An indication of just how popular the polarising figure is…
TIME Magazine have released a list of the top 100 most influential people in the world at the moment, and there’s one Irish entry into the equation.
The Notorious Conor McGregor is listed by TIME under the section, Pioneers.
Each entry into the top 100 has a small bio written about them, with McGregor’s being written by none other than his old pal Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Terminator drops by the #MacMansion to chat with the lads pic.twitter.com/OMCLlVPkKK
— Coach JK (@John_Kavanagh) May 24, 2015
In a stirring extract, Schwarzenegger poured praise on the Dubliner as he outlined the reasons which make the UFC star so special.
“Conor McGregor is more than a fighter, more than an athlete, more than a champion,” Schwarzenegger wrote.
“The Dublin native is razor-sharp, disciplined and charismatic. His energy is absolutely contagious, to the point where you almost start shouting in an Irish accent after 30 seconds of hearing that world-famous mouth.
“Conor has a fire in his belly that can’t be quenched with championship belts. There are no brakes that can stop his engine.”
High praise from Arnie indeed.
Other entries on the list include Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Steve Bannon, Riz Ahmed, LeBron James, Tom Brady, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds and Vladimir Putin.
But 2016 was undoubtedly the year of McGregor and his rise was not halted by a submission loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196. By the time his avenged that loss, at UFC 202, his disclosed pay-out had rocketed from $1m to $3m and that’s without his share of pay-per-view points.
It should then be little surprise, to see McGregor also featuring prominently on the Forbes top 100 earners list.
The Dubliner was listed as 85th in the list, on €40.8m [$44m] in earnings during 2016. The business publication lists €37.3m in earnings and bonuses from the UFC, with the remaining €3.5m from endorsement deals.
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