When Conor McGregor was a teenager, he offered a bold, prophetic message.
“My name is Conor McGregor,” he began, because no one knew his name. “My dream is to be world lightweight champion in the UFC, have more money than I know what to do with and have a great life for my kids, my grandkids, everyone in my family and everyone’s that’s come up with me.”
“I have the skills, I have the dedication and it’s something I really, really want. It will happen and I’ll let you know when it happens.”
McGregor let us know. He’s come a long way from bad skin in a rundown gym.
“The world I was in then to the world I’m in now, it’s alien to me,” he said to Philip O’Connor for Yahoo. “It’s just a completely different ballgame. It took me back, it almost humbled me. [But] I’m just the same person. As far as everything else, there’s a lot around me that has changed. But me? I’m the same person. I’m cocky, I’m arrogant but I’m hard-working, I’m humble. I’m a mix of things.”
He is, in fact, the same person, still making crazy predictions that are going to come true. Now Conor McGregor wants to be a billionaire. He said he made $140 million for MayMac, but is just getting warm.
“You know, I just dream of hitting that ‘billy’ mark, if I’m being honest,” he said. “I’m cruising toward that billion-dollar mark.”
“Ronaldo was number one last year [on the Forbes world’s 100 highest-paid athletes list]. I was number 24… with $34 million in revenue. Next year, if it stands as is, Floyd will be number one, I’ll be number two, and Ronaldo will be number three. If I fight one or two more times I will overtake him.
“So that’s what my goal is right now – number one, highest-paid athlete Forbes 2018, make my way toward the billion-dollar mark, and then continue to go.”
McGregor was listed as a co-promoter for MayMac, and wants the same for his next UFC fight.
“It is certainly something I will seek,” he said. “I will seek equity in the company, I will seek to be a part of the company… it makes sense form all angles, but we’ll see. We’re in the negotiations stage.”
“You know P Diddy doesn’t even make music? $750 million he’s worth. Highest-paid celebrity, highest-paid rapper, multiple years in a row. He doesn’t even make music, he makes vodka. We’re following this formula.”
McGregor also acknowledged he has all too human failings, and apologized for using a homophobic slur backstage at UFC Gdansk.
“I must remember constantly that I am a role model to kids,” he conceded. “I am an athlete, I am a man, I have a son, but I’m 29, I’m only a kid myself and I’m trying to figure it all out.”
McGregor receives a major share of fan criticism but understands.
“Who would I be to complain about that?” he asked. “People have real problems. People wake up every day cold, there are people sleeping on the street, people starving, and you hear famous people complaining about this?
“Life is good for me. So what if I’m scrutinized or thrown under the bus a few times a week? I’m truly, truly blessed to be in the position I’m in and there’s not a day goes by that I don’t wake up and thank my lucky, lucky stars.”
