Now you can watch the entire NBA season or your favorite teams on streaming. Generally, we can divide payouts for fighting into three categories based on the contract fighters got from the UFC. Why trust us? As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Before then, his last fight was a year before, in which he earned $30,000,000 for knocking out Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Sometimes some will throw some grit your way, but thats something that comes later on. Using ufc.com, we collected the top 15 ranked fighters in each weight class.
If youre someone who plans to compete in MMA, please be aware of the health consequences that could result from competition. There are a ton of different companies that have deals with the UFC fighters.
Are you keen to share this content with your followers, but you're not sure if it's AOK? Whatever the outcome is (unless they dont make the weight; then they have to give up 20% of the purse), they will get paid what is in their contract for the fight. While there are superstars that make a ton of dough, there are plenty of other lower-level and amateur fighters who take a pummeling and barely make enough to cover the bills. Worth noticing is that the win bonus applies only to contracts in the lowest and middle-tier, meaning that UFC Champions usually dont get a double amount of money if they win. You left out something very important, which is the lowest purse a UFC fighter gets. New fighters usually get the Lowest Tier contract when they sign with the UFC. Amanda Nunes came out on top here, earning $8,469 per head punch, followed by Julianna Pena at $7,711 and Valentina Shevchenko at $7,361. But just how much are fighters actually making? The average UFC fighter made $160,022 in 2021,up from average earnings of $146,673 in 2020. Because PPV events feature the best fights the UFC can offer, these types of events get the most views; thus, they generate by far the most money. How much money do MMA fighters make? Cole Williams, who fought Jason Witt at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs Silva banked only $9,500. The more hype those fighters generate for the fight, the more people will tune in, meaning more money for them. It's not an easy job, and it takes a lot of skill to climb the ranks for an MMA fighter. Information for bonuses from PPVs is often undisclosed. She is a fan of the WWEs pay structure, where wrestlers are immediately put on salary. Conor McGregor said that he earned around $40,000,000 from his three fights in 2016 (two Diaz fights and Eddie Alvarez fight). People must understand that not every fighter competes to become the richest fighter of all time, many fighters compete because they simply love MMA. In 2021, UFC signed a deal with Venum. Conor McGregor came in tops in the top 10 earners per fight, where he nabs a nifty $9.5 million per match. Its important to note that opposing fighters do NOT have the same pay structure. Compared to these numbers, many would be shocked to see how much the lowest-paid UFC fighter of 2020 made. Lets take a look at an example of how UFC fighters get paid for fighting in the event. Here is a breakdown of the UFC and Venum deal: As time goes by, UFC fighters are becoming more and more popular. The biggest difference was found among lightweight fighters, where the lowest earners earned a fraction of what their top-ranked counterparts took home over an $830,000 difference between the two. It is a perfect way for UFC fighters to cash in their popularity and for the companies to place their products in front of millions and millions of fan eyes. However, it sure feels to me that shes a lot happier working for the WWE than she ever was as a UFC fighter. He was paid $5 million just to show up to each of his 2021 fights against Dustin Poirier (on January 23rd and July 10th). Because of that, the promotion cant give a huge paycheck to a fighter who has just joined the promotion with an average MMA record. If youre really good at marketing yourself, win fights, need a social media following, the ability to sale tickets, (70 plus per fight) get yourself some sponsorships and fight at mid-tier regional or low tier bigshow (legacy bellator prelims) you can see yourself making $4,000 to $6,000 a fight. Jared Cannonier happy with new six-figure contract, believes UFC fighters should be paid like NFL, NBA athletes https://t.co/fG1hWqDYFa pic.twitter.com/IHZPtY9NYj. I will take UFC 229 as an example (just the five main fights). Fighters who had fought in multiple weight classes during their career were counted as the weight class they are currently ranked/fighting in. I may receive commissions when you click my links and make purchases. We used thesportsdaily.com to get career earnings for each fighter. The lowest paid UFC fighters are the ones that just signed (assuming they werent big names in other promotions before) with the UFC.
Even if youre not a huge sports fan, theres something wildly entertaining about watching a UFC fight.
This is a $40 million year for me. We decided to take a look to see how much UFC fighters make to see if it really pays to become a professional combatant.
