UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili was the highest-paid fighter at UFC 292, earning a disclosed $520,000 for her win over Amanda Lemos, topping headliners Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling who each took home $500,000.
Zhang Weili, the UFC strawweight champion, emerged as the top earner at UFC 292, held on August 19, before potential pay-per-view bonuses and other incentives were counted. Weili’s significant victory over Amanda Lemos earned her a disclosed $520,000, outearning the event’s headliners, Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling. Both O’Malley and Sterling earned a flat $500,000 purse for their bantamweight title fight.
UFC 292 took place at TD Garden in Boston, with disclosed fighter salaries provided via a public records request through the Massachusetts Office of Public Safety and Inspections. This agency is responsible for overseeing the athletic commission of the state. A memorable highlight of the event saw O’Malley secure the bantamweight title through a second-round knockout of Sterling.
Beyond their reported salaries, O’Malley and Zhang each received performance bonuses of $50,000. The bantamweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter 31, which pitted Brad Katona against Cody Gibson, also garnered a bonus of $50,000 for each for their “Fight of the Night” encounter. It should be noted that the cited figures do not account for all earnings for the fighters, with some incomes, such as particular sponsorship deals, pay-per-view bonuses, or discretionary post-fight bonuses, not publicly disclosed.