The two disclosed bonuses of a match are ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Performance of the Night.’ While the range of these bonuses varies and is not officially reported, it is an average of $50,000, sometimes, climbing as high as $80,000.
UFC Salary 2022:
| Job | SALARY |
|---|---|
| UFC Referee | $500-$2,000 per match |
| UFC Fighter | $138,250 per year |
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American-based company that has now grown to become the world’s biggest promoter of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). It was founded 28 years ago in 1993 and has since held over 500 events promoting MMA fights. Initially, UFC fights did not command the mainstream media coverage they do now. The credit for UFC’s rise in popularity globally and its status as a multibillion-dollar enterprise goes to its long-serving president since 2001, Dana White.
The UFC boasts of twelve weight divisions. There are eight weight divisions for men and four for women. UFC events are broadcast within the United States on pay-per-view (PPV) channels and through various other modes of media around the world. They have gained so much notoriety amongst their younger audience that UFC now has an exclusive contract with THQ who has developed UFC video games for Playstation, Xbox as well as Wii.
For an enterprise this massive with an equally vast fan following, it is no wonder that UFC fighter salary and UFC referee salary can reach incredible numbers for highly-anticipated matches. Let’s break them down to see what getting punched in the face in front of millions of viewers truly costs.
Learn more: NBA Waterboy Salary
UFC Fighter Salary:
Those MMA fighters with a contract with UFC are required to be offered a minimum of three fights per calendar year. If sufficient fights are not offered, they are still compensated by the UFC for the fights not offered. There is a basic UFC salary per fight.
The basic salary is not fixed, and it ultimately depends on the popularity of the player, the sponsorship of that player plus how anticipated and revenue-generating that particular fight is. All these factors dictate what a UFC fighter’s salary can come out to be. In addition to this basic UFC salary, there is an opportunity for fighters to grab bonuses.
While these bonuses and the basic UFC fighter salary have to be disclosed to the state athletic commission, other earnings are largely kept under wraps and are rarely leaked to the public.
Top UFC Fighters Salaries 2022:
| Name | Salary |
|---|---|
| Khabib Nurmagomedov | $6,090,000 |
| Conor McGregor | $3,060,000 |
| Junior dos Santos | $1,560,000 |
| Israel Adesanya | $1,230,000 |
| Justin Gaethje | $ 920,000 |
| Jose Aldo | $ 900,000 |
| Deiveson Figueiredo | $ 875,000 |
| Anthony Pettis | $ 855,000 |
| Alistair Overeem | $ 830,000 |