UFC Salary Structure: How Are UFC Fighters Getting Paid? PPV (pay per view) events are UFCs biggest type of events. https://thesportsdaily.com/2018/01/06/2017-ufc-fighter-salaries-complete-list-fox11/, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/daniel-cormier, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/justin-gaethje, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/nicco-montano, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/roxanne-modafferi. Pay and sponsorships combined. And unlike other major American sports leagues such as the NBA and NFL that pay their athletes 50% of total revenue, the UFC pays its fighters 16%- 20%. Well, it expired in early 2021 and was replaced with a new agreement between the UFC and popular MMA brand Venum. How Much Do UFC Fighters Earn from the Actual Fights? Full list, 200m at 2022 World Athletics Championships: when is the final, schedule, times, favourites, records, Oregon World Athletics Championships 2022 complete schedule: times, dates, events. The outliers paint an even uglier picture. Per Forbes, he earned $32,000,000 from a fight with Khabib and $15,000,000 from endorsements. 2013 - 2022 OnlineGambling.ca All rights reserved. Happy #IndependenceDay to all my American friends and fans pic.twitter.com/C81vFe6hkz, Prior to 2015, UFC fighters were allowed to wear the logos of any sponsors they wanted on their fight gear. For average earnings disparities, we took the number of fights each fighter had been in and divided it by their career earnings. Last year, Conor said that he excepts as much as $80,000,000 from his fight with Cowboy Cerrone on UFC 246. The lowest paid fighter on any UFC card will take home at least $10,000 (before bonuses & endorsements etc). Reebok did pay the athletes based on the number of fights they had under the UFCs banner: These numbers pale in comparison to what fighters were making from sponsors who were eager to put their logo on a fighters shorts: I've made six figures in sponsorship in each of my last 6 fights https://t.co/gotToaSDJh. Required fields are marked *. Conor McGregor is such an example. Kamaru Usman was the highest-paid UFC champion in 2021; he got paid $2,024,000 (without PPV bonuses). Despite infamously losing to Dustin Poirier in January 2021, Conor took home a jaw-dropping $22,000,000. The popularity of MMA will continue to rise, I believe the ESPN deal with the UFC is just the beginning. This ESPN deal (signed in January 2019) was absolutely groundbreaking for the UFC and all of MMA. The three tiers are low, medium, and high, with the lowest earning between $10,000 and $30,000, and the highest tier raking in between $500,000 and $3,000,000 per fight. (& What Was His Record), Do Height And Reach Matter In MMA & UFC (And How Much), 15 Best UFC Games For PC, PS, Xbox, Android & iOS, Fight of the Night: Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis, Performance of the Night: Derrick Lewis and Aspen Ladd, Fighters who have between 1 and 3 fights will receive $4,000, Fighters who have either 4 or 5 fights will receive $4,500 per fight, Fighters who have between 6 and 10 fights will receive $6,000 per fight, Fighters who have between 11 and 15 fights will receive $11,000 per fight, Fighters who have between 16 and 20 fights will receive $16,000 per fight, Fighters who have 21 or more fights will receive $21,000 per fight, Fighters challenging for the UFC title will receive $32,000 for that fight, Fighters that are champions will receive $42,000 per fight. That fight earned him an extraordinary amount of $100,000,000 putting him in the Forbes no.4 place of highest paid athletes in a calendar year. UFC Champions and fighters with the biggest fan bases receive the best type of contract, the highest Tier: ranging from $500,000 to $3,000,000 per fight. There is a piece of what they are paid that goes on taxes, coaches, managers, etc. We also checked to see which individual female fighters took the most strikes. Most UFC fighters are paid both a guaranteed amount and a win bonus. Some numbers were somewhat public. Once the list of top fighters was created, we pulled fight data from espn.com and ufc.com for the number of fights, strikes thrown, strikes taken, and strikes taken to the head. Thats a solid win bonus!
