5 times Conor McGregor proved his doubters completely wrong

2. First MMA millionaire

McGregor before the 'Money fight'

Conor McGregor should be credited with changing the pay-scale in the UFC. Before his era, a typical fighter was paid $5,000. If a top-ranked fighter would win the match, their payment would still be no more than $100,000.

Conor McGregor, however, was the first UFC fighter to receive $1 million for a UFC fight.

As reported by Rovell, Conor McGregor was paid highly for his victory against Jose Aldo at UFC 194. He received a whopping $500,000 for the fight itself, with an additional $90,000 in bonuses.

When we factor in the thus-far-undisclosed share of his PPV buys, the Irishman's prize money amounts to "more than $1 million." And that was back in 2015.

Even now, most UFC fighters rely on winning the 'fight of the night' or 'performance of the night' awards, that could help them bag a bonus of $50,000 each.

However, the amount that 'The Notorious' has accumulated in comparison to top-ranked UFC fighters like Michael Bisping, Dustin Poirier, Khabib Nurmagomedov, etc. is way, way more.

It's reported that Conor McGregor had bagged $3 million as his fighting salary at UFC 246, when he made his comeback against Donald Cerrone. After factoring in the gate revenue and the PPV buys of the night, the amount would go way more than $3 million.

The Irishman was the only UFC fighter to land on the list of Forbes' Highest Paid Athletes in 2016.

.@thenotoriousmma makes @Forbes highest paid athlete list 💰https://t.co/6xByiNQwgT pic.twitter.com/Zuu5Q4NvV5

— UFC (@ufc) June 15, 2016

1. Pull-off a win on one leg

McGregor vs Holloway at UFC Fight Night 26

After a memorable UFC debut where he blasted through Marcus Brimage in just 67 seconds in 2013, Conor McGregor had taken on Max Holloway for his second fight.

The Notorious had the decision in his favor after three action-packed rounds, but what was shocking was that McGregor fought most of the fight on just one leg.

After the win at UFC Fight Night 26, Conor McGregor went through an MRI to investigate a damaged knee, which he heard pop during the second round of the fight.

While doctors were of the belief that the Irishman had just suffered a strain on his lateral collateral ligament (LCL), the MRI shocked the world, revealing a much more severe injury.

McGregor was diagnosed with a complete anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear as well as a strained MCL and a posterior horn meniscus tear. The Notorious had not only tolerated extreme pain for more than five minutes, but had fought through it.

While tolerating the pain throughout the fight was commendable in itself, McGregor had managed to win as well - proving himself to be not just a loud-mouth, but a legend.