
The top 5 largest payouts in the history of UFC.
With earnings of more than $39 million, Conor McGregor holds the top spot as the highest paid UFC fighter.
Following closely behind are Khabib Nurmagomedov Alistair Overeem Andrei Arlovski, and Anderson Silva, completing the top five.
Additionally, there are twenty fighters who have accumulated at least $5 million in career earnings.
A sport that is rapidly gaining popularity around the world is mixed martial arts which has attracted a large number of fans. This growth has also allowed fans to place bets on their favorite fighters through the BetMGM online sportsbook. The leading organization in this sport is currently the UFC which is responsible for the rapid rise in popularity. Along with this growth is the increase in the organizations profits which are used to compensate the top level athletes who compete under its name.
So who is the highest-paid fighter in the UFC to date? We have compiled a list of the top five UFC fighters, who are also consistent contenders in the UFC betting odds, along with their estimated career earnings (excluding Pay Per View income and other endorsements).
The total earnings of Conor McGregor were $39,300,000
Its no surprise that the former two-division Cage Warriors and UFC champion is the highest earning MMA athlete in the world. Every fighter dreams of facing McGregor in the ring, as it guarantees the biggest payday of their career. This is to be expected, as Conor McGregor s larger than life persona has made him the most popular name in the MMA world, making him a highly sought-after athlete to watch. With each fight he participates in, his earnings continue to rise.
After winning the Featherweight title from Jose Aldo in December 2015, the Irish fighter has earned a substantial amount of money in the form of a 7 figure reward. Despite losing consecutive matches against Dustin Poirier, the Notorious was able to collect a total of $10,022,000, with $5,011,000 for each fight.
The earnings of Khabib Nurmagomedov were $22,900,000.
In contrast to Conors rapid increase in earnings, Khabib Nurmagomedov had to compete in eight UFC fights before receiving a 6 figure pay. The Eagle earned $215,000 after his dominating performance against Edson Barboza at UFC 219, and then earned a $500,000 check for winning the Lightweight title against Al Iaquinta in April 2018.
Khabibs initial million dollar bout (valued at $2,040,000) occurred during his confrontation with McGregor at UFC 229, ultimately defeating him in the fourth round. He subsequently concluded his successful career with victories over Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, earning a remarkable $12,180,000 in total earnings from those matches.
In terms of earnings, Alistair Overeem has amassed a total of $15,400,500.
Due to his successful debut in the UFC against Brock Lesnar in 2011, Alistair Overeem has established a precedent for his fighter pay, consistently earning 6 figure paychecks throughout his time in the UFC. His three largest payouts were from his fights against Francis Ngannou (December 2017) Curtis Blaydes (June 2018), and Sergei Pavlovich (November 2018) where he was paid a total of $860,000. On average, Overeems earnings from the UFC amounted to $495,724.9.
The total earnings of Anderson Silva amount to $13,500,000.
Despite not receiving a 7 figure salary for any of his fights in the UFC Anderson Silva managed to reach the 6 figure threshold after just three matches in the organization. From that point on he never earned less than $200,000 for any of his appearances in the Octagon. His largest fight payout came in February 2017 at UFC 208 against Derek Brunson, where he received $200,000 as a win bonus. In total, Silva earned an average of $620,025 over the course of 25 fights.
Andrei Arlovski earned a total of $11,200,000.
Although Andrei Arlovski did not earn all of his career income from the UFC, he was able to accumulate the majority of his wealth from the Las Vegas based promotion, with an average of $232,580.6. The largest payout that the 42 year old fighter received from the UFC was from his victory against Carlos Felipe in the recent UFC Fight Night: Ladd versus Dumont event. However his most well known loss to Fedor Emelianenko in 2009 remains his highest single fight earnings, as he received $1,500,000 for that match under Affliction.