Conor McGregor Poised to Shatter UFC Attendance Record if He Gets Past Aldo

Conor McGregor road an overloaded hype train into his UFC 189 match-up with late replacement Chad Mendes, but detractors aside, he lived up to the hype.

After surviving some early takedowns and ground and pound from Mendes, McGregor turned the tables late in the second round, scoring a TKO stoppage due to strikes with just 7 ticks of the clock left.

RELATED VIDEO > UFC 189 Fight Highlights: Chad Mendes vs. Conor McGregor

Say what you will about McGregor’s brash style, but it sells. And he was rewarded handsomely, to the tune of half-a-million dollars in disclosed pay. Mendes, for stepping in on short notice, equaled that amount.

They’re full contracts were not disclosed, but each likely had other triggers (i.e. pay-per-view bonuses, etc.) in their contracts that made their final tallies much higher than the disclosed $500,000 each on the payroll reported to the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler earned $300,000 for his brutal war with Rory MacDonald, whose reported show money was $59,000.

UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor took place on Saturday, July 11, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor Fighter Salaries

Conor McGregor: $500,000 (no win bonus)

def. Chad Mendes: $500,000

Robbie Lawler: $300,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus)

def. Rory MacDonald: $59,000

Jeremy Stephens: $72,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus; minus 20-percent fine)*

def. Dennis Bermudez: $34,000 (includes 20-percent fine from Stephens)

Gunnar Nelson: $58,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus)

def. Brandon Thatch: $22,000

Thomas de Almeida: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)

def. Brad Pickett: $30,000

Matt Brown: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus)

def. Tim Means: $23,000

Alex Garcia: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)

def. Mike Swick: $48,000

John Howard: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus)

def. Cathal Pendred: $10,000

Cody Garbrandt: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

def. Henry Briones: $10,000

Louis Smolka: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)

def. Neil Seery: $15,000

Cody Phister: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Yosdenis Cedeno: $13,000

*Jeremy Stephens failed to make weight and was fined $8,000 (20-percent of his show money)

UFC 189 Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $1,952,000

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