| Stipe Miocic | $ 790,000 |
| Dominick Reyes | $ 760,000 |
| Robert Whittaker | $ 745,000 |
| Marcin Tybura | $ 701,000 |
| Andrei Arlovski | $ 695,000 |
| Tony Ferguson | $ 695,000 |
| Donald Cerrone | $ 660,000 |
| Kamaru Usman | $ 640,000 |
| Anderson Silva | $ 620,000 |
| Derrick Lewis | $ 620,000 |
| Anthony Smith | $ 615,000 |
| Jan Blachowicz | $ 590,000 |
| Jim Miller | $ 583,000 |
| Charles Oliveira | $ 557,200 |
| Kevin Holland | $ 553,000 |
| Glover Teixeira | $ 550,000 |
| Valentina Shevchenko | $ 550,000 |
| Jon Jones | $ 540,000 |
| Neil Magny | $ 534,000 |
| Daniel Cormier | $ 530,000 |
| Jorge Masvidal | $ 530,000 |
| Maurico ‘Shogun’ Rua | $ 515,000 |
| Amanda Nunes | $ 490,000 |
| Greg Hardy | $ 485,000 |
| Aleksei Oleinik | $ 475,000 |
| Ovince Saint Preux | $ 475,000 |
| Katlyn Chookagian | $ 470,000 |
| Tyron Woodley | $ 445,000 |
| Holly Holm | $ 435,000 |
| Rafael dos Anjos | $ 435,000 |
| Ben Rothwell | $ 415,000 |
| Vicente Luque | $ 406,000 |
| Dan Hooker | $ 400,000 |
| Alexander Volkanovski | $ 390,000 |
| Henry Cejudo | $ 390,000 |
| Joseph Benavidez | $ 390,000 |
| Gilbert Burns | $ 388,000 |
| Bobby Green | $ 380,000 |
| Fabricio Werdum | $ 380,000 |
| Paulo Costa | $ 380,000 |
| Yoel Romero | $ 380,000 |
| Alex Oliveira | $ 377,400 |
| Brian Kelleher | $ 375,000 |
| Angela Hill | $ 371,000 |
| Alex Perez | $ 370,000 |
| Curtis Blaydes | $ 370,000 |
| Dustin Poirier | $ 370,000 |
| Beneil Dariush | $ 365,000 |
| Kelvin Gastelum | $ 365,000 |
| Diego Sanchez | $ 353,000 |
| Marlon Vera | $ 350,000 |
| Tim Means | $ 342,000 |
| Chris Weidman | $ 340,000 |
| Mackenzie Dern | $ 335,000 |
| Dominick Cruz | $ 330,000 |
| Brandon Moreno | $ 326,000 |
| Francis Ngannou | $ 320,000 |
| Frankie Edgar | $ 320,000 |
| Marvin Vettori | $ 320,000 |
| Stephen Thompson | $ 320,000 |
| Cody Garbrandt | $ 315,000 |
| Colby Covington | $ 310,000 |
| Jessica Andrade | $ 310,000 |
| Sean O’Malley | $ 306,500 |
| Cory Sandhagen | $ 300,000 |
| Khamzat Chimaev | $ 294,500 |
| Zhang Weili | $ 290,000 |
| Drew Dober | $ 286,000 |
| Jack Hermansson | $ 285,000 |
| Paul Felder | $ 284,000 |
| Max Holloway | $ 280,000 |
| Alex Caceres | $ 278,000 |
| Edson Barboza | $ 277,000 |
| Sijara Eubanks | $ 275,000 |
| Mike Perry | $ 263,000 |
| Casey Kenney | $ 260,500 |
| Andre Fili | $ 260,000 |
| Dan Ige | $ 260,000 |
| Devin Clark | $ 256,000 |
| Alexander Volkov | $ 250,000 |
| Carlos Condit | $ 250,000 |
| Marlon Moraes | $ 250,000 |
| Jairzinho Rozenstruik | $ 249,000 |
| Paul Craig | $ 249,000 |
| Michelle Waterson | $ 240,000 |
| Sean Strickland | $ 240,000 |
| Calvin Kattar | $ 236,100 |
| Claudia Gadelha | $ 233,000 |
| Petr Yan | $ 230,000 |
| Roxanne Modafferi | $ 227,000 |
| Darren Elkins | $ 226,000 |
| Brian Ortega | $ 225,000 |
| Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza | $ 225,000 |
