McGregor made a gigantic £127million over the last 12 months which have been plagued by the Covid pandemic, including £112m outside the Octagon thanks mainly to him selling the remaining stake in his Proper 12 whiskey company. Messi's great football rival Ronaldo, currently playing for Juventus, comes in at third on the list having earned £85m. McGregor is the first UFC star to have topped the yearly Forbes list, and the only Irishman to do so. The ten highest-paid athletes in the world over the past 12 months in fact took home pre-tax gross earnings of $1.05billion (£745m) - which equates to 28% more than last year's top earners. Forbes' yearly earnings on the pitch include prize money, salaries and bonuses earned between May 1, 2020, and May 1, 2021.

Source: Daily Mail May 12, 2021 14:28 UTC