The deal obligated all of the UFC fighters to wear Venum equipment exclusively during the fights. PM Modi to host farewell dinner for outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind on July 22, Droupadi Murmu set to be India's 15th President, defeats Yashwant Sinha by a landslide, National Herald Scam: Subramanian Swamy notes incriminating details; 'Many scams in case', How much does the average UFC fighter get paid? Viewers who want to watch PPV events have to pay an additional amount of money ($65 at the time of writing). The main source of income for UFC fighters in the past was salaries from the fighting. The pay scale is just like the Reebok deal, based on the numbers of fights a fighter has under the UFC banner. We then did the math to figure out which women earned the most per strike taken to the head. I started training Muay Thai in 2013 and fell in love with many other forms of Martial Arts ever since, so much so that I decided to create this website to share my love of the martial arts. Some commissions don't report fighter's salary info, so some earnings have been estimated based on what the fighter had earned in their other fights. Being a UFC Champion or main eventing the UFC PPV event means that there is a chance that a fighter can have a special item in their contract on which they will receive a percentage of all the sold PPVs. The UFC signed a 5 year, $1.5 billion deal with ESPN to broadcast tons of UFC events every year on ESPN and ESPNs streaming platform ESPN+. Youve got NHL players and MLB players making millions and millions and millions and were the fastest growing sport in the world. Rough deal, right! The recent Wilder vs Fury card for example. And while there is an average of how much UFC fighters get paid per fight, there are actually three salary tiers a UFC fighter can fall into. The Best Cups for MMA, Muay Thai, and Boxing, 18 Tragic Deaths in the Ring: Boxing, MMA, and More, How Tall Are MMA Fighters? Despite losing the fight against Leon Edwards, Nate Diaz took home $250,000 for his performance, more than Edwards earned from his win. Bigger payouts are there for fighters who are top-ranked, but the path is anything but a smooth and simple ride. In May of 2015, the UFC and Reebok signed a $70 million 6 year deal that gave Reebok exclusive rights to fighters branding inside the ring. The average household income in the U.S. is around $25,000 per year, and 19% of the UFC roster made less (116 fighters to be precise). You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, The 24 Hottest Romance Novels of All Time, The Queen Is Once Again Pissed at Wills and Kate, Ant Anstead Shares Photo With Girlfriend Rene, ICYMI, Carrie Underwood Rocked The Tonight Show, 'NCIS' Fans Are in a Heated Debate About Gibbs, Paulina Porizkova, 57, Stuns in Hot Pink Bikini, 40 Absolutely Terrifying Netflix Horror Movies, Lady Gaga Dyed Her Eyebrows And Looks So Different, Alexandra Breckenridge & Her Hubby Are Smitten, Frank Sinatra Was My Enemy Until We Had Dinner. We then calculated approximately how much money each fighter earns per head punch. Interestingly, lightweight fighters earned the second most, coming in at $1.7 million, followed by welterweight fighters, who earned an average of $1.5 million. Payouts from fighting range from a starting $10,000 to as much as $3,000,000. Forgot password? UFC 262 fight card, tickets and Chandler vs Oliveira preview, Kamaru Usman wants Biggest Fight in UFC History vs Khabib, but doubts it will happen, Highest paid UFC fighter and champion in 2020: Khabib Nurmagomedov ($6 million), Highest paid non-UFC champion in 2020: Conor McGregor ($3 million), Lowest paid UFC champion in 2020: Petr Yan ($230,000), Lowest paid UFC fighter in 2020: Cole Williams ($9,500). Flyweights earned the least average career earnings at $168,720. When I talk about UFC fighters payout, it is very important to mention that not all of the money goes directly to them. However, it should be noted that UFC takes into consideration a ton of factors before determining a fighters pay scale, including popularity, MMA records, etc. You have to work your way up to 2000 bucks a fight. One other popular way fighters in the UFC and other organizations make money is through partnerships with martial arts gear companies, as well as supplement brands.
Disclaimer: The aforementioned fighter salaries and UFC pay structure information is sourced from various websites and media reports. In 2020, the average UFC fighter made approximately $154,622. For that, all UFC fighters are getting payouts from Venum sponsorship every time they fight.
Heavyweight fighters had lower averages for both, with 492 average career strikes taken and 212 average career strikes to the head. Lets take Conor McGregors career earnings as an example (with PPV bonuses and endorsement included): In 2015, per Frobes, Conor earned $22,000,000. The biggest per-fight earner, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, earned a bit less at $5,016 per strike taken to the head. His last fight before that was in January 2020, in which he earned $30,000,000 for knocking out Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. The principal way UFC fighters make money is through fights and the paychecks they receive from each. It's also roughly double what the third fighter on this list took (flyweight Roxanne Modafferi with an average of 55 per fight).