| Jennifer Maia | $ 224,000 |
| Cortney Casey | $ 223,000 |
| Carla Esparza | $ 220,000 |
| Robbie Lawler | $ 220,000 |
| Tecia Torres | $ 216,000 |
| Derek Brunson | $ 215,000 |
| Aljamain Sterling | $ 212,000 |
| Magomed Ankalaev | $ 211,000 |
| Cub Swanson | $ 210,000 |
| Josh Emmett | $ 207,000 |
| Francisco Trinaldo | $ 206,200 |
| Raquel Pennington | $ 204,000 |
| Giga Chikadze | $ 201,000 |
| Gabriel Benitez | $ 200,000 |
| Tim Elliott | $ 199,350 |
| Lauren Murphy | $ 199,000 |
| Cynthia Calvillo | $ 192,750 |
| Felicia Spencer | $ 192,500 |
| Jimmy Crute | $ 192,000 |
| Darren Stewart | $ 190,000 |
| Joanna Jedrzejczyk | $ 186,000 |
| Scott Holtzman | $ 186,000 |
| Gian Villante | $ 185,000 |
| Jake Matthews | $ 184,000 |
| Brandon Royval | $ 182,500 |
| Nikita Krylov | $ 180,000 |
| Ricardo Lamas | $ 180,000 |
| Khaos Williams | $ 179,300 |
| Miguel Baeza | $ 171,000 |
| Walt Harris | $ 170,000 |
| Louis Smolka | $ 168,000 |
| Philipe Lins | $ 167,000 |
| James Krause | $ 166,000 |
| Alexander Hernandez | $ 165,500 |
| Joaquin Buckley | $ 164,500 |
| John Dodson | $ 164,000 |
| Antonina Shevchenko | $ 163,000 |
| Augusto Sakai | $ 163,000 |
| Germaine de Randamie | $ 160,000 |
| Rob Font | $ 160,000 |
| Rose Namajunas | $ 160,000 |
| Sam Alvey | $ 160,000 |
| Gerald Meerschaert | $ 158,000 |
| Daniel Rodriguez | $ 156,500 |
| Carlos Diego Ferreira | $ 155,000 |
| Michael Chiesa | $ 154,000 |
| Brett Johns | $ 152,000 |
| Song Yadong | $ 151,000 |
| Johnny Walker | $ 150,000 |
| Merab Dvalishvili | $ 150,000 |
| Gillian Robertson | $ 148,000 |
| Tanner Boser | $ 147,500 |
| Kyler Phillips | $ 147,000 |
| Nathaniel Wood | $ 145,000 |
| Uriah Hall | $ 145,000 |
| Trevin Giles | $ 143,000 |
| Gavin Tucker | $ 142,000 |
| Jimmie Rivera | $ 141,000 |
| Ed Herman | $ 140,000 |
| Ray Borg | $ 139,100 |
| Alex Morono | $ 139,000 |
| Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | $ 138,000 |
| Michel Pereira | $ 137,500 |
| Lando Vannata | $ 137,000 |
| Kai Kara-France | $ 136,000 |
| Maurice Greene | $ 136,000 |
| Alexander Gustafsson | $ 135,000 |
| Darren Till | $ 135,000 |
| Tyson Nam | $ 135,000 |
| Megan Anderson | $ 134,000 |
| Hannah Cifers | $ 131,000 |
| Randa Markos | $ 131,000 |
| Shane Burgos | $ 130,000 |
| Daniel Pineda | $ 124,800 |
| Jussier Formiga | $ 123,000 |
| Bryce Mitchell | $ 122,000 |
| Makwan Amirkhani | $ 122,000 |
| Rafael Fiziev | $ 121,500 |
| Cody Stamman | $ 121,000 |
| Niko Price | $ 120,500 |
| Ariane Lipski | $ 120,000 |
| Stefan Struve | $ 120,000 |
| Andrew Sanchez | $ 119,000 |
| Krzysztof Jotko | $ 118,000 |
| Justin Jaynes | $ 117,500 |
| Herbert Burns | $ 115,700 |
| Max Griffin | $ 115,000 |
| Jamahal Hill | $ 112,700 |
| Demian Maia | $ 112,000 |
| Pedro Munhoz | $ 111,000 |
| Tom Aspinall | $ 111,000 |
| Roosevelt Roberts | $ 110,400 |
