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Top UFC fighters are paid in five to six figures more or less every time they step inside the octagon. But some fighters are bigger draws for the promotion, and they obviously make more than their counterparts.
Listed are the highest paid UFC fighters as reported by Statista.
The list comprises of the top-earning UFC fighters up until April 2020 (rounded up) and does not include any undisclosed PPV bonuses or Reebok sponsorship deals. Only the top ten fighters are listed here. The 11th to 15th spots are occupied by Daniel Cormier, Vitor Belfort, Andrei Arlovski, Brock Lesnar, and Nate Diaz.
#10 Junior dos Santos ($5.97 million)
The veteran Heavyweight debuted in UFC in 2008 against Fabricio Werdum and has fought 21 times since, 6 of which brought home six figures for the Brazilian. Ranked at No. 10, Cigano had his highest paid fight at UFC 211 when he unsuccessfully challenged Stipe Miocic for the Heavyweight Championship. Junior dos Santos earned around $830,000 for the fight.
Dos Santos is set to fight Ciryl Gane at UFC 256 this weekend.
#9 Donald Cerrone ($6.16 million)
Donald Cerrone has fought more than 50 bouts in his career and won 36 of them. He has been around in UFC for nearly a decade now, but it is only recently 'Cowboy' landed his biggest payday, thanks to Conor McGregor. Despite losing in 40 seconds, UFC 246 saw Donald Cerrone earn more than $200,000.
Ranked at #9, Cerrone has definitely pocketed more than $6.16 million in his career, as the winner of the most Fight of the Night bonuses in UFC.
#8 Mark Hunt ($6.30 million)
Mark Hunt's draw went up after his UFC 200 fight against Brock Lesnar, which he had lost but the result was overturned to NC by NSAC after Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance. Hunt has earned six figures for all five fights ever since. He has won only once - against Derrick Lewis, which is also his biggest payday.
Mark Hunt earned $810,000 for the fight, including a Reebok deal and a Fight of the Night bonus.
#7 Jon Jones ($7.03 million)
The former light heavyweight and pound-for-pound champion Jon Jones has headlined as many as 15 pay-per-views, most of which were title fights or defenses.
As per reports, Jones' biggest payday was against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 where he beat DC and retained his LHW title. 'Bones' took home $580,000 for the fight. The result was overturned by CSAC later.
#6 Georges St-Pierre ($7.04 million)
Now retired, Georges St-Pierre is inarguably one of the best to ever step inside the octagon. Despite humble beginnings, GSP ended his UFC career in style by drawing in a seven-figure payday for his much-hyped 2017 return against Michael Bisping.
GSP retired as the reigning welterweight champ, returned to defeat 'The Count' and win the middleweight championship, became the fourth fighter in UFC history to become a multi-division champion, and took home a massive check of $2,580,000.
#5 Michael Bisping ($7.14 million)
GSP's biggest payday was Michael Bisping's as well. Although nowhere near St-Pierre's figures, Bisping made a whopping total of $540,000 for the fight.
He lost the fight via technical submission, but made a handsome amount which added largely to his #5 rank figure. Debuting in UFC at TUF 3 Finale and retiring in 2018, 'The Count' now serves as an announcer and color analyst on UFC.
#4 Anderson Silva ($8.11 million)
Anderson Silva recently retired from UFC after a knockout loss to Uriah Hall in October amid an outpour of love and respect from the entire MMA community. Despite losing five of his last six fights, Anderson Silva has been one of the highest-paid UFC stars.
The Middleweight GOAT started out in UFC with a check of $66,000 for his first bout and landed a six-digit figure by his fourth. His highest-earning fight was against Derek Brunson at UFC 208, where he bagged a sum of $820,000 total.
#3 Khabib Nurmagomedov ($8.68 million)
Khabib Nurmagomedov, one of UFC's biggest and most celebrated champions, is an expected name among the top-earning stars of the promotion. The retired-yet-reigning lightweight Champion is 29-0 undefeated in his career and 13-0 in UFC.
A lion's share of his #3 ranked $8.68 million has come from his fights against Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. 'The Eagle' reportedly earned a total of $2,540,000 against McGregor and more than $6,000,000 against Poirier.
His lightweight clash at UFC 254 earned him a few million more for beating Justin Gaethje, after which he announced his retirement. As per RT, Khabib pocketed more than $5,000,000 for the bout.
#2 Alistair Overeem ($9.57 million)
Big things await a fighter when they knock out Brock Lesnar on debut. That fight alone was a six-figure contest for Alistair Overeem. His last six-to-eight fights have seen him earn more than $800,000 for each. He has fought twice this year, first against Walt Harris and then against Augusto Sakai, winning both via knockout.
The No. 2 ranked is among the top Heavyweight contenders and is set to fight Alexander Volkov in February next.
#1 Conor McGregor ($15.08 million) - The highest paid UFC fighter
Conor McGregor is the highest-paid UFC fighter of all time. He is by far the biggest draw the promotion has seen to date and his paydays speak for that fact. He is the only fighter to draw seven-figure sums in all of his last five fights.
Conor McGregor holds the top position by a huge margin despite having fought only twice since 2016. According to Forbes, Conor McGregor made $3 million for his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov just from UFC. The total sum he took home was more than $50 million.
In Conor's own words, he had likely earned an estimate of $80 million for the Donald Cerrone fight in January 2020. However, all these figures are quite pale compared to what Conor McGregor earned from his Money Fight boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.
The Irishman's disclosed sum for the match was $30 million, but reportedly he took home around $130 million, which is way, way more than the collective earning of everyone on this list.
