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McIlroy and McGregor make ESPN’s most famous athletes list

There are only eight women included, with no rugby player making the 100 person list

Conor McGregor has again made ESPN’s list of the 100 best athletes in the world. Photograph: Inpho

Wed May 31 2017 - 13:05

Rory McIlroy and Conor McGregor have been listed in ESPN’s World Fame 100 rankings.

The duo are the only Irish athletes to make the list of the most famous athletes on the planet.

There is however no room for Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, or for that matter, any rugby player.

Of the 100, just eight are women.

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Ben Alamar, ESPN’s director of analytics, devised a formula “that combines endorsements with social media following and internet search popularity to create the ESPN World Fame 100 rankings.”

Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list, for the second year running, followed by NBA star LeBron James. Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi is in third.

Tiger Woods, who has not won a golf major since the 2008 US Open, is in 10th.

Rory McIlroy is in 14th, the third highest ranking for a golfer on the list, after Tiger and Phil Mickelson.

UFC fighter Conor McGregor, a double weight champion who is now eyeing up a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, is in 25th place. Last year he was in 37th.

The Dubliner is nine places behind fellow UFC fighter Ronda Rousey, who is the highest ranked female athlete.

Check out the list in full here.

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