“It’s been a while since I’ve been clubbing,” said Knox, Conor McGregor‘s character in ‘Road House’. And right after, he went and smashed the Road House bar with literally a golf club. This movie marked his debut alongside actor Jake Gyllenhaal and many felt the Irishman was just being himself in it. It was such a monstrous success that Prime Video announced Gyllenhaal will return to reprise his role for the sequel that they’ve planned out. But the sad news is, McGregor may not feature in that next installment. There are no reports about his involvement and this could cost him millions.

Regardless, ‘The Notorious’ claimed to have made a lot of money from his role. He even claimed to have eclipsed Hollywood’s biggest star and former WWE champion Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson‘s paycheck for his debut movie role. How true is it?

Conor McGregor versus Dwayne Johnson! Who earned more in their debut?

Dwayne Johnson had already shaken up the professional wrestling world during the late 90s and early 2000s as ‘The Rock’ and we can say that he’s there in the Mount Rushmore of the best WWE superstars of all time. But it seems like he was destined to be an actor. Why?

Well, The Rock made a significant decision to shift from wrestling to acting. And his movies have grossed billions of dollars across several countries – a feat most action stars only dream about. His first paycheck for ‘The Mummy Returns’, his debut performance, helped him earn $5.5 million. However, UFC megastar Conor McGregor did better.

People just won’t stop talking about how good Conor McGregor’s performance was in ‘Road House’. His funny, violent, and obnoxious portrayal of the villain was very familiar to fight fans. But on the financial side, he claimed that he surpassed Dwayne Johnson, racking in around  $6-$10 million for his role as ‘Knox’.

Interestingly, as shared by ‘The Mac Life’, ‘Mystic Mac’, has had the highest-paid acting debut, highest-paid boxing debut, and also the highest-paid UFC fighter ever. However, ‘Road House’ wasn’t his first movie offer. He received several scripts prior to it but turned them all down.

Conor McGregor turned down Vin Diesel’s ‘Fast and Furious’?

Can we agree that Conor McGregor surely has some enemies in the MMA and the boxing world? It’s a competitive sport, after all. But do you know that he’s also made some enemies in the movie industry long before he even stepped into that realm? Yes, you’ve heard it right. McGregor, while promoting ‘Road House’, claimed to have passed many opportunities to break into Hollywood long before making his name as the villain in Jake Gyllenhaal’s movie.

“I had turned down a good few roles in my time on the climb,” Conor McGregor told Total Film magazine. “I’ve had directors show up at fight camp, really beautiful directors doing really top-end movies… And over and over, they’d come to me, and I always turned them down… I probably have a few enemies out there.” 

Few years ago, ‘Fast and Furious’ star Vin Diesel reached out to ‘The Fighting Irish’ to work with him in the third movie of the ‘XXX’ franchise. ‘The Notorious’ withdrew from it after initially saying yes, but thankfully, he did it before production started.

In contrast, Dwayne Johnson never attempted to do something like that during his initial years of acting. ‘The Rock’ never hesitated to jump at the opportunity of acting in a movie, even though the financial outcome wasn’t that great. Meanwhile, McGregor recently cast doubt over a potential Hollywood career because he just did not like the grind that comes with it.

McGregor may not be sure of another movie, but Dwayne Johnson isn’t going to leave!

Conor McGregor spoke about his future in MMA and Hollywood after ‘Road House’ was released. After the movie was completed, the 35-year-old expressed uncertainty about whether he should pursue a career in Hollywood because going to shoot locations and what it takes to make a film is more difficult than he thought. It was during an Instagram Q&A session when he admitted that he’s in no rush to decide on anything regarding more movie work.

“I am on my way now to work for this movie @roadhousemovie, now. Multiple transatlantic flights. Little rest. Go, go, go. It’s hard work. Harder than expected. Not sure if I will go again. Will see how I feel after release. Wish to complete first,” said the former two-weight champion. On the other hand, ‘The Rock’ isn’t slowing down because he’s working on his next action flick as we speak.

Dwayne Johnson is still actively working in movies and most recently announced that he’s training to portray MMA legend Mark Kerr in his next movie ‘The Smashing Machine’. ‘The Rock’ even took time to engage in a WWE storyline recently, turning heal for the first time in many years, but that hasn’t halted his Hollywood work.

It is only a matter of time before we see what’s next for Conor McGregor because his UFC contract states that he only has an obligation to engage in two more fights, including UFC 303, in Dana White‘s promotion. He will face Michael Chandler. What do you think? Is McGregor ever going to reach Dwayne Johnson’s heights in the entertainment industry? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.