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Top ten most influential MMA fighters on Instagram revealed

Conor McGregor suit

UFC star Conor McGregor tops the list of the most influential MMA stars on Instagram, according to the latest research.

A new study has revealed that Conor McGregor is the most influential Mixed Martial Artist, earning up to $152,576 per sponsored Instagram post.

Research conducted by MMA experts Middle Easy examined the Instagram profiles of every MMA fighter past and present with a following of over one million, to establish which star is the most influential and how much they can earn per sponsored Instagram post.

Conor Mcgregor

It should come as no surprise that Irish MMA star Conor McGregor and former UFC champion tops the list of Instagram MMA earners. He has a total of 46 million followers and is known on Instagram as 'thenotoriousmma'. He earns a potential $152,576 per sponsored post on Instagram. The former UFC champion has an engagement rate of 0.44%.

Khabib Numagomedov

Recently retired Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov is revealed as the second most influential MMA on Instagram, with an earning potential of $113K per sponsored post thanks to his 34 million followers and one of the highest engagement rates of all the MMA stars at just over 2%.

Ronda Rousey

Taking the third spot is renowned former UFC star Ronda Rousey who retired from MMA to join WWE in a full time role. She has the third-highest Instagram following with just over 16 million followers and an engagement rate of 0.48%. These stats mean she can potentially earn up to $54,260 per Instagram post. She is the only woman to feature on this list.

Israel Adesanya

The fourth most influential MMA fighter on Instagram is Nigerian star Israel Adesanya aka 'stylebender'. With 7 million followers, Israel can expect to earn up to $23,534 per sponsored post. In another study by Middle Easy Israel Adesanya was found to be the most Googled active UFC fighter of the top 15 pound-for-pound rankings.

Jon Jones

The final fighter making it into the top five is American MMA star Jon Jones, known by his Instagram handle 'jonnybones'. Famed for becoming the youngest UFC champion in history, he has 6.6 million followers on Instagram and an engagement rate of 1.16%. As a result, he can expect to earn $20,231 per sponsored post.
A spokesperson for Middle Easy commented on the findings: "The popularity of MMA has been rapidly growing over the last two decades, particularly through one promotion which is the UFC, a significant part of athletes income is their commercial sponsorships, so it's interesting to see which mixed martial artist stands to earn the most from Instagram, the list shows the diversity of the MMA community, with the list spanning continents and also featuring a female superstar Ronda Rousey within the top five."
READ MORE: Dricus du Plessis one victory away from UFC title shot against Israel Adesanya

Top 10 Most Influential Mixed Martial Artists

1. Conor McGregor
Handle: @thenotoriousmma
Instagram engagement rate: 0.44%
Instagram follower count: 46M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $152,576

2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Handle: @Khabib_nurmagomedov
Instagram engagement rate: 2.18%
Instagram follower count: 34.1M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $113,115

3. Ronda Rousey
Handle: @rondarousey
Instagram engagement rate: 0.48%
Instagram follower count: 16.3M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $54,260

4. Israel Adesanya
Handle: @stylebender
Instagram engagement rate: 1.93%
Instagram follower count: 7M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $23,534

5. Jon Jones
Handle: @jonnybones
Instagram engagement rate: 1.16%
Instagram follower count: 6.6M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $20,231

6. Nate Diaz
Handle: @natediaz209
Instagram engagement rate: 1.36%
Instagram follower count: 6M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $20,103

7. Anderson Silva
Handle: @spiderandersonsilva
Instagram engagement rate: 0.10%
Instagram follower count: 4.7M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $15,691

8. Khamzat Chimaev
Handle: @Khamzat_chimaev
Instagram engagement rate: 1.88%
Instagram follower count: 4.6M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $15,483

9. Dustin Poirier
Handle: @dustinpoirier
Instagram engagement rate: 1.75%
Instagram follower count: 4.2M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $14,016

10. Georges St-Pierre
Handle: @georgesstpierre
Instagram engagement rate: 0.37%
Instagram follower count: 4.1M
How much they can earn per sponsored post: $13,805

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