UFC: McGregor pockets $15M in Diaz rematch—report

Not only did Conor McGregor manage to avenge his earlier loss to Nate Diaz at the main event of UFC 202 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), he also became a much richer man in the process.

The brash UFC Featherweight titleholder has once again  set the standard for fighter pay, as he is most likely to rake in over $15 million, according to an estimate by Yahoo Sports.

The Irish superstar has already been guaranteed a $3-million payout for his efforts—half-a-million more than Brock Lesnar’s official fight purse during his return bout in UFC 200 six weeks ago. Diaz, who wore a crimson mask for nearly 25 minutes,  will reportedly receive $2 million.

READ: Brock Lesnar nets $2.5M in UFC 200 appearance—report

Both fighters, however, will be getting more cash once their cuts from the event’s pay-per-view (PPV) are finalized. McGregor’s pay would most likely quintuple, while Diaz’ salary would most probably reach the $13-million mark, the report said.

UFC 202’s overall fighter payroll came in at around $6.1 million, just a few hundreds short of the packed UFC bicentennial show’s salaries which equaled to $6,976,000.

Despite being the premiere mixed martial arts organization in the world, the UFC’s fighters have often expressed discontent over how they are compensated. Some notable names including Ben Henderson and Matt Mitrione have opted to fight for lesser known organizations that could pay more.  Khristian Ibarrola

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