Conor McGregor guaranteed first $1M payday in UFC history
Conor McGregor is officially the highest-paid athlete for a single fight in UFC history with a $1 million payday coming for his upcoming bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 196.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the scheduled payouts for the card on Saturday night (via Twitter on Friday) that confirmed McGregor's disclosed salary.
McGregor ultimately will cash in a lot more than $1 million because he also will get a percentage of the pay-per-view sales on the card Saturday night, which will end up putting the Irishman and well over seven figures.
UFC president Dana White spoke to FOX Sports late Friday night and said that UFC 196 is trending to be one of the highest grossing cards of all time.
"This fight is off the (expletive) charts. Off the charts," White said. "This fight's going to be massive. This fight might be one of the biggest fights we've ever done."
For his part in the fight, Diaz also will take a huge jump in pay as he's guaranteed $500,000 for stepping up and facing McGregor on less than two weeks' notice.
As the UFC has continued to grow bigger and bigger over the years, many of the fighters on the roster have started making seven figures on a more regular basis.
Typically, however, the disclosed payouts are only what the fighters are guaranteed and not the final amount many are paid based on pay-per-view revenue.
McGregor's disclosed $1 million salary definitely sets a new standard for the UFC as he embarks on another massive fight in what could be a prelude to headlining UFC 200 in July.
By the end of 2016, McGregor could hold the spot as the highest paid UFC fighter in the 20-plus-year history of the promotion.
