The UFC is heading back to Canada for the first time since September 2019 and it is stacked for the Canadian fans with the women’s bantamweight championship on the line. Amanda Nunes (C) will be looking to defend her title yet again as she takes on short-notice replacement No. 5 ranked contender Irene Aldana.
In the co-main event is what looks to be the No. 1 contender fight in the lightweight division as the former champion No. 1 ranked Charles Oliveira takes on surging contender and No. 4 ranked Beneil Dariush. The rest of this fight card is littered with exciting fights with some local Canadian fan favorites. With that said, these fighters can expect some hefty paydays this weekend so let’s check out what the expected fighter pay, salaries, and payouts will be.
Women’s Bantamweights Set To Take Home Big Paydays
Amanda Nunes is the most well-known women’s MMA fighter in the UFC and she gets treated as such with her 6th time headlining a PPV event. There is a ton of magnitude into this one considering this is the first time the UFC has been to Canada since the pre-covid era.
She takes on one of the toughest adversaries inside the top-5 of the women’s bantamweight division in Irene Aldana. Nunes was originally scheduled for a rubber match with Julianna Pena but she unfortunately had to withdraw due to an injury she sustained during fight camp. Aldana stepped up and answered the call in what will be the biggest fight of her life which comes with the biggest payday of her career.
Nunes is expected to be one of the highest-paid athletes on this fight card with Aldana expected to be one top-5 highest-paid on the night as well.
UFC Vegas 289 Fighter Pay, Salaries, and Payouts
Note: The UFC normally doesn’t disclose fighter pay for a number of reasons, including contract negotiations, but some previously disclosed figures can help us come to an appropriate estimate.
Using previously disclosed figures, we’ve crunched the numbers to foresee the potential payouts for the fighters on this weekend’s upcoming UFC 289 PPV event in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
In total, the UFC is projected to pay out over $1.8 Million in salaries, incentives, and bonuses at UFC 289. Headlining the main event, Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana, Nunes is expected to be the highest-paid fighter on the fight card meanwhile, Aldana is taking home the most guaranteed salary of her career.
Amanda Nunes is expected to be the highest-paid fighter at UFC 289. The women’s MMA GOAT fighter is set to earn a guaranteed payout of $516,000 this weekend. Nunes is set to fight title challenger Irene Aldana.
A former champion, Charles Oliveira will be among the highest-paid UFC fighters this weekend with a $271,000 payday. Beneil Dariush ($171,000), Irene Aldana ($111,000), and Dan Ige ($111,000) round out the top-five highest-paid fighters at UFC 289 this weekend.
Top-5 Highest Paid Fighters at UFC 289:
- Amanda Nunes
- Charles Oliveira
- Beneil Dariush
- Irene Aldana
- Dan Ige
Check out the projected UFC Vegas 289 payouts for each fighter below:
| Fighter | Base Pay | Incentive Pay | Guaranteed Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Nunes | $500,000 | $16,000 | $516,000 |
| Irene Aldana | $100,000 | $11,000 | $111,000 |
| Charles Oliveira | $250,000 | $21,000 | $271,000 |
| Beneil Dariush | $150,000 | $21,000 | $171,000 |
| Mike Malott | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Adam Fugitt | $24,000 | $4,000 | $28,000 |
| Dan Ige | $100,000 | $11,000 | $111,000 |
| Nate Landwehr | $48,000 | $6,000 | $54,000 |
| Eryk Anders | $60,000 | $16,000 | $76,000 |
| Marc-Andre Barriault | $40,000 | $11,000 | $51,000 |
| Nassourdine Imavov | $100,000 | $6,000 | $106,000 |
| Chris Curtis | $85,000 | $6,000 | $91,000 |
| Jasmine Jasudavicius | $24,000 | $4,500 | $28,500 |
| Miranda Maverick | $40,000 | $6,000 | $46,000 |
| Aiemann Zahabi | $24,000 | $4,500 | $28,500 |
| Aoriqileng | $24,000 | $4,500 | $28,500 |
| Blake Bilder | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Kyle Nelson | $30,000 | $6,000 | $36,000 |
| David Dvorak | $24,000 | $6,000 | $30,000 |
| Steve Erceg | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Diana Belbita | $24,000 | $4,500 | $28,500 |
| Maria Oliveira | $24,000 | $4,500 | $28,500 |
UFC Vegas 289 Staff Salaries
The fighters aren’t the only ones taking home a big payday at UFC 289 this week. UFC ring girls will earn up to $5,000 while referees can earn up to $2,500 per event.
Below is a list of the potential salaries for the UFC staff for this weekend’s upcoming UFC 289.
- UFC Ring Girl Salary: $1,000 to $5,000 per event
- UFC Referee Salary: $700 to $2,500 per event
- UFC Ring Announcers Salaries: $50,000 to $75,000 per event
UFC Vegas 289 Promotional Guidelines Compliance Pay
The UFC will pay out $181,500 worth of incentive pay to their fighters this weekend at UFC 289.
The incentive pay is generated by the UFC’s sportswear sponsor Venum’s deal which is paid out to the fighters via tiers based on their tenure with the company. This tenure includes Zuffa-era WEC fights, from January 2007 on, as well as Zuffa-era Strikeforce fights from April 2011 on.
Fighters with 1-3 professional bouts under the UFC/Zuffa banner will receive $4,000, 4-5 fights pay out $4,500, 6-10 bouts pay out $6,000, 11-15 pay out $11,000, 16-20 pay out $16,000 and 21 fights or more pays out $21,000. Meanwhile, title challengers are paid $32,000 and champions are paid $42,000.
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