Who is the highest-paid UFC fighter in 2022? Top 25 athletes ranked

In recent times, the Ultimate Fighting Championship industry has gained a lot of popularity as its viewership numbers have skyrocketed. UFC combatants earn a lot of money for doing what they do best which is beating each other to a pulp. Many have transformed their high pay into fortunes by becoming famous businesspeople and entrepreneurs. Here is a chance to find out the top 25 richest Mixed Martial Arts fighters and how much they get for their gruesome fights.

MMA has become a popular sport over time. Even when technology was not very advanced, spectators and players had a fantastic time watching the sport. It took a while before MMA became mainstream because of its brutality, but the industry is currently thriving.

Some MMA combatants are making loads of money while others earn a humble income. So a big question that remains in the minds of all MMA die-hard fans is how much does a UFC fighter make per night? Find out here!

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Who is the highest-paid UFC fighter in 2022?

UFC combatants' salaries vary after every MMA event depending on their performance. This report includes the Gangrened purse and the performance bonus. In addition, the Top MMA fighters are also awarded the winning bonus. The list below highlights the highest-paid UFC fighters in 2022.

1. Conor McGregor ($15.2 million)

Conor McGregor made an incredible comeback against Donald Cowboy Cerrone when he beat him 31 seconds in early January in Las Vegas. He stated that he was to be paid a huge sum of $15.2 million for this combat and is undoubtedly one of the most famous fighters. This is the highest UFC combatant salary in 2022. He, therefore, tops the list as the most paid UFC fighter.

2. Jon Jones

Jon Jones won the lightweight championship against Dominick Reyes by choice at Toyota Centre on 9th February 2022. He got paid heavily for this, $0.5 million including his $40,000 bonus check. This makes him the second most paid UFC fighter in 2022.

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3. Israel Adesanya

Adesanya is of Nigerian descent but was born in New Zealand. He took the Middleweight Championship against Yoel Romero at MMA 248 and was awarded a massive check of $540,000, including a $40,000 fight bonus.

4. Donald Cerrone

Donald Cerrone has not been able to win any combat since the last two MMA events of UFC 246 and UFC 247. He, however, was awarded $440,000 for participating in these fights, placing him high on this list.

5. Tony Ferguson

Tony lost the lightweight championship where he was fighting Justin Gaethje. He got a mind-blowing knockout from Justin. However, this did not stop him from getting a $430,000 paycheck from the fight.

6. Junior Dos Santos

Junior played as the former best combater in the MMA heavyweight division. He is of Brazilian descent. He started his career with a bang after he won a fight through knockout. He has defeated several fighters such as Frank Mir, Derrick Lewis, and Roy Nelson. He earns a base salary of $400,000, and on Fight night 166, he was able to earn a performance base of $20,000.

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7. Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo is an American mixed martial artist, and he was also a former freestyle wrestler from Los Angeles. He is also the reigning champion of both the Bantamweight and flyweight divisions. He earned a base salary of $350,000 in the UFC 249 and later fought Dominick Cruz and won. He received a performance bonus of $40,000.

8. Justin Gaethje

Justin Gathje is known as the most exciting MMA fighter due to his pace and superior brawling style. In UFC 274, he played against Charles Olivera. He earned $365,000 and a performance bonus of $30,000.

9. Aleksei Oleinik

Aleksei Oleinik is the number 15 heavyweight contender in the UFC. He comes from Ukraine. He is also referred to as The Boa Constrictor because he is known to put any opponent to sleep with ease. Aleksei has fought at the MMA 246 events against Maurice Green and won, making $155,000. He then took part in the UFC 249 and acquired $155,000 and was paid a performance bonus of $70,000.

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10. Dominick Reyes

At the UFC 247, Dominick was the second-highest-paid combatant. He received a total sum of $380,000 after fighting against Jon Jones in this combat, where Dominick achieved razor-thin success over Jon Jones. He received a salary of $350,000 and a performance of $30,000. Adding up to $380,000.

11. Yoel Romero

At the 248 events, Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya fought a lacklustre affair. Romero held the centre of the octagon throughout the combat. Adesanya attacked his lead leg with kicks. He won the combat unanimously and sat at the top with $500,000 while Yoel was close behind him with $350,000. He also got a performance bonus of $30,000.

12. Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio Werdum was awarded $325,000 he fought against Alexander Gustafsson and acquired a promotional bonus of $150,000. Fabricio mainly competes in the heavyweight division and is a former heavyweight champion. His skills are in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay-Thai and Judo.

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13. Francis Ngannou

Francis earned a purse of $600,000 for having hard combat where he won over Ciryl Gane in the UFC 270. He entered the war with an injured knee, however, he managed to record the first defence of his MMA heavyweight title against the undefeated Gane.

14. Charles Oliveira

Charles defeated Kevin Lee in the third round submission, which closed out UFC combat night 170 in Brazil. He received $110,000 and a winning bonus of $110,000, which amounted to $220,000. And he also received a performance bonus of $97,200, totalling up to $307,200.

15. Derrick Lewis

During the UFC 247, Derrick Lewis fought against Ilir Latifi where he received a unanimous victory decision. With this victory, he was awarded $145,000, plus a winning bonus of $145,000 and an incentive of $15,000 making him among the highest-earning UFC fighters.

16. Zhang Weili

Zhang became the highest-paid UFC women fighter in 2022. She made $290,000 from a fight against Joanna Jedrezejczyk. Sources say that she made $200,000 from the fight. And the rest of the $90,000 was mainly from sponsorship and partnership from her performances.

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17. Dominick Cruz

In the UFC 249 event, Dominick fought against Henry Cejudo and he won the fight. As a result, he was awarded $250,000 and an additional performance bonus of $30,000. He, however, protested over the win accusing the referee of being drunk and making a poor judgement.

18. Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis played against Diego Ferreira in UFC 246. He made $249,000 from the combat, and he earned more purse money in UFC 249. He took part in three fights, but his earnings of $249,000 remained the same. In addition, he was awarded a $40,000 performance bonus.

19. Valentina Schevchenko

Valentina is currently the best-paid fighter from Ukraine. She made $230,000 and also received a 100 winning bonus, which increased to $270,000 after receiving a $40,000 sponsorship bonus. In 2021, the woman topped the list for the highest-paid female UFC fighter with $1 million in earnings from UFC 245 and UFC 239.

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20. Dan Hooker

Fight night 168 was Felder vs Hooker. He is a lightweight martial arts fighter from New Zealand. Also the king in the ring middleweight kickboxing champion. Furthermore, he made it to top 13 in the MMA lightweight rankings in 2022. In this combat, he was paid $85,000 plus a winning bonus of $85,000 and a performance bonus of $60,000.

21. Robert Whittaker

Robert won something more than an important belt in the UFC 271. He walked away with confidence, self-belief and his fighting spirit after winning the fight against Israel Adesanya. He earned $382,000, which was earned per view and was also given a sponsorship deal of $32,000.

22. Frank Mir

Frank Mir is a Bellator heavyweight combatant who fought with Fedor Emelainenko in Bellator 198. He won the first round of knockout and earned $300,000 during the show. He has been competing in the UFC for a staggering 16 years!

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23. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Stefan Struve went to war at UFC 190 in Brazil. He took part as a heavyweight combatant, and he won the nail-biting fight. His win earned $250,000 from the show and $10,000 from a Reebok sponsorship.

24. Glover Teixeira

During UFC combat night, Santos vs Teixeira, Glover was the top paid fighter, and he got a big win. He earned $120,000 from the show, $120,000 as a winning bonus and $20,000 as a war week incentive pay.

25. Ronaldo Jacare Souza

Ronaldo earned the most significant paycheck at MMA 262 after his fight against Andre Muniz when it turned out that he was the better grappler than the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend. He earned $210,000 from the show and a $16,000 fight week incentive salary.

The lowest-paid UFC fighter earns between $10,000 to $30,000 while new combatants are usually paid the lowest amounts when they sign with MMA. However, this value can increase when they continue participating in more combats and championships which helps build a name for them and earn them further endorsements, brand deals and sponsorships.

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The highest-paid MMA fight was the UFC 202, where Conor McGregor earned the biggest combat purse at $3 million. Who was the highest-paid UFC fighter in 2021? The highest-paid fighter in 2021 was Conor McGregor the second one being Kamaru Usman.

From the list above, we have studied 25 of the highest-paid UFC fighters up to UFC 271, and the most paid combatant in 2022 is Conor McGregor. Is your favourite fighter in this list?

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Source: Briefly News