The latest highest-paid athletes list for 2026 saw only two boxers make the top 50, and once again, MMA fighters were shut out from making an appearance.
The list compiled by Forbes had soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on top after reportedly earning $300 million over the past year, which includes estimated fight purses and sponsorships. Ronaldo was also No. 1 in 2025 after reportedly earning $275 million.
Ronaldo has now topped the list four years in a row.
As far as combat sports athletes, the latest list only has two fighters making the top 50 over the past year.
Canelo Alvarez actually ended up at No. 2 overall after reportedly earning $170 million, which includes $160 million in fight purses and another $10 million for sponsorships and endorsements. Of course, Canelo competed in one of the biggest boxing matches this past year when he went to war with Terence Crawford in one of the most watched fights in history with over 41 million people tuning in on Netflix.
Strangely enough, Crawford didn’t actually make the list despite winning a one-sided decision over Canelo in that fight.
The only other boxer to make the list was Jake Paul at No. 23 after he reportedly earned $70 million over the past year, which includes $60 million in fight purses and $10 million in sponsorships and endorsements.
Paul fought twice in 2025 including a win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and then suffering a brutal knockout loss to Anthony Joshua this past December, which also cost him a broken jaw in the fight.
But Paul obviously got paid handsomely for those two fights as he continues to make waves in the sport of boxing through his own career as well as his company Most Valuable Promotions.
When it comes to MMA fighters, nobody made the list in 2026.
It’s the second year in a row where not a single MMA fighter cracked that top 50 with tennis star Jannik Sinner sitting at No. 50 after reportedly earning $54.6 million over the past year.
In years past, Conor McGregor has been the one UFC superstar to break through and make the top 50 highest paid athletes list including in 2021 when he took over the No. 1 spot for the year. While fighting obviously paid him well that year, McGregor’s biggest earnings came from the sale of his Proper No. 12 whiskey with his share coming in at reportedly $150 million.
McGregor also made the list after his fight against Floyd Mayweather in 2017 but the lion’s share of his earnings came from boxing rather than MMA.
Of course, McGregor is finally making his return to action in the main event at UFC 329 on July 11 when he faces Max Holloway in a rematch. It’s unknown if that fight alone will catapult McGregor back into the top 50 highest-paid athletes list, but he may remain the only hope that someone from the UFC is represented in 2027.
