UFC Boston scores big ratings; McGregor tops salary list with $170K purse

For those that have lost faith in the UFC's ability to create superstars, you can start believing again. Conor McGregor, no matter what you may think of him, or how deserved or undeserved his title shot may be, is a bonafide star. While the credit doesn't entirely rest with the Zuffa brain trust, they certainly lent a helping hand to his meteoric rise to fame and fortune.

If you have any doubts, you need look no further than the ratings this past weekend's UFC Boston event netted. According to the official FOX Sports 1 Twitter feed, it was the UFC's most watched Fight Night on cable television since November of 2009.

#UFCBoston scored 2,751,000 viewers making it the most-watched UFC Fight Night on cable television since 11/14/09. Thank you fight fans!

— FOX Sports 1 (@FOXSports1) January 21, 2015

Conor spent a little over 5 minutes in the Octagon against opponent Dennis Siver, and earned himself a cool $140K, as reported by MMA Fighting. He was the highest earner on the card, making $36K more than longtime vet and crowd favorite, Donald Cerrone. The rest of the purse salaries are as follows:

Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Conor McGregor ($85,000 + $85,000 = $170,000) def. Dennis Siver ($39,000)
Donald Cerrone ($73,000 + $73,000 = $146,000) def. Benson Henderson ($48,000)
Uriah Hall ($14,000 + $14,000 = $28,000) def. Ron Stallings ($10,000)
Gleison Tibau ($45,000 + $45,000 = $90,000) def. Norman Parke ($20,000)

Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Cathal Pendred ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Sean Spencer ($14,000)
Lorenz Larkin ($28,000 + $28,000 = $56,000) def. John Howard ($21,000)
Chris Wade ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Zhang Lipeng ($15,000)
Patrick Holohan ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Shane Howell ($8,000)
Johnny Case ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Frankie Perez ($8,000)
Charles Rosa ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Sean Soriano ($8,000)

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Sean O'Connell ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Matt Van Buren ($10,000)
Joby Sanchez ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Tateki Matsuda ($8,000)