Conor McGregor named internet's most hated UFC fighter, according to study
Conor McGregor is officially the biggest villain in the UFC.
According to a study conducted by Bookmakers.com, 'The Notorious' lived up to his nickname as he's the most hated UFC fighter on the internet.
The online sportsbook utilized the social listening tool Linkfluence to determine fan sentiment regarding every fighter on the UFC roster. The data was taken mainly from conversations on social media platforms Reddit and Twitter.
Love him or hate him, the sport is a more interesting place when @TheNotoriousMMA is around.
#UFC246 https://t.co/ndjZ8qCSZ5
As it turns out, McGregor garnered the most negative sentiment out of all UFC fighters. With 29.31% of conversations about him skewing on the negative side, the Irishman claimed the top spot as the most hated UFC fighter on social media.
Nonetheless, the positive conversations about McGregor still outweighed the negatives. The former two-division UFC champion scored a remarkable 44.60% of positive feedback from the same study.
Simply put, McGregor has more fans than haters, but he still has the most haters out of all the fighters on the roster. Given his popularity, this statistic shouldn't be very surprising at all.
Astoundingly, former light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos is the second-most hated fighter in the company. T.J. Dillashaw, who infamously found himself at the center of a doping scandal in 2019, took the third spot on the list.
The study also indicated that Israel Adesanya is the most beloved UFC fighter on social media. He was followed by former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, while McGregor took the third spot.
Conor McGregor's popularity by the numbers
In combat sports, it doesn't matter whether a fighter is loved or hated. As long as people pay attention (and pay for the fights), box office success is inevitable.
Conor McGregor is a prime example of this theory. Despite being the most hated fighter in the UFC, the Irishman is still the company's biggest cash cow. Four of the top five highest-selling pay-per-view (PPV) events feature McGregor.
#OnThisDay 3 years ago, Khabib & Conor squared off in one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history 🤜🤛
[ via @UFCOnThisDay ] https://t.co/ISMidDyZyY
To this day, McGregor's championship clash with bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 remains the highest-selling pay-per-view in UFC history. The event reportedly raked in 2.4 million buys, generating $180 million in revenue.