Depending on the tier that they fall into which is largely determined by the size of their fan base theyll take home their base earnings, and if they win, theyll earn an additional prize. With MMA being the fastest growing sport globally (you can check who earns more, UFC fighters or boxers), the global popularity of UFC Fighters has skyrocketed. Also, you probably heard about Proper Twelve. Conor McGregor is the highest paid athlete in the world for a reason. The sales of whiskey have skyrocketed all over the world, thus reportedly (link to article) generating past $1 billion mark in the United States. But, there are also some other promotions where MMA fighters can earn significant money: Although the UFC fighters can earn the biggest amount of money, other MMA promotions are listed above where fighters can earn a significant amount of money. This was a major source of income for fighters and it all changed with the Reebok deal. When we looked through the stats to see how much a punch to the head generated moneywise, we found that lightweights and not heavyweights were the ones who took the most hits. Pea vs Nunes 2: UFC 277 Rematch Odds & Predictions, Did Joe Rogan Fight Professionally? I feel by the time 2016 closes out, Ill be closing in on $40 million. They earned much more because of the PPV sales but those numbers are undisclosed. Those in the strawweight class had the highest career average earnings at $483,991, while the bantamweight class earned an average of $371,663. Top earners in the UFC Women's Divisions were Joanna Jedrzejczyk ($1.8 million per fight), Holly Holm ($1.6 million), Amanda Nunes ($1.2 million), and Rose Namajunas ($987,500). Its crazy, man. At the other end of the scale however, the lowest paid fighters took just $2,500. In 2018, just before the Khabib fight, Conor McGregor launched his own whiskey, called Proper Twelve. How much money do athletes receive at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. According to recent research, MMA fighting (which is customary of UFC) can lead to chronic Encephalopathy (damage or disease that affects the brain), which can lead to memory loss, personality change, seizures, and more. Additionally, whoever wins earns an additional prize, which is sometimes double their base pay, though that typically only applies to the first two tiers. For example, Conor McGregor has made $10 million in just two fights so far this year! In 2017, Conor and Mayweather participated in The Biggest Fight in the History of Combat Sports, also called The Money Fight, generating the second highest PPV number of all time (just behind Mayweather vs. Pacquiao). Fighters like Conor McGregor dont have to live paycheck to paycheck anymore, but UFC newcomers are likely to struggle to make ends meet at the beginning of their professional MMA career. Alajamain Sterling was the lowest-paid UFC champion in 2021; he got paid $230,000 (without PPV bonuses). Sponsorships and endorsements are also a huge source of earning potential for MMA fighters.
Fighter earning data was pulled October 2018 and reflects money earned up to this point. How Much Do Lowest Paid UFC Fighters Earn? It does to me. The Venum deal will result in a slight increase in fighter pay across the board. Nowadays you see the high end supplement brand Thorne advertising all over the octagon. The former Bellator MMA champion defeated Dan Hooker in his debut bout at UFC 257, taking home $530,000. This is a nice way for fighters to earn a little extra money while continuing to do what they love. Israel Adesanya ($500,000 + $0 bonus = $500,000), Brandon Moreno ($100,000 + $100,000 = $200,000), Leon Edwards ($110,000 + $110,000 = $220,000), Belal Muhammad ($80,000 + $80,000 = $160,000), Paul Craig ($55,000 + $55,000 = $110,000), Brad Riddell ($40,000 + $40,000 = $80,000), Eryk Anders ($75,000 + $75,000 = $150,000), Lauren Murphy ($70,000 + $70,000 = $140,000), Movsar Evloev ($36,000 + $36,000 = $72,000), Pannie Kianzad ($28,000 + $28,000 = $56,000), Terrance McKinney ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000), Steven Peterson ($23,000 + $23,000 = $46,000), Carlos Felipe ($25,000 + $25,000 = $50,000), The average fighter on UFC 263s main card made $220,300, The average fighter on UFC 263s prelim card made $85,000, The average fighter on UFC 263s early prelim card made $35,000, $50,000 for Paul Craig (Performance of the Night), for a devastating armbar against Jamahal Hill, $50,000 for Deiveson Figueiredo (Performance of the Night), for his submission victory in earning the Flyweight title belt, $50,000 each for Brad Riddell and Drew Dober (Fight of the Night). The fighters popularity and recent results affect the payouts each fighter receives ranging from tens of thousands of dollars, to a few hundred thousand dollars. Activate your account. Lets see how exactly are UFC fighters making money, how much they get paid, and how much are MMA fighters earning outside of the UFC. According to International Business Times, there are three salary tiers that a UFC fighter can fall into: low, medium, and high, with the lowest earners taking home between $10,000 and $30,000, and the highest tier raking in between $500,000 and $3,000,000 per fight. Reebok is remaining the UFCs official footwear partner, and the Venum deal will last for 3 years. In general, UFC earns a little over $2 Million in gates, an undisclosed amount for TV rights, andbetween 80 and 120 Million for PPV events. Despite earning millions from fighting, he also launched two separate businesses. Boxing To explain a little bit more, if a fighter has a $90,000 payout for a fight; if they win, they will receive $90,000 more (for a total payout of $180,000).
