Over the last ten years, fighter pay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has increased drastically – and purses are slowly, but surely, on also the rise.
Although there’s still a huge discrepancy between the sums earned by the big names in the promotion and the lower tier fighters, there’s been a significant increase in the money being generated in mixed martial arts as a whole.
The purses fighters receive, of course, vary depending on their standings in their respective divisions, the time they’ve been with the promotion and if they’re in possession of a championship belt.
Topping the pay scale is none other than former two-division champion Conor McGregor, the biggest star the sport has ever seen.
The Dubliner has changed the game with his trash talking and antics outside of the Octagon, both of which have made him a global superstar.
The 31-year-old’s mainstream popularity has made him the wealthiest fighter in UFC history and the first to land a seven-figure payday.
Rivalling McGregor for the title of the highest-paid fighter in the UFC is the Dubliner’s successor at the summit of the lightweight division, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Future hall-of-famer Jon Jones is also one of the biggest earners in the promotion, routinely taking home six-figure paydays for his ventures into the cage.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov
UFC 242: Khabib vs Poirier – Def. Dustin Poirier via submission (Round 3) – £5,000,000 (reported)
UFC 229: Khabib vs McGregor – Nurmagomedov def. McGregor via submission (Round 4) – £1,621,600
UFC 223: Khabib vs Iaquinta – Nurmagomedov def. Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision – £405,405
Jon Jones
UFC 239: Jones vs Santos – Def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision – £405,405
UFC 235: Jones vs Smith – Def. Anthony Smith via unanimous decision – £405,405
UFC 232: Jones vs Gustafsson II – Def. Alexander Gustafsson via submission – (Round 3) – £405,405
Nate Diaz
UFC 241: Pettis vs Diaz – Diaz def. Pettis via unanimous decision – £202,720
UFC 202: Diaz vs McGregor II – McGregor def. Diaz via majority decision – £1,621,600
UFC 196: McGregor vs Diaz – Diaz def. McGregor via submission (Round 2) – £405,405
UFC 246 salaries
Conor McGregor: £2.3million ($3 million) (no win bonus)
Donald Cerrone: £154,000 ($200,000) to show, £154,000 ($200,000) to win
Holly Holm: £115,000 ($150,000) to show, £38,000 ($50,000) to win
Raquel Pennington: £48,000 ($63,000) to show, £48,000 ($63,000) to win
Alexey Oleynik: £57,000 ($75,000) to show, £57,000 ($75,000) to win
Maurice Greene: £23,000 ($30,000) to show, £23,000 ($30,000) to win
Anthony Pettis: £119,00 ($155,000) to show, £119,000 ($155,000) to win
Diego Ferreira: £38,000 ($50,000) to show, £38,000 ($50,000) to win