dos Anjos is a lower-profile champion whose Cerrone fight was not even a PPV event. The 1.6 million record is within reach - particularly with McGregor’s supreme skill for loudly promoting his fights. At $5 a pop, 1.6 million buys equals $8 million straight up."

*Updated from piece first published on January 10.