If youre someone who plans to compete in MMA, please be aware of the health consequences that could result from competition. There are a ton of different companies that have deals with the UFC fighters.
Are you keen to share this content with your followers, but you're not sure if it's AOK? Whatever the outcome is (unless they dont make the weight; then they have to give up 20% of the purse), they will get paid what is in their contract for the fight. While there are superstars that make a ton of dough, there are plenty of other lower-level and amateur fighters who take a pummeling and barely make enough to cover the bills. Worth noticing is that the win bonus applies only to contracts in the lowest and middle-tier, meaning that UFC Champions usually dont get a double amount of money if they win. You left out something very important, which is the lowest purse a UFC fighter gets. New fighters usually get the Lowest Tier contract when they sign with the UFC. Amanda Nunes came out on top here, earning $8,469 per head punch, followed by Julianna Pena at $7,711 and Valentina Shevchenko at $7,361. But just how much are fighters actually making? The average UFC fighter made $160,022 in 2021,up from average earnings of $146,673 in 2020. Because PPV events feature the best fights the UFC can offer, these types of events get the most views; thus, they generate by far the most money. How much money do MMA fighters make? Cole Williams, who fought Jason Witt at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs Silva banked only $9,500. The more hype those fighters generate for the fight, the more people will tune in, meaning more money for them. It's not an easy job, and it takes a lot of skill to climb the ranks for an MMA fighter. Information for bonuses from PPVs is often undisclosed. She is a fan of the WWEs pay structure, where wrestlers are immediately put on salary. Conor McGregor said that he earned around $40,000,000 from his three fights in 2016 (two Diaz fights and Eddie Alvarez fight). People must understand that not every fighter competes to become the richest fighter of all time, many fighters compete because they simply love MMA. In 2021, UFC signed a deal with Venum. Conor McGregor came in tops in the top 10 earners per fight, where he nabs a nifty $9.5 million per match. Its important to note that opposing fighters do NOT have the same pay structure. Compared to these numbers, many would be shocked to see how much the lowest-paid UFC fighter of 2020 made. Lets take a look at an example of how UFC fighters get paid for fighting in the event. Here is a breakdown of the UFC and Venum deal: As time goes by, UFC fighters are becoming more and more popular. The biggest difference was found among lightweight fighters, where the lowest earners earned a fraction of what their top-ranked counterparts took home over an $830,000 difference between the two. It is a perfect way for UFC fighters to cash in their popularity and for the companies to place their products in front of millions and millions of fan eyes. However, it sure feels to me that shes a lot happier working for the WWE than she ever was as a UFC fighter. He was paid $5 million just to show up to each of his 2021 fights against Dustin Poirier (on January 23rd and July 10th). Because of that, the promotion cant give a huge paycheck to a fighter who has just joined the promotion with an average MMA record. If youre really good at marketing yourself, win fights, need a social media following, the ability to sale tickets, (70 plus per fight) get yourself some sponsorships and fight at mid-tier regional or low tier bigshow (legacy bellator prelims) you can see yourself making $4,000 to $6,000 a fight. Jared Cannonier happy with new six-figure contract, believes UFC fighters should be paid like NFL, NBA athletes https://t.co/fG1hWqDYFa pic.twitter.com/IHZPtY9NYj. I will take UFC 229 as an example (just the five main fights). Fighters who had fought in multiple weight classes during their career were counted as the weight class they are currently ranked/fighting in. I may receive commissions when you click my links and make purchases. We used thesportsdaily.com to get career earnings for each fighter. The lowest paid UFC fighters are the ones that just signed (assuming they werent big names in other promotions before) with the UFC.
Even if youre not a huge sports fan, theres something wildly entertaining about watching a UFC fight.
This is a $40 million year for me. We decided to take a look to see how much UFC fighters make to see if it really pays to become a professional combatant.
