UFC news: Conor McGregor makes it into top 5 most valuable athletes on social media in 2016 ahead of LeBron James

 

”Mystic Mac” 

 

What’s the story?

UFC lightweight champion Conor “The Notorious” McGregor has added another accolade to his impressive resume. According to Mmamania.com, “Mystic Mac” is among the Top 5 “Most Valued Athletes on Social Media”. He also became the fastest social media climber in 2016.

He was previously ranked number 38 in 2015. However, he has quickly climbed up 33 spots to nab the fifth position. 

Below is the list of the Top 10 “Most Valued Athletes of Social Media” on 2016:

 

1. Russell Wilson (NFL)
2. Odell Beckham Jr. (NFL)
3. J.J. Watt (NFL)
4. Rory McIlroy (PGA Tour)
5. Conor McGregor (MMA)
6. LeBron James (NBA)
7. Tiger Woods (PGA Tour)
8. Richard Sherman (NFL)
9. Tom Brady (NFL)
10. Rob Gronkowski (NFL)

In case you didn’t know...

The 28 year old Irishman created history by becoming the first two division champion in UFC history after he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. He has since then relinquished his featherweight title. He knocked out Alvarez in the second round via TKO to win the 155 pound gold. 

The heart of the matter

The rankings of this list is determined by using a proprietary algorithm that evaluates all of their social activity through out the past year. The rankings combine three separate scores: reach (fans, followers, impressions), engagement (likes, comments, shares, retweets, favorites) and conversation (positive / negative mentions).

The UFC lightweight champion has been quite active on social media, especially on Instagram where he often shares pictures of his lavish lifestyle. He also often posts pictures with his fans on Instagram. 

What next?

McGregor is currently on a sabbatical from the UFC. He won't step back inside the Octagon at least for the next 10 months as he is expecting the birth of his first child. When he returns, the winner of the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will be waiting to lock horns with him to unify the lightweight title.

His popularity and value will also skyrocket if he steps in to face Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, meanwhile.

Sportskeeda’s take

Conor McGregor is quite easily the biggest draw in MMA today. He consistently sells out arenas. He has also sold more then a million pay per views in every event that he has headlined. He is surely the most valuable athlete in mixed martial arts.

However, the fact that he has overtaken main-stream athletes like LeBron James and Tiger Woods on the scale  is truly phenomenal, and a testament to the massive strides MMA has taken to entrench itself into the mainstream bubble.