McGregor vs Poirier purse: How much will stars earn for UFC 257 fight?

Conor McGregor meets Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi

Sunday 24 January 2021 05:48 GMT

Khabib jumps out the Octagon after beating Conor McGregor

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Conor McGregor headlines UFC 257 against Dustin Poirier with the lightweights finally meeting in a rematch seven year in the making after previously clashing at featherweight, where The Notorious emerged victorious with an emphatic first-round knockout.

The Irishman has not competed in 12 months due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but dispatched Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds last time out.

Despite the issues posed by coronavirus, McGregor could easily have featured before this weekend, but turbulent negotiations with Dana White caused issues, particularly over compensation, leading to another apparent retirement.

FOLLOW LIVE: Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier at UFC 257

Khabib Nurmagomedov is seemingly off the radar for now, having retired following his victory over Justin Gaethje in October and the passing of his father.

And without the unbeaten Russian, the lightweight division is now wide open: Gaethje remains the No. 1 contender, with Poirier second, Charles Oliveira third and McGregor fourth.

Former Bellator champion and UFC newcomer Michael Chandler has also added intrigue to the division and will take on Dan Hooker in the co-main event at UFC 257.

But the fight with the biggest impact at 155lbs is set to be McGregor vs Poirier, which is taking place six years after the Irishman knocked out ‘The Diamond’ in the first round of their clash at featherweight.

Here is everything you need to know about the seismic bout.

When and where is the fight?

The fight is on 23 January on top of the bill at UFC 257. It will take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card is expected to begin at 3am GMT (Sunday morning), with the prelims before that starting at 1am GMT. The early prelims will get under way at 11.15pm GMT on Saturday night.

What TV channel is it on and how can I watch?

UK fans can watch the main card on BT Sport Box Office HD, as well as the broadcaster’s site and app, for a fee of £19.95.

The prelims will air to BT Sport subscribers for free.

In the US, the main card will air on ESPN+, which – along with ESPN – will show the prelims. Both channels will also air the early prelims, as will UFC’s Fight Pass.

How much will each fighter make?

Poirier’s purse has so far been undisclosed, but he is expected to make around $300,000 as his base sum for the fight though, with a pay-per-view revenue share topping that up to more than $1million. That initial figure would top the disclosed $250,000 figure he earned for his fights against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway, the $150,000 base for his last fight against Dan Hooker (which was doubled with a $150,000 win bonus), in addition to the $200,000 earned by Donald Cerrone for turning up to face McGregor last year, per ESPN.

McGregor, meanwhile, is expected to make $5 million as his base sum for the fight, per Forbes, topping the $3 million earned initially for the Donald Cerrone fight, per ESPN, while his pay-per-view share will likely take his earnings for the entire event north of $30 million, which was the total figure accumulated for the Cowboy fight, per Forbes.

What is McGregor’s net worth?

McGregor’s net worth is in the region of $48m according to Forbes, who ranked the 32-year-old at No. 53 on their Celebrity 100 list for 2020 and No. 16 on their list of highest-paid athletes in the world last year.

Forbes break the overall figure down to $32m in winnings and $16m in endorsements.

As such, ‘Notorious’ is by far the most financially successful mixed martial artist in the history of the sport.

What is the full card?

Main card

Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier (lightweight)

Dan Hooker vs Michael Chandler (lightweight)

Jessica Eye vs Joanne Calderwood (women’s flyweight)

Matt Frevola vs Arman Tsarukyan (catchweight)

Marina Rodriguez vs Amanda Ribas (women’s strawweight)

Prelims

Brad Tavares vs Antonio Carlos Jr (middleweight)

Julianna Pena vs Sara McCann (women’s bantamweight)

Khalil Rountree Jr vs Marcin Prachnio (light heavyweight)

Early prelims

Andrew Sanchez vs Makhmud Muradov (middleweight)

Nik Lentz Movsar Evloev (catchweight)

Amir Albazi vs Zhalgas Zhumagulov (flyweight)

Odds

McGregor: 4/9

McGregor by knockout: 4/5

McGregor by submission: 33/1

McGregor on points: 13/2

Poirier: 7/4

Poirier by knockout: 7/2

Poirier by submission: 10/1

Poirier on points: 6/1

Draw: 50/1

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