UFC Salary Structure: How Are UFC Fighters Getting Paid? PPV (pay per view) events are UFCs biggest type of events. https://thesportsdaily.com/2018/01/06/2017-ufc-fighter-salaries-complete-list-fox11/, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/daniel-cormier, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/justin-gaethje, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/nicco-montano, https://www.ufc.com/athlete/roxanne-modafferi. Pay and sponsorships combined. And unlike other major American sports leagues such as the NBA and NFL that pay their athletes 50% of total revenue, the UFC pays its fighters 16%- 20%. Well, it expired in early 2021 and was replaced with a new agreement between the UFC and popular MMA brand Venum. How Much Do UFC Fighters Earn from the Actual Fights? Full list, 200m at 2022 World Athletics Championships: when is the final, schedule, times, favourites, records, Oregon World Athletics Championships 2022 complete schedule: times, dates, events. The outliers paint an even uglier picture. Per Forbes, he earned $32,000,000 from a fight with Khabib and $15,000,000 from endorsements. 2013 - 2022 OnlineGambling.ca All rights reserved. Happy #IndependenceDay to all my American friends and fans pic.twitter.com/C81vFe6hkz, Prior to 2015, UFC fighters were allowed to wear the logos of any sponsors they wanted on their fight gear. For average earnings disparities, we took the number of fights each fighter had been in and divided it by their career earnings. Last year, Conor said that he excepts as much as $80,000,000 from his fight with Cowboy Cerrone on UFC 246. The lowest paid fighter on any UFC card will take home at least $10,000 (before bonuses & endorsements etc). Reebok did pay the athletes based on the number of fights they had under the UFCs banner: These numbers pale in comparison to what fighters were making from sponsors who were eager to put their logo on a fighters shorts: I've made six figures in sponsorship in each of my last 6 fights https://t.co/gotToaSDJh. Required fields are marked *. Conor McGregor is such an example. Kamaru Usman was the highest-paid UFC champion in 2021; he got paid $2,024,000 (without PPV bonuses). Despite infamously losing to Dustin Poirier in January 2021, Conor took home a jaw-dropping $22,000,000. The popularity of MMA will continue to rise, I believe the ESPN deal with the UFC is just the beginning. This ESPN deal (signed in January 2019) was absolutely groundbreaking for the UFC and all of MMA. The three tiers are low, medium, and high, with the lowest earning between $10,000 and $30,000, and the highest tier raking in between $500,000 and $3,000,000 per fight. (& What Was His Record), Do Height And Reach Matter In MMA & UFC (And How Much), 15 Best UFC Games For PC, PS, Xbox, Android & iOS, Fight of the Night: Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis, Performance of the Night: Derrick Lewis and Aspen Ladd, Fighters who have between 1 and 3 fights will receive $4,000, Fighters who have either 4 or 5 fights will receive $4,500 per fight, Fighters who have between 6 and 10 fights will receive $6,000 per fight, Fighters who have between 11 and 15 fights will receive $11,000 per fight, Fighters who have between 16 and 20 fights will receive $16,000 per fight, Fighters who have 21 or more fights will receive $21,000 per fight, Fighters challenging for the UFC title will receive $32,000 for that fight, Fighters that are champions will receive $42,000 per fight. That fight earned him an extraordinary amount of $100,000,000 putting him in the Forbes no.4 place of highest paid athletes in a calendar year. UFC Champions and fighters with the biggest fan bases receive the best type of contract, the highest Tier: ranging from $500,000 to $3,000,000 per fight. There is a piece of what they are paid that goes on taxes, coaches, managers, etc. We also checked to see which individual female fighters took the most strikes. Most UFC fighters are paid both a guaranteed amount and a win bonus. Some numbers were somewhat public. Once the list of top fighters was created, we pulled fight data from espn.com and ufc.com for the number of fights, strikes thrown, strikes taken, and strikes taken to the head. Thats a solid win bonus!
