McGregor's rise to the top of the division continued on Sunday as he took out Dennis Siver, which saw him jump up the rankings to fourth spot.
He'll fight Jose Aldo in Las Vegas in May for the title, but between now and then he'll be training hard, and probably buying himself a new suit or two at Louis Copeland, after the salaries were released for the event in Boston.
McGregor scooped $170,000 (€146,342), a lot of which was made up from his $85,000 win bonus on the night for defeating Siver. As Sherdog note, that figure doesn't include any other discretionary bonuses that the UFC might award fighters, nor does it include the taxes that would be deducted, but it's still a decent wedge of cash for an evening's work.
According to MMA Junkie, McGregor was also the recipient of a performance bonus on the night of an extra $50,000 (just over €43,000), while there could have been even more in the pot from sponsors and the like too. For Dana White and the UFC, however, that will be money well spent, as the event turned out to be one of the promotions highest rated shows ever, as FOX stated that Sunday’s Fight Night 59 was the most-watched MMA event on Fox Sports 1 to date, and the most-watched since the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 10 back in December 2009.
Other Irish fighters involved on the night also did well out of the event, including Cathal Pendred who earned $16,000 (€13,766, including an $8,000 win bonus) and Paddy Holohan who went home with $20,000 (€17,207, with a $10,000 win bonus). Interestingly, Pendred's opponent Sean Spencer is also getting paid his win bonus, after the split decision went in favour of the Irishman, which caused a lot of debate.
Pendred did however state that he's happy to fight Spencer again, and the two agreed to a rematch on Twitter, which as we all know is the most legally binding form of agreement there is, of course.
@seanspencer170 @MMAjunkie You get the contract sorted and I'll sign in a heartbeat.
— Cathal Pendred (@PendredMMA) January 21, 2015
Via Sherdog, MMA Junkie