| Alan Jouban | $ 110,000 |
| Belal Muhammad | $ 110,000 |
| Mike Rodriguez | $ 109,000 |
| Sean Brady | $ 109,000 |
| Youseff Zalal | $ 107,500 |
| Jonathan Martinez | $ 107,000 |
| Renato Moicano | $ 106,000 |
| Virna Jandiroba | $ 105,500 |
| Aleksandar Rakic | $ 105,000 |
| Arnold Allen | $ 105,000 |
| Maryna Moroz | $ 105,000 |
| Matt Brown | $ 105,000 |
| Jiri Prochazka | $ 103,500 |
| Marc Diakiese | $ 103,000 |
| Michael Johnson | $ 103,000 |
| Charles Rosa | $ 102,000 |
| Ryan Spann | $ 102,000 |
| Alexandr Romanov | $ 101,000 |
| Chris Daukaus | $ 101,000 |
| Kay Hansen | $ 101,000 |
| Nathan Maness | $ 101,000 |
| Austin Hubbard | $ 100,500 |
| Ashley Yoder | $ 100,000 |
| Ilir Latifi | $ 100,000 |
| Volkan Oezdemir | $ 100,000 |
| Raphael Assuncao | $ 99,000 |
| Raoni Barcelos | $ 98,000 |
| Jordan Griffin | $ 97,500 |
| Christian Aguilera | $ 95,000 |
| Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos | $ 95,000 |
| Irene Aldana | $ 95,000 |
| Thiago Santos | $ 95,000 |
| Shana Dobson | $ 94,000 |
| Viviane Araujo | $ 94,000 |
| Yan Xiaonan | $ 94,000 |
| Clay Guida | $ 93,000 |
| Hunter Azure | $ 93,000 |
| Mayra Bueno Silva | $ 93,000 |
| Miles Johns | $ 93,000 |
| Sara McMann | $ 92,000 |
| Chan Sung Jung | $ 90,000 |
| Damon Jackson | $ 90,000 |
| Jake Collier | $ 90,000 |
| Kai Kamaka III | $ 89,000 |
| Mariya Agapova | $ 89,000 |
| Modestas Bukauskas | $ 89,000 |
| Tom Breese | $ 88,500 |
| Chase Hooper | $ 88,000 |
| Bill Algeo | $ 87,000 |
| Nik Lentz | $ 87,000 |
| Tony Gravely | $ 87,000 |
| Tony Kelley | $ 87,000 |
| Justine Kish | $ 86,000 |
| Mirsad Bektic | $ 86,000 |
| Bryan Barberena | $ 85,000 |
| Corey Anderson | $ 85,000 |
| Billy Quarantillo | $ 84,500 |
| Ciryl Gane | $ 84,000 |
| Nasrat Haqparast | $ 84,000 |
| Kevin Lee | $ 83,800 |
| Dusko Todorovic | $ 83,500 |
| Lerone Murphy | $ 83,500 |
| Davey Grant | $ 83,000 |
| Julian Erosa | $ 83,000 |
| Marcos Rogerio de Lima | $ 83,000 |
| Randy Costa | $ 81,500 |
| Luis Pena | $ 80,950 |
| Mallory Martin | $ 80,500 |
| Evan Dunham | $ 80,000 |
| Jared Cannonier | $ 80,000 |
| Brendan Allen | $ 79,000 |
| Montel Jackson | $ 79,000 |
| Mounir Lazeez | $ 78,300 |
| Andre Muniz | $ 77,500 |
| Mario Bautista | $ 77,500 |
| Ottman Azatair | $ 77,500 |
| Su Mudaerji | $ 77,500 |
| Ion Cutelaba | $ 76,000 |
| Jose Alberto Quinonez | $ 76,000 |
| Zak Cummings | $ 76,000 |
| Pannie Kianzad | $ 75,000 |
| Jesse Ronson | $ 74,000 |
| Khalid Taha | $ 74,000 |
| Li Jingliang | $ 74,000 |
| Priscila Cachoeira | $ 74,000 |
| Yana Kunitskaya | $ 74,000 |
| Adrian Yanez | $ 73,500 |
| Guram Kutateladze | $ 73,500 |
| Jimmy Flick | $ 73,500 |
| Jordan Leavitt | $ 73,500 |
| Luigi Vendramini | $ 73,500 |
| Mateusz Gamrot | $ 73,500 |
| Sasha Palatnikov | $ 73,500 |
| Trevin Jones | $ 73,500 |
| Thiago Moises | $ 73,000 |
