Ilia Topuria was crowned lightweight champion after knocking out Oliveira in the first round. A UFC fighter can earn up to $3 million.
How much prize money did Topuria earn for his fight against Oliveira at UFC 317?
Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira faced off for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317 in Las Vegas, with the Spaniard winning with a spectacular first-round knockout. Although purses are not usually disclosed, UFC fighters can expect to earn between $50,000 and $3,000,000.
The UFC doesn’t make public how much its fighters earn per fight, but there are some approximate figures based on the importance of the fight, whether there’s a belt at stake, the fighter’s fame, and their length of service with the company. Therefore, there are three levels of pay, and obviously, not all UFC 317 headliners receive the same pay.
When fighters join the company, they sign a contract for a certain number of fights and a fixed amount of money each time they step into the cage. The three groups into which fighters are classified based on their pay are: low, medium, and high. At the lowest, fighters earn between $10,000 and $30,000. Many have spoken about the struggles they face with these types of paychecks, having to juggle their training and fights with other jobs. This was the case of flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, who delivered food, and of bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, who was a blue-collar worker.
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At the mid-level, when fighters have already won a few fights and are starting to gain a more media-friendly reputation, prize money ranges from $80,000 to $250,000. The payouts increase when more people want to see them in the cage, and even more so if there are belts at stake. At the highest level, the main eventers pocket between $500,000 and $3,000,000 per fight, a range in which Topuria would be. Added to this are the matchday bonuses, if they win them. These are monetary prizes that go up to $50,000 for the fight of the night, the most spectacular knockout, the most outstanding submission, or the performance of the night.
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