Daniel Cormier believes Conor McGregor’s arrival and rise in the UFC significantly increased fighter pay across the board. Although Cormier has admitted that he was “jealous” of McGregor’s popularity and the fact that the Irishman earned far more money as a champ than any other titleholder, “DC” has also acknowledged that the McGregor effect ultimately changed the sport in countless positive ways.

McGregor, MMA’s biggest draw, has notably headlined the five highest-selling UFC pay-per-view events. The former UFC double champion’s UFC 229 grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov was the best-selling pay-per-view of all time, drawing 2.4 million buys.

The Dubliner’s 2017 boxing showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. became the second highest-selling pay-per-view event ever, with more than 4.3 million buys.

McGregor has also headlined 8 of the 10 highest-selling UFC pay-per-view events in history.

Most recently, when the former double champion returned to the octagon after five years to face Max Holloway in a rematch at UFC 329, the event generated a record-breaking $25 million gate, which is the highest in the company’s history, as confirmed by Dana White.

Although McGregor’s return lasted just 69 seconds and ended in a TKO loss due to a knee injury, he is still estimated to have earned $32 million for the comeback fight.

Daniel Cormier praises Conor McGregor

Recently, “DC,” while talking about the McGregor effect and confessing why he was jealous of the Irishman, ended up lauding “The Notorious” for changing the UFC’s financial landscape forever, which led every fighter to start earning way more than they would have earned if McGregor had not changed it single-handedly.

During a sit-down with Tyrann Mathieu & Tyrell McCall, Cormier said:

“When Conor McGregor came, that was when things changed… I was so jealous of Conor McGregor. He was so popular, and I was like, this dude is making so much money. But I did not realize that because he came and he single-handedly moved a line [everyone started to get paid more]. When Conor was champion, he was getting $10-12 million… [because of him, fighters are making a lot more money now].”

Check out Daniel Cormier’s comments about Conor McGregor below:

Subham

Subham is a writer and editor with experience spanning MMA, Health & Fitness, true crime, and pop culture. He has previously worked with Sportskeeda MMA, SK True Crime, and SK Pop, Movies, and Shows.
He currently covers the UFC for LowKickMMA and MMA Pros Picks.