UFC 246 is just one week away with Conor McGregor making his highly-anticipated return to action against fan-favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event live on pay-per-view. For their headlining bout, McGregor and Cerrone are set to rock in some major paydays to start the year.
According to a report from Republic World, the former two-division champion and “Cowboy” will combine to make a whopping $7 million.
McGregor is reportedly set to have a base pay of $5 million, while Cerrone will earn a career-high $2 million. To make the figures even more impressive, the base pay will not include the Reebok payouts, fight night bonuses, any outside sponsorships, or pay-per-view points.
McGregor reportedly earned a $3 million base salary for his most recent UFC appearance.
McGregor last appeared inside of the Octagon in October 2018 when he suffered a submission loss to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Prior to his loss to Nurmagomedov, McGregor was on a two-fight winning streak with a welterweight bout victory over Nate Diaz and a Performance of the Night against Eddie Alvarez to claim the 155-pound title on November 12, 2016. However, McGregor was later stripped of the title due to inactivity — he was previously stripped of the featherweight belt after winning the lightweight crown.
Cerrone, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back after a two-fight losing streak. “Cowboy” went 2-2 in 2019 with wins over Al Iaquinta and Alexander Hernandez, while suffering losses to top lightweight contenders Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. Three of Cerrone’s last four fights earned him $50,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night.
According to BetMGM.com, McGregor opened as nearly a 3-to-1 favorite. The moneyline currently has the former two-division champion as a -278 favorite for the welterweight bout while Cowboy sits at +200. That means a $100 wager on Cerrone would net you $200 in wins, while you would have to bet $278 on McGregor to win $100.
The UFC 246 main card will officially kickoff at 10:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 18 exclusively on pay-per-view.