| Jalin Turner | $ 72,000 |
| Kevin Croom | $ 71,700 |
| Grant Dawson | $ 71,300 |
| Ketlen Vieira | $ 71,000 |
| Chris Gutierrez | $ 70,000 |
| Ian Heinisch | $ 70,000 |
| Mara Romero Borella | $ 70,000 |
| Montana De La Rosa | $ 70,000 |
| Omari Akhmedov | $ 70,000 |
| Rani Yahya | $ 70,000 |
| Mark Madsen | $ 69,500 |
| Maki Pitolo | $ 69,000 |
| Amanda Ribas | $ 67,500 |
| Jordan Espinosa | $ 67,500 |
| Andre Ewell | $ 67,000 |
| Jeremy Stephens | $ 66,900 |
| Eryk Anders | $ 66,000 |
| Joel Alvarez | $ 65,500 |
| Ricky Simon | $ 65,000 |
| Tai Tuivasa | $ 65,000 |
| Vinc Pichel | $ 65,000 |
| Blagoy Ivanov | $ 64,000 |
| Gabriel Silva | $ 63,500 |
| Louis Cosce | $ 63,500 |
| Court McGee | $ 63,000 |
| Macy Chiasson | $ 62,000 |
| Christos Giagos | $ 61,000 |
| Eddie Wineland | $ 61,000 |
| John Makdessi | $ 61,000 |
| Sabina Mazo | $ 59,500 |
| Brad Riddell | $ 59,000 |
| Sodiq Yusuff | $ 59,000 |
| Anthony Rocco Martin | $ 58,000 |
| Bartosz Fabinksi | $ 58,000 |
| Kevin Aguilar | $ 58,000 |
| Nicolas Dalby | $ 58,000 |
| Gina Mazany | $ 57,000 |
| Leonardo Santos | $ 57,000 |
| Ashlee Evans-Smith | $ 56,500 |
| Hakeem Dawodu | $ 55,600 |
| Takashi Sato | $ 55,500 |
| Mickey Gall | $ 55,000 |
| Spike Carlyle | $ 54,500 |
| Zubaira Tukhugov | $ 53,400 |
| Frankie Saenz | $ 53,000 |
| Brok Weaver | $ 52,100 |
| Mark De La Rosa | $ 52,000 |
| Askar Askarov | $ 51,000 |
| David Dvorak | $ 51,000 |
| Ilia Topuria | $ 51,000 |
| Khama Worthy | $ 51,000 |
| Paige VanZant | $ 51,000 |
| Roman Dolidze | $ 51,000 |
| Taila Santos | $ 51,000 |
| Joanne Calderwood | $ 50,000 |
| Julianna Pena | $ 50,000 |
| Justin Ledet | $ 50,000 |
| Lina Lansberg | $ 50,000 |
| Sergey Spivak | $ 49,500 |
| Shavkat Rakhmonov | $ 49,100 |
| Alexa Grasso | $ 49,000 |
| Andrea Lee | $ 49,000 |
| Gadzhimurad Antigulov | $ 49,000 |
| Jack Marshman | $ 49,000 |
| Raulian Paiva | $ 48,600 |
| Abdul Razak Alhassan | $ 48,400 |
| Jessica Eye | $ 48,250 |
| Marion Reneau | $ 48,000 |
| Dequan Townsend | $ 47,000 |
| Jason Witt | $ 47,000 |
| Irwin Rivera | $ 46,500 |
| Molly McCann | $ 46,000 |
| Nate Landwehr | $ 46,000 |
| Bevon Lewis | $ 45,500 |
| Drakkar Klose | $ 45,000 |
| Felice Herrig | $ 45,000 |
| John Phillips | $ 45,000 |
| Julia Avila | $ 45,000 |
| Omar Morales | $ 45,000 |
| Polyana Viana | $ 45,000 |
| Randy Brown | $ 45,000 |
| Jessica-Rose Clark | $ 44,000 |
| Ramazen Emeev | $ 44,000 |
| Said Nurmagomedov | $ 44,000 |
| Jared Gordon | $ 43,400 |
| Gustavo Lopez | $ 43,000 |
| Kyle Daukaus | $ 43,000 |
| Loma Lookboonme | $ 43,000 |
| Yancy Medeiros | $ 43,000 |
| Alonzo Menifield | $ 41,500 |
| Darrick Minner | $ 41,200 |
| Deron Winn | $ 41,200 |
| Thomas Almeida | $ 41,000 |
| Aleksa Camur | $ 40,500 |
| Charles Jourdain | $ 39,500 |
| Jack Shore | $ 39,500 |
| Geoff Neal | $ 39,000 |
