Conor McGregor Will Be First UFC Fighter to Earn $100M, Says Lorenzo Fertitta

Lorenzo Fertitta, chairman and chief executive officer of UFC, believes new featherweight champion Conor McGregor will be "our first $100 millionaire."

That's according to ESPN.com's Darren Rovell, who notes Fertitta expects the Irishman to hit nine figures solely from the sport alone—that is, based on "fight earnings, bonuses and pay-per-view revenue" and not even including sponsorship, endorsement and entertainment deals.

The 27-year-old forged a reputation as one of UFC's most fearsome fighters and recently solidified that standing when he stunned previous champion Jose Aldo with a sensational 13-second knockout—the fastest ever in a UFC world title fight.

MMA Junkie's Chamatkar Sandhu believes he has overtaken Ronda Rousey as the top name in UFC:

Indeed, like Rousey—who featured in The Expendables 3 and Furious 7 and will star in the upcoming reboot of Patrick Swayze's cult classic Road House—Hollywood also seems to have come knocking for McGregor, with TMZ reporting on Tuesday he has been offered a role in Vin Diesel's second xXx sequel, which would no doubt further supplement his considerable income.

As Rovell reveals, McGregor was well-compensated for his victory at UFC 194, raking in $500,000 for the fight itself as well as $90,000 in bonuses and a thus-far-undisclosed share of the PPV buys, estimated at "more than 1 million."

However, those numbers are well short of what he needs to earn $100 million dollars over the course of his career purely from fighting.

His PPV numbers will likely increase accordingly with his improved profile. MMA Fighting's Shaheen Al-Shatti anticipates a hefty rise in the right circumstances:

However, that increase might be at least partially mitigated by McGregor's astoundingly quick win, as the prospect of a repeat performance—while sensational—could equally make some customers think twice about paying a significant amount of money to watch him, essentially making him a victim of his own success.

Per Rovell, there were many people who felt short-changed after the bout:

Further, as Rovell notes, at the very least, "he's going to have to stay relevant for a while." While McGregor so far looks head and shoulders above his competition, staying at the top of the sport in the long term could be a difficult ask, with upsets always potentially lying in wait—just ask Rousey.

For now, though, he can look forward to a significantly increased income both inside and outside UFC after his meteoric rise to the top.