It may have taken some time, but Conor McGregor is currently sitting atop the Forbes list of highest paid athletes. However this is something he predicted all the way back in 2016.
For years, McGregor has been the highest paid athlete in the UFC, and it is not especially close. Of course, that should be the case, given the fact that he is the biggest superstar in the history of mixed martial arts.
Because of this, the Irishman has found himself on the Forbes list of highest paid athletes, essentially from the start of his rise in popularity. However he had not made it to the top of that list, at least until the report for 2021 came out earlier this week.
Conor McGregor Saw It Coming
When Conor McGregor scored the top position in highest paid athletes in 2021, he beat out some notable superstars from other sports such as LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Cristiano Ronaldo. As it turns out, this was something that Mystic Mac saw coming years ago.
A video recently emerged, courtesy of The Mac Life, which sees Conor speaking with the aforementioned Ronaldo back in 2016. After joking about owning private jets, and going to Jennifer Lopez’s birthday party, the Irishman tells the soccer star that he would surpass the Portuguese star on the Forbes list someday, where Ronaldo was currently sitting at the number one position.
“You’re number one on the Forbes list, I was like no. 35. I’ll get up… Maybe next year I’ll get you,” McGregor said, laughing.
“I’m about to take over the UFC so… and that was sold for 4 billion.”
Now he may have been wrong on the timing, but Conor was certainly right about taking over the UFC, and eventually surpassing Ronaldo on the list. It is crazy to see how different things were in 2016, with Conor even saying that he wished to have a private jet one day.
That being said, it is worth noting that Conor McGregor only ended up in that position because of the money he made from being bought out of the Proper No. 12 Whiskey company. Nevertheless, that is way more money than most of us will ever see, so he is still doing something right.