| Impa Kasanganay | $ 39,000 |
| Jordan Wright | $ 39,000 |
| Journey Newson | $ 39,000 |
| Liana Jojua | $ 39,000 |
| Rodrigo Nascimento | $ 39,000 |
| Juan Espino | $ 37,500 |
| Jai Herbert | $ 37,300 |
| Carlos Felipe | $ 37,000 |
| Don’Tale Mayes | $ 37,000 |
| Jamall Emmers | $ 37,000 |
| Maxim Grishin | $ 37,000 |
| Parker Porter | $ 37,000 |
| Edmen Shahbazyan | $ 36,000 |
| Norma Dumont | $ 36,000 |
| Song Kenan | $ 36,000 |
| Alan Patrick | $ 35,000 |
| Claudio Silva | $ 35,000 |
| Jinh Yu Frey | $ 35,000 |
| JJ Aldrich | $ 35,000 |
| Karolina Kowalkiewicz | $ 35,000 |
| Matt Wiman | $ 35,000 |
| Bethe Correia | $ 34,000 |
| Alexander Yakovlev | $ 33,000 |
| Chase Sherman | $ 33,000 |
| Karl Roberson | $ 33,000 |
| Lyman Good | $ 33,000 |
| Maycee Barber | $ 33,000 |
| Enrique Barzola | $ 32,000 |
| Muslim Salikhov | $ 32,000 |
| Movsar Evloev | $ 31,500 |
| Rodolfo Vieira | $ 31,500 |
| Anthony Ivy | $ 31,000 |
| Ike Villanueva | $ 31,000 |
| Poliana Botelho | $ 31,000 |
| Yorgan De Castro | $ 31,000 |
| Karol Rosa | $ 30,500 |
| Rogerio Bontorin | $ 30,400 |
| Marc-Andre Barriault | $ 29,900 |
| Joseph Duffy | $ 29,000 |
| Peter Sobotta | $ 29,000 |
| Livia Renata Souza | $ 28,000 |
| Matt Frevola | $ 28,000 |
| Sarah Moras | $ 28,000 |
| Amanda Lemos | $ 27,500 |
| Arman Tsarukyan | $ 27,500 |
| Bea Malecki | $ 27,500 |
| Geraldo de Freitas | $ 27,500 |
| Joe Solecki | $ 27,500 |
| Jun Yung Park | $ 27,500 |
| Khadis Ibragimov | $ 27,500 |
| Mike Grundy | $ 27,500 |
| Tracy Cortez | $ 27,500 |
| Alexandre Pantoja | $ 27,000 |
| Ali AlQaisi | $ 27,000 |
| Bruno Silva | $ 27,000 |
| Carlton Minus | $ 27,000 |
| Cody Durden | $ 27,000 |
| Malcolm Gordon | $ 27,000 |
| Martin Day | $ 27,000 |
| Peter Barrett | $ 27,000 |
| Rhys McKee | $ 27,000 |
| Roque Martinez | $ 27,000 |
| Shane Young | $ 27,000 |
| Luke Sanders | $ 26,000 |
| Saparbek Safarov | $ 26,000 |
| Daniel Chavez | $ 25,500 |
| Alessio Di Chirico | $ 25,000 |
| Da Un Jung | $ 25,000 |
| Frank Camacho | $ 25,000 |
| Ji Yeon Kim | $ 25,000 |
| Lucie Pudilova | $ 25,000 |
| Markus Perez | $ 25,000 |
| Oskar Piechota | $ 25,000 |
| Ricardo Ramos | $ 25,000 |
| T.J. Brown | $ 25,000 |
| Chris Gruetzemacher | $ 24,000 |
| Dwight Grant | $ 24,000 |
| Emily Whitmire | $ 24,000 |
| Marina Rodriguez | $ 24,000 |
| Vince Morales | $ 24,000 |
| Amir Albazi | $ 23,500 |
| Anderson dos Santos | $ 23,500 |
| Cory McKenna | $ 23,500 |
| Danaa Batgerel | $ 23,500 |
| Danilo Marques | $ 23,500 |
| Dricus Du Plessis | $ 23,500 |
| Dustin Jacoby | $ 23,500 |
| Fares Ziam | $ 23,500 |
| Jonathan Pearce | $ 23,500 |
| Justin Tafa | $ 23,500 |
| Kanako Murata | $ 23,500 |
| Matthew Semeslberger | $ 23,500 |
| Miranda Maverick | $ 23,500 |
| Nassourdine Imavov | $ 23,500 |
| Phil Hawes | $ 23,500 |
| Tafon Nchuwki | $ 23,500 |
| Tagir Ulanbekov | $ 23,500 |