The deal obligated all of the UFC fighters to wear Venum equipment exclusively during the fights. PM Modi to host farewell dinner for outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind on July 22, Droupadi Murmu set to be India's 15th President, defeats Yashwant Sinha by a landslide, National Herald Scam: Subramanian Swamy notes incriminating details; 'Many scams in case', How much does the average UFC fighter get paid? Viewers who want to watch PPV events have to pay an additional amount of money ($65 at the time of writing). The main source of income for UFC fighters in the past was salaries from the fighting. The pay scale is just like the Reebok deal, based on the numbers of fights a fighter has under the UFC banner. We then did the math to figure out which women earned the most per strike taken to the head. I started training Muay Thai in 2013 and fell in love with many other forms of Martial Arts ever since, so much so that I decided to create this website to share my love of the martial arts. Some commissions don't report fighter's salary info, so some earnings have been estimated based on what the fighter had earned in their other fights. Being a UFC Champion or main eventing the UFC PPV event means that there is a chance that a fighter can have a special item in their contract on which they will receive a percentage of all the sold PPVs. The UFC signed a 5 year, $1.5 billion deal with ESPN to broadcast tons of UFC events every year on ESPN and ESPNs streaming platform ESPN+. Youve got NHL players and MLB players making millions and millions and millions and were the fastest growing sport in the world. Rough deal, right! The recent Wilder vs Fury card for example. And while there is an average of how much UFC fighters get paid per fight, there are actually three salary tiers a UFC fighter can fall into. The Best Cups for MMA, Muay Thai, and Boxing, 18 Tragic Deaths in the Ring: Boxing, MMA, and More, How Tall Are MMA Fighters? Despite losing the fight against Leon Edwards, Nate Diaz took home $250,000 for his performance, more than Edwards earned from his win. Bigger payouts are there for fighters who are top-ranked, but the path is anything but a smooth and simple ride. In May of 2015, the UFC and Reebok signed a $70 million 6 year deal that gave Reebok exclusive rights to fighters branding inside the ring. The average household income in the U.S. is around $25,000 per year, and 19% of the UFC roster made less (116 fighters to be precise). You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, The 24 Hottest Romance Novels of All Time, The Queen Is Once Again Pissed at Wills and Kate, Ant Anstead Shares Photo With Girlfriend Rene, ICYMI, Carrie Underwood Rocked The Tonight Show, 'NCIS' Fans Are in a Heated Debate About Gibbs, Paulina Porizkova, 57, Stuns in Hot Pink Bikini, 40 Absolutely Terrifying Netflix Horror Movies, Lady Gaga Dyed Her Eyebrows And Looks So Different, Alexandra Breckenridge & Her Hubby Are Smitten, Frank Sinatra Was My Enemy Until We Had Dinner. We then calculated approximately how much money each fighter earns per head punch. Interestingly, lightweight fighters earned the second most, coming in at $1.7 million, followed by welterweight fighters, who earned an average of $1.5 million. Payouts from fighting range from a starting $10,000 to as much as $3,000,000. Forgot password? UFC 262 fight card, tickets and Chandler vs Oliveira preview, Kamaru Usman wants Biggest Fight in UFC History vs Khabib, but doubts it will happen, Highest paid UFC fighter and champion in 2020: Khabib Nurmagomedov ($6 million), Highest paid non-UFC champion in 2020: Conor McGregor ($3 million), Lowest paid UFC champion in 2020: Petr Yan ($230,000), Lowest paid UFC fighter in 2020: Cole Williams ($9,500). Flyweights earned the least average career earnings at $168,720. When I talk about UFC fighters payout, it is very important to mention that not all of the money goes directly to them. However, it should be noted that UFC takes into consideration a ton of factors before determining a fighters pay scale, including popularity, MMA records, etc. You have to work your way up to 2000 bucks a fight. One other popular way fighters in the UFC and other organizations make money is through partnerships with martial arts gear companies, as well as supplement brands.
Disclaimer: The aforementioned fighter salaries and UFC pay structure information is sourced from various websites and media reports. In 2020, the average UFC fighter made approximately $154,622. For that, all UFC fighters are getting payouts from Venum sponsorship every time they fight.
Heavyweight fighters had lower averages for both, with 492 average career strikes taken and 212 average career strikes to the head. Lets take Conor McGregors career earnings as an example (with PPV bonuses and endorsement included): In 2015, per Frobes, Conor earned $22,000,000. The biggest per-fight earner, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, earned a bit less at $5,016 per strike taken to the head. His last fight before that was in January 2020, in which he earned $30,000,000 for knocking out Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. The principal way UFC fighters make money is through fights and the paychecks they receive from each. It's also roughly double what the third fighter on this list took (flyweight Roxanne Modafferi with an average of 55 per fight).
