The UFC continues in February with a stacked PPV event with two of the best featherweight fighters in the world headlining the event. We have the longtime reigning and defending featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski taking on the surging featherweight contender Ilia Topuria. Volkanovski is looking to get back into the win column after succumbing to his first knockout loss at the hands of Islam Makhachev as he attempted to become the next double champ when he moved up in weight on short notice to fight for the lightweight title. Meanwhile, Topuria will be looking to keep his undefeated record intact but becoming the first-ever UFC champion from Georgia. This will be Topuria’s only second headliner and it’s going to be a great way when he tries to dethrone one of the greatest featherweight champions that the UFC has ever seen.
In the co-main event, we have a fight in the middleweight division between two of the division’s best, No. 3 ranked Robert Whittaker and No.6 ranked Paulo Costa. Whittaker is coming off only his second TKO loss in his middleweight career at the hands of the current middleweight champion Dricus Due Plessis. Meanwhile, Costa is coming off a lengthy layoff most recently defeating Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision back in August 2022 after a fight cancellation and staph infection kept him out of competition. This fight has the makings of an absolute barnburner and is a great fight to serve as the co-main event for this fight night event.
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.
Alexander Volkanovski Set For Big Payday
The UFC’s featherweight division gets to show out this weekend, as two of the best fighters in the division square off for the featherweight championship.
Alexander Volkanovski will be putting his featherweight championship on the line for the 6th time when he takes on the undefeated No. 3 ranked featherweight contender Ilia Topuria who’s making his second main event appearance in his UFC career. Volkanovski will certainly be taking home the biggest payout of the fight card but Ilia Topuria will not be far behind him as they headline this monumental PPV event in Anaheim, California.
UFC 298 Fighter Pay, Salaries, and Payouts
Using previously disclosed figures, we’ve crunched the numbers to foresee the potential payouts for the fighters on this weekend’s upcoming UFC 298 event in Anaheim, California.
In total, the UFC is projected to pay out over $3 Million in salaries, incentives, and bonuses at UFC 298.
Headlining the main event are the reigning and defending featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and top featherweight contender Ilia Topuria. Volkanovski and Topuria are expected to be the highest-paid fighters on the fight card. Volkanovski will be set to be the highest earner making $1,042,000.
Ilia Topuria ($532,000), Robert Whittaker ($321,000), Henry Cejudo ($161,000), and Amanda Lemos ($131,000) round out the top five highest-paid fighters at UFC 298 this weekend.
Top-5 Highest Paid Fighters at UFC 298:
- Alexander Volkanovski – $1,042,000
- Ilia Topuria – $532,000
- Robert Whittaker – $321,000
- Henry Cejudo – $161,000
- Amanda Lemos – $131,000
Check out the projected UFC 298 payouts for each fighter below:
| Fighter | Base Pay | Incentive Pay | Guaranteed Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Volkanovski | $1,000,000 | $42,000 | $1,042,000 |
| Ilia Topuria | $500,000 | $32,000 | $532,000 |
| Paulo Costa | $65,000 | $6,000 | $71,000 |
| Robert Whittaker | $300,000 | $21,000 | $321,000 |
| Ian Machado Garry | $50,000 | $6,000 | $56,000 |
| Geoff Neal | $63,000 | $11,000 | $74,000 |
| Henry Cejudo | $150,000 | $11,000 | $161,000 |
| Merab Dvalishvili | $100,000 | $11,000 | $111,000 |
| Mackenzie Dern | $100,000 | $11,000 | $111,000 |
| Amanda Lemos | $120,000 | $11,000 | $131,000 |
| Marcos Rogerio de Lima | $75,000 | $16,000 | $91,000 |
| Justin Tafa | $45,000 | $6,000 | $51,000 |
| Rinya Nakamura | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Carlos Vera | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Zhang Mingyang | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Brendson Ribeiro | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Danny Barlow | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Josh Quinlan | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Oban Elliott | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Val Woodburn | $12,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Andrea Lee | $70,000 | $11,000 | $81,000 |
| Miranda Maverick | $50,000 | $6,000 | $56,000 |
UFC 298 Promotional Guidelines Compliance Pay
The UFC will pay out $233,000 worth of incentive pay to their fighters this weekend at UFC 298.
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.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