| William Knight | $ 23,500 |
| Klibson Abreu | $ 22,000 |
| Ryan Benoit | $ 22,000 |
| Damir Hadzovic | $ 21,000 |
| Davi Ramos | $ 21,000 |
| Ludovit Klein | $ 20,500 |
| Danny Roberts | $ 20,000 |
| Ismail Naurdiev | $ 20,000 |
| Laureano Staropoli | $ 20,000 |
| Leon Edwards | $ 20,000 |
| Magomed Mustafaev | $ 20,000 |
| Guido Cannetti | $ 19,000 |
| Alexey Kunchenko | $ 18,000 |
| Anthony Birchak | $ 18,000 |
| Michal Oleksiejczuk | $ 18,000 |
| Nad Narimani | $ 18,000 |
| Brianna Van Buren | $ 17,500 |
| Danny Henry | $ 17,500 |
Dana White Salary:
Dana White once revealed that he hands out what are called undisclosed ‘Locker-room bonuses’ depending on how he perceived a fight. If he deduced that a deserving fighter was unable to win neither the ‘Fight of the Night’, nor the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus, then he rewarded that fighter with the bonus. This bonus could range anywhere from $4,000 to $25,000.
Those UFC fighters who are headlining an event are able to ink more lucrative deals since they are not only paid more for the fight but also are in a position to negotiate a cut from the pay-per-view earnings of the company. The record for the most money won in a UFC fight is held by Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at UFC 202 where they won a combined whopping total of $5 million. Since Conor was victorious, he won $3 million and Nate was close behind, earning $2 million.
The average UFC fighter salary in 2020 was $147,965. This was only a slight increase from the 2019 average UFC salary of $146,673. However, the range of UFC salary is so wide, since UFC fighter income is largely dependent on the individual fighter’s public sway and their sponsorship contracts. This discrepancy is glaringly obvious when you realize that the average US household income is $45,000 per year, and roughly 210 fighters (one-third of all UFC fighters) have an average UFC salary below that mark. Contrast that with the other end of the spectrum, where heavy-weight names in this industry such as Conor McGregor were able to rake in over $3 million dollars as the basic UFC salary of the fight. The sponsorship deals combined with his cut of the pay-per-view revenue are rumored to be upwards of $50 million for that single fight in 2018.
The reason the UFC starting salary for entry-level fighters is so low is that these fighters do not have the high-level agency representation that rookies in other sports, such as the NBA have. There is also a lack of union representation for fighters in the UFC. Therefore, these fighters are unable to negotiate better deals for themselves. Their chance to earn significant paychecks largely depends on how swiftly they rise amongst player rankings and the public image that can help them get sponsorship deals from multimillion-dollar companies.