Depending on the tier that they fall into which is largely determined by the size of their fan base theyll take home their base earnings, and if they win, theyll earn an additional prize. With MMA being the fastest growing sport globally (you can check who earns more, UFC fighters or boxers), the global popularity of UFC Fighters has skyrocketed. Also, you probably heard about Proper Twelve. Conor McGregor is the highest paid athlete in the world for a reason. The sales of whiskey have skyrocketed all over the world, thus reportedly (link to article) generating past $1 billion mark in the United States. But, there are also some other promotions where MMA fighters can earn significant money: Although the UFC fighters can earn the biggest amount of money, other MMA promotions are listed above where fighters can earn a significant amount of money. This was a major source of income for fighters and it all changed with the Reebok deal. When we looked through the stats to see how much a punch to the head generated moneywise, we found that lightweights and not heavyweights were the ones who took the most hits. Pea vs Nunes 2: UFC 277 Rematch Odds & Predictions, Did Joe Rogan Fight Professionally? I feel by the time 2016 closes out, Ill be closing in on $40 million. They earned much more because of the PPV sales but those numbers are undisclosed. Those in the strawweight class had the highest career average earnings at $483,991, while the bantamweight class earned an average of $371,663. Top earners in the UFC Women's Divisions were Joanna Jedrzejczyk ($1.8 million per fight), Holly Holm ($1.6 million), Amanda Nunes ($1.2 million), and Rose Namajunas ($987,500). Its crazy, man. At the other end of the scale however, the lowest paid fighters took just $2,500. In 2018, just before the Khabib fight, Conor McGregor launched his own whiskey, called Proper Twelve. How much money do athletes receive at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. According to recent research, MMA fighting (which is customary of UFC) can lead to chronic Encephalopathy (damage or disease that affects the brain), which can lead to memory loss, personality change, seizures, and more. Additionally, whoever wins earns an additional prize, which is sometimes double their base pay, though that typically only applies to the first two tiers. For example, Conor McGregor has made $10 million in just two fights so far this year! In 2017, Conor and Mayweather participated in The Biggest Fight in the History of Combat Sports, also called The Money Fight, generating the second highest PPV number of all time (just behind Mayweather vs. Pacquiao). Fighters like Conor McGregor dont have to live paycheck to paycheck anymore, but UFC newcomers are likely to struggle to make ends meet at the beginning of their professional MMA career. Alajamain Sterling was the lowest-paid UFC champion in 2021; he got paid $230,000 (without PPV bonuses). Sponsorships and endorsements are also a huge source of earning potential for MMA fighters. Fighter earning data was pulled October 2018 and reflects money earned up to this point. How Much Do Lowest Paid UFC Fighters Earn? It does to me. The Venum deal will result in a slight increase in fighter pay across the board. Nowadays you see the high end supplement brand Thorne advertising all over the octagon. The former Bellator MMA champion defeated Dan Hooker in his debut bout at UFC 257, taking home $530,000. This is a nice way for fighters to earn a little extra money while continuing to do what they love. Israel Adesanya ($500,000 + $0 bonus = $500,000), Brandon Moreno ($100,000 + $100,000 = $200,000), Leon Edwards ($110,000 + $110,000 = $220,000), Belal Muhammad ($80,000 + $80,000 = $160,000), Paul Craig ($55,000 + $55,000 = $110,000), Brad Riddell ($40,000 + $40,000 = $80,000), Eryk Anders ($75,000 + $75,000 = $150,000), Lauren Murphy ($70,000 + $70,000 = $140,000), Movsar Evloev ($36,000 + $36,000 = $72,000), Pannie Kianzad ($28,000 + $28,000 = $56,000), Terrance McKinney ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000), Steven Peterson ($23,000 + $23,000 = $46,000), Carlos Felipe ($25,000 + $25,000 = $50,000), The average fighter on UFC 263s main card made $220,300, The average fighter on UFC 263s prelim card made $85,000, The average fighter on UFC 263s early prelim card made $35,000, $50,000 for Paul Craig (Performance of the Night), for a devastating armbar against Jamahal Hill, $50,000 for Deiveson Figueiredo (Performance of the Night), for his submission victory in earning the Flyweight title belt, $50,000 each for Brad Riddell and Drew Dober (Fight of the Night). The fighters popularity and recent results affect the payouts each fighter receives ranging from tens of thousands of dollars, to a few hundred thousand dollars. Activate your account. Lets see how exactly are UFC fighters making money, how much they get paid, and how much are MMA fighters earning outside of the UFC. According to International Business Times, there are three salary tiers that a UFC fighter can fall into: low, medium, and high, with the lowest earners taking home between $10,000 and $30,000, and the highest tier raking in between $500,000 and $3,000,000 per fight. Reebok is remaining the UFCs official footwear partner, and the Venum deal will last for 3 years. In general, UFC earns a little over $2 Million in gates, an undisclosed amount for TV rights, andbetween 80 and 120 Million for PPV events. Despite earning millions from fighting, he also launched two separate businesses. Boxing To explain a little bit more, if a fighter has a $90,000 payout for a fight; if they win, they will receive $90,000 more (for a total payout of $180,000).