10 Fighters Who Have Made the Most Money in UFC
The salaries of UFC fighters is a contentious topic, and while the lesser-known fighters don’t get paid well, those at the top, like Conor McGregor, certainly do. Here are the 10 UFC fighters who’ve made the most from fighting. Note that this list involves disclosed salaries, and it doesn’t include any money that the UFC paid these fighters behind closed doors.
10. Dan Henderson
Henderson is a UFC Hall of Famer and MMA legend who’s known for his scary knockout power. Across his 18 fights in the UFC, he’s made at least $4.4 million in disclosed pay. Although he fought for a UFC title many times, he never won a title for himself before he retired in 2016.
9. Rashad Evans
The former light heavyweight champion and now retired UFC fighter fought 23 times in the UFC before retiring to become a commentator. These fights have earned him about $4.6 million in disclosed pay. Like Henderson, Evans was also recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his past accomplishments.
8. Jon Jones
Despite his legal troubles and his multiple failed drug tests, Jones is still a popular fighter who’s never truly been beaten inside the octagon. Jones is the current light heavyweight champion and it seems like he will continue to be until he retires. Throughout his 21 fights in the UFC, he’s earned about $5.1 million so far.
7. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar is a famous professional wrestler who turned into a football player who turned into a UFC fighter. As a result of his popularity, Lesnar was well-paid whenever he fought in the UFC. Despite only fighting eight times in the UFC, he’s also earned at least $5.1 million. It’s unclear if and when Lesnar will return to the octagon though, as he’s currently retired.
6. Vitor Belfort
Another legend of the sport, Belfort has fought some of the best, including other people on this list like Jones or Henderson. This Brazilian knockout artist was also a former light heavyweight champion, and throughout his 26 fights for the UFC, he’s earned a little over $5.1 million.
5. Alistair Overeem
Overeem has won titles in many other organizations but not the UFC. That hasn’t stopped him from being well-paid, though. This Dutch knockout artist has fought 16 times in the UFC, including against Lesnar. He’s earned at least $6.1 million from those fights so far.
4. Anderson Silva
Arguably one of the greatest of all time, Silva had a legendary title run where he set the record for the most title defenses ever. A future Hall of Famer, Silva has fought 24 times in the UFC, and though he hasn’t retired yet, many fans think he will soon. From those fights, he’s earned at least $6.8 million in disclosed pay so far.
3. Georges St-Pierre
Another greatest of all time and future Hall of Famer, St-Pierre officially retired again earlier this year. Despite that, he, like Silva, also had a legendary title run. He fought 22 times in the UFC and was paid at least $7 million for those fights.
2. Michael Bisping
Surprisingly, Bisping is the second-best paid UFC fighter, at least when it comes to disclosed salaries. Bisping largely had an unremarkable career, except when he won the middleweight title in 2016 in an upset victory against Luke Rockhold.
However, for Bisping, longevity was the key to his success, as he’s fought 29 times in the UFC. That long career allowed him to earn at least $7.1 million. He has since retired and is now a commentator for the UFC.
1. Conor McGregor
Unsurprisingly, McGregor is the best-paid fighter in the UFC. After fighting only 11 times in the UFC, he’s already earned at least $9.5 million from the organization. That said, that’s only the disclosed salaries that we know about, and it’s only from the UFC.
For example, McGregor is estimated to have made $75 million from his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. How much McGregor and every other UFC fighter has been paid will remain a mystery.