The UFC salary per fight for entry-level fighters is $10,000. Should they win, they stand to get a bonus of up to $50,000. This may seem like an enticing sum of money, but what is pertinent to remember, is that these fights are few and hard to come by, and the preparation for these fights requires months of grueling training, dieting, and commitment that makes every earned penny very well deserved.
Another category of fighters in the UFC earning less is the women fighters. The average UFC salary for female fighters is claimed to be 61% of their male peers if the most notable and successful female UFC champion Ronda Rousey is kept in the analysis. If she is removed from the earnings average, then the women are expected to earn only 41% of their male counterparts. Critics of this analysis, however, remind you that women almost always play fewer rounds than their male counterparts. And it is also important to note, that the large portion of earnings in the UFC are not from the basic UFC fighter salary but from sponsorships and the fighter’s public fame and social media presence. Regardless, it does not reflect well on the company’s image when you realize that in the UFC 241 event in 2019, the highest-earning male fighter bagged $700,000 while the female UFC champion salary was just shy of $30,000.
UFC Referee Salary:
Although the fighters are integral to the name, fame, and legacy behind the UFC, the matches would not be possible without the contribution and keen eye of skilled referees. Like any competitive sport, a referee is required to officiate the game and ensure fair play. While the fighters play an exceptionally difficult role in a fight, the referee’s job is no less challenging.
The referees are equally subjected to a crowd’s loud opinion much like the fighters. Despite that, they have to keep their presence of mind, drown out the noise and ensure that they do not miss a foul. UFC plays by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts and a referee has to be well-versed with those rules.
A referee’s decision can make or break a game for the crowd’s favorite and so, the referees try hard not to succumb to that pressure while ethically completing their duty. For this, is the UFC referee salary compensating them well?
The UFC referee pay is usually fixed per match. It depends on the popularity of the match and the fighters participating. It is estimated that the UFC referee salary per match on average is $500. It is more common, however, for referees to earn $300 per fight. Their overall earnings for the night can be more though because UFC referees tend to officiate more fights per night. So, a referee presiding over 4 fights can earn over $1000 in one night. These are the earnings for the low-profile matches and for low-profile referees. On average, an MMA referee can officiate about 120 fights a year. If you multiply that with the lower end of the UFC salary of $400, that is earnings of $48,000 a year.
The bigger revenue a match or event is expected to generate, the bigger a referee’s paycheck can be. This basic salary does not include airfare and hotel accommodations provided to UFC referees by the commission. Since the UFC headquarters are based in Nevada, according to reputable sources, the Nevada state commission has the highest UFC referee salary in the United States.
Looking at some high-profile fights, we can see what a notable referee can pocket should he get a chance to officiate those fights. Big John McCarthy, a well-known name in the UFC referee community was able to mediate the infamous match-up of Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo in 2017. From that fight alone, he made $1900. When you combine that with 89 UFC and Bellator fights he refereed, he managed to earn a sum, just shy of $50,000.
When discussing UFC referees, it is hard to miss UFC referee Herb Dean salary. Herb Dean is one of the most respectable and revered referees in the UFC with a net worth of $3 million. Being a former MMA fighter, he is especially skilled for the role he plays so well. While his exact earnings are widely reported to fall anywhere in between $150,000 – $500,000 annually, the real question is why? Due to his reputation, he is in a position to negotiate hefty contracts which allow him a cut of the pay-per-view earnings from the fights he oversees. It is estimated he can earn up to $25,000 from PPV earnings per match. He also referees high-profile matches which raises his basic UFC salary further.
When comparing UFC to similar sports such as boxing, it is obvious that both, the UFC fighters and referees earn significantly less. The wage gap is further increased in comparison to sports such as basketball and football. This is because MMA fighting is a relatively new sport and is still establishing itself. Each year, it continues to draw in more viewers. It is expanding into various multimedia platforms such as video games and action figure collections. More MMA fighting gyms are propping up around the country and this will surely help discover more talent. UFC viewership and popularity are on a steady climb and is sure to see a spike in the UFC salary of both fighters and referees in the near future.
