Lorenzo Fertitta Predicts Conor McGregor Will Be First $100 Million Earner in UFC

With his 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194, Conor McGregor gained some serious leverage at the bargaining table.

Already one of the Las Vegas-based promotion’s biggest stars, McGregor’s stock is at an all-time high, and his bank account is going to be the main beneficiary. UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Irish fighter will likely be “our first $100 millionaire.”

According to Fertitta, that figure would come from fight purses, bonuses and pay-per-view points but would not include any non-UFC endorsements or outside endeavors. McGregor earned a $500,000 fight purse this past Saturday as well as $40,000 from the promotion’s Reebok uniform deal and a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. He also received a portion of the pay-per-view revenue, but that figure is not disclosed by the UFC.

McGregor has become a huge box office hit in 2015. UFC 194 drew an announced crowd of 16,516 to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for a gate of $10.1 million, a record in Las Vegas. His previous appearance, a second-round stoppage of Chad Mendes in the UFC 189 headliner, earned a $7.2 million gate -- the second-highest ever for an MMA event in Nevada.

It is currently unclear when McGregor will return to the Octagon, but the SBG Ireland representative already has his eye of the winner of the UFC on Fox 17 lightweight title bout between Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone. UFC President Dana White has said that McGregor would receive an immediate shot at the belt should he decide to move to 155 pounds.