According to ESPN, Conor McGregor's the 5th most searched athlete in the world; Khabib at 15th

There has been yet another stamp of validation on just how famous Conor McGregor really is.

ESPN has come up with a list of most famous athletes in the world. And Conor McGregor is only behind to global sporting icons namely Christiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi Messi and Neymar Jr.

The list is based on three parameters – search engine results, endorsements and social media following.

Conor @ 5; Khabib @ 15 https://t.co/CPc4711NXW
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 16, 2019

Despite limiting his Octagon appearances over the past couple of years, McGregor has never been out of the news. And of late the news has pretty much been about his legal issues. Last week McGregor slammed the phone of a fan, leading to his arrest by the Miami police and a subsequent bail as well.

A major hand at sky rocketing his popularity was his debut in boxing against Floyd Mayweather. McGregor’s last Octagon appearance resulted in a submission loss at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Not to mention that the brawl after the fight played a huge role in selling 2.4 million PPVs of the event.

As of now the future remains uncertain for “The Notorious One”, who is still under a six months ban for his role in the post UFC 229 melee. He was teasing a fight with “Cowboy” Cerrone. However the fight failed to fall through. A trilogy fight with Nate Diaz may also be on his mind.