UFC 298 purses released as Alex Volkanowski tops list with huge earnings
UFC 298 took place on Saturday night in Anaheim, California, and the fight purses being made public enabled fans to see how much each fighter made.
The full list of fight purses for UFC 298 has been released, with Alexander Volkanovski topping the bill by earning $750k. Volkanowski took on Ilia Topuria in the main event, earning more than double his opponent before any bonuses.
The event took place on Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, under the watchful eye of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). The CSAC is responsible for regulating professional and amateur boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts across the state, including fighter pay and purse agreements.
These rules are designed to ensure fighters are paid fairly and often include contract terms, disclosures, and payment conditions. However, the final listed purses don't necessarily reflect a fighter's total earnings from an event.
UFC fighters can also earn extra bonuses, like PPV points or performance-related bonuses such as "Performance of the Night" or "Fight of the Night," which can add another $50,000 to their pay. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed this at a press conference after UFC 294.
Despite his impressive earnings at UFC 298, Volkanovski's payout didn't beat his career-high, which he achieved fighting Max Holloway at UFC 251, where he pocketed an estimated $1,173,333. To date, Volkanovski's total reported payout earnings stand at around $11,827,833.
After Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria was the next top earner with $350,000. Robert Whittaker got $300,000.
People who love UFC are not happy about how little fighters get paid. Many also wondered why Mackenzie Dern received more than Henry Cejudo, who has won titles in two weights.
One person said: "Paying the entire card less than $3 million is insane." Another fan online said they believe Volk and all fighters should get more money.
"Who is McKenzie Derns manager? She is cooking," one fan wrote. "Dern is 3-3 in her last six fights with a record of 13-4 overall and zero title fights. But lots of post-fight bonuses for exciting fights," someone added.
Another fan said: "Dern is making some [good] money. She is killing it compared to other fighters," and added emojis of fire and money.
Here's what fighters on the main card, prelims, and early prelims at UFC 298 made.
UFC 298 Main Card Purses
- Featherweight: [c] Alexander Volkanovski [$750,000/£595k] vs. Ilia Topuria [$350,000/£278k]
- Middleweight: Robert Whittaker [$300,000/£238k] vs. Paulo Costa [$250,000/£198k]
- Welterweight: Geoff Neal [$108,000/£86k] vs. Ian Machado Garry [$55,000/£44k]
- Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili [$105,000/£83k] vs. Henry Cejudo [$150,000/£119k]
- Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez [$66,000/£52k] vs. Roman Kopylov [$80,000/£63k]
UFC 298 Prelim Purses
- Strawweight: Amanda Lemos [$80,000/£63k] vs. Mackenzie Dern [$200,000/£159k]
- Heavyweight: Marcos Rogerio de Lima [$100,00/£79k] vs. Justin Tafa [not listed, late replacement]
- Bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura [$23,000/£18k] vs. Carlos Vera [$12,000/£9.5k]
- Light Heavyweight: Zhang Mingyang [$10,000/£8k] vs. Brendson Ribeiro [$10,000/£8k]
UFC 298 Early Prelim Purses
- Welterweight: Josh Quinlan [$12,000/£9.5k] vs. Danny Barlow [$10,000/£8k]
- Welterweight: Oban Elliott [$10,000/£8k] vs. Val Woodburn [not listed]
- [W] Flyweight: Andrea Lee [$70,000/£55k] vs. Miranda Maverick [$75,000/£59k]