Mixed martial arts is one of the fastest growing combat sports, consistently gaining a bigger fanbase worldwide, week by week. This growth helps bring the revenue to the company, and that’s where the stars get most of their money from.
1. Conor McGregor, $20,102,000
There’s no surprise that Conor McGregor tops this list, the former UFC champion is the superior MMA athlete in the world in terms of fight earnings, publicity, and more. He’s a talent not just in the ring, but his colourful personality has made him one of the most famous personalities in the sport.
Following his Featherweight championship triumph over Jose Aldo back in 2015, the Irishman has received a hefty 7-figure reward since squaring off with Nate Diaz. Although he also suffered back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier, and McGregor bagged himself $10.02 million in total, making it $5.01 million per bout.
Conor McGregor certainly has more than $20 million in his bank account, however the figure shown above is money made directly from the UFC.
McGregor casually taking his ‘lambo’ out…
I’m gonna take the lambo out now, hit 120 off a wave. Hasta luego baby 😂😂
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 21, 2022
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov, $14,770,000
Unlike first spot McGregor, and his rapid rise in earnings, rival Khabib Nurmagomedov needed at least eight fights in the UFC before he had the taste of a six-figure cheque. The “Eagle” collected $215k when he defeated Edson Barboza at UFC 219, followed by a $500k cheque from his Lightweight title fight win against Al Laquinta in April 2018.
His first ever million-dollar fight came when he faced McGregor at UFC 229, dramatically submitting him in the fourth round. He then finished his career with big wins over Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje and took home a whopping $12.2 million in total for those fights.
During his career, he won 28 times with no losses, and at the tender age of 21, he set a record for the highest takedowns during a single fight. No wonder why he went on to make so much in the company.
3. Alistair Overeem, $10,204,500
After his impressive UFC debut win against Brock Lesnar in 2011, Alistair Overeem set the tone for his UFC career and his earnings. He never received a cheque under the six-figure mark throughout his time in the time on the books.
His three biggest pay cheques came between 2017 and 2018, when he fought Francis Ngannou (December ’17), Curtis Blaydes (June ’18) and Sergei Pavlovich (November ’18), in total receiving $860k for the three bouts.
Overeem got his name out there via kickboxing, but he gave it up to pursue a career in MMA, and he is still the only combative sportsman who has the bragging rights of world titles in MMA and kickboxing simultaneously.
4. Andrei Arlovski, $9,844,000
Despite not earning all of his career income whilst under contract with the UFC, the veteran fighter has still managed to have a fairly successful career whilst fighting for the Las Vegas-based promotion. The biggest payslip that the 42-year-old Belarusian obtained from the UFC was his win over Carlos Felipe back in 2021 on UFC Fight Night.
His infamous loss to Fedor Emilanenko in 2009 is the most money that he has gained in one fight, after he collected $1.5 million under Affliction.
5. Anderson Silva, $8,732,000
Although Anderson Siva never actually secured a single 7-figure pay from a fight in the UFC, He only needed three matches in the org to hit the six-figure mark and since then never got paid under $200k for an appearance inside the octagon.
He is one of the best fighters of all time, and UFC President Dana White went as far to label the Brazilian as the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
Silva actually holds a UFC record, for the longest title reign in the history of the promotion, holding his Middleweight title for 2,457 days, starting in 2006, and finishing in 2013, with 16 victories in a row.
The 47-year-old, also looks set to be taking on Jake Paul in a boxing match, which will surely be another big pay day for him.
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