Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski topped the disclosed payroll for UFC 298, earning a $750,000 purse despite a second-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria, who earned $350,000.
So, Alexander Volkanovski, the ex-UFC featherweight champ, was the top earner at UFC 298. He pocketed a cool $750,000 for his main event face-off with Ilia Topuria. This happened last Saturday, by the way.
But things didn’t go too well for Volkanovski. He got knocked out in the second round by Topuria, ending his long reign in the featherweight division. It was the main event of UFC 298. Topuria, the new champ, didn’t do too bad either. He walked away with a flat $350,000, no win bonus though. Volkanovski was on a flat fee too, no win bonus even if he’d won.
The California State Athletic Commission spilled the beans on the event’s salary report. This was after UFC 298, which took place at the Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Volkanovski and Topuria weren’t the only ones laughing all the way to the bank. Thirteen fighters in total cashed six-figure purses at UFC 298. Some of the big names include Robert Whittaker ($400,000), Paulo Costa ($250,000), and Merab Dvalishvili ($210,000). Mackenzie Dern, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, and Henry Cejudo each bagged $200,000, $200,000, and $150,000 respectively. Amanda Lemos, Miranda Maverick, Anthony Hernandez, Ian Garry, and Geoff Neal weren’t too far behind.
Here’s the full list of UFC 298 salaries. But remember, these figures don’t represent a fighter’s total earnings. Sponsorship incomes, pay-per-view earnings, or discretionary bonuses aren’t included since they’re not publicly disclosed.
Topuria: $350,000, Volkanovski: $750,000, Whittaker: $400,000 ($100,000 win bonus), Costa: $250,000, Garry: $110,000 ($55,000 win bonus), Neal: $108,000, Dvalishvili: $210,000 ($105,000 win bonus), Cejudo: $150,000, Hernandez: $122,000 ($66,000 win bonus), Kopylov: $80,000, Lemos: $160,000 ($80,000 win bonus), Dern: $200,000, de Lima: $200,000 ($100,000 win bonus), Tafa: $23,000, Nakamura: $46,000 ($23,000 win bonus), Vera: $12,000, Mingyang: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus), Ribeiro: $10,000, Barlow: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus), Quinlan: $12,000, Elliott: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus), Woodburn: $15,000, Maverick: $150,000 ($75,000 win bonus), and Lee: $70,000.