Numerous fight purses for Conor McGregor and other major UFC stars have been revealed amid an antitrust lawsuit against the MMA promotion.
An antitrust case is a lawsuit concerning claims of anti-competitive business practices – the likes of which can lead to unfair competition and price fixing, among other issues. The lawsuit against the UFC was initiated in 2014, with ex-UFC fighters Jon Fitch and Cung Le among the plaintiffs, and it became a class-action lawsuit earlier this year. The case covers any fighter who competed in the organisation between 16 December 2010 and 30 June 2017.
A judge has now pushed for various records relating to the case to be unsealed, and that has led to the revelation of numerous fighter payouts. Journalists at Bloody Elbow were able to access some of the unsealed documents, including an “Internal Zuffa Bout Compensation” report.
The document contained details of fighter compensation, including disclosed and undisclosed payments, as well as information on side letters – agreements separate from the main contract – and bonuses.
The report did not name fighters, but its details enabled journalists to discern which fighter was which – including McGregor, Nate Diaz, Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar and others.
According to Bloody Elbow, McGregor made $3,285,000 (including a $2.11m bonus) to fight Chad Mendes in 2015. Later that year, the Irishman earned $4,476,662 or $4,536,932 to fight Jose Aldo, while the Brazilian received $2,377,699. In his next two fights, against Nate Diaz, McGregor earned $5,576,315 and $5,615,490. Meanwhile, Diaz made $2,838,158 and $4,315,490. Later in 2016, McGregor earned $6,812,374 to fight Eddie Alvarez, whose payout was not revealed.
Here are some of the other key fighters and numbers:
Ronda Rousey earnings
Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey— (Getty Images)
$1,817,907 vs Miesha Tate
$870,969 vs Sara McMann
$1,063,688 vs Alexis Davis
$1,458,282 vs Cat Zingano
$2,642,204 vs Bethe Correia
$4,476,662 or $4,536,932 vs Holly Holm
$4,879,766 vs Amanda Nunes
Brock Lesnar earnings
$3,000,000 vs Alistair Overeem
$8,000,000 vs Mark Hunt
Jon Jones earnings
Jon Jones, widely seen as the light-heavyweight ‘GOAT’, now reigns as heavyweight champion— (Getty Images)
$2,278,553 vs Rashad Evans
$1,566,196 vs Vitor Belfort
$2,750,000 vs Chael Sonnen
$1,173,560 vs Alexander Gustafsson
$1,237,880 vs Glover Teixeira
$3,637,500 vs Daniel Cormier 1
$2,677,530 vs Ovince St Preux
Georges St-Pierre earnings
Georges St-Pierre reigned as welterweight champion and later won the middleweight belt— (Getty Images)
$4,314,289 vs Jake Shields
$3,197,908 vs Carlos Condit
$4,116,690 vs Nick Diaz
$3,555,344 vs Johny Hendricks
Anderson Silva earnings
Middleweight icon Anderson Silva after his final bout in the UFC, in 2020— (Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
$2,506,034 vs Vitor Belfort
$2,000,000 vs Yushin Okami
$2,506,034 vs Chael Sonnen 2
$2,000,000 vs Stephan Bonnar
$3,222,253 vs Chris Weidman
$4,374,326 vs Chris Weidman 2
$3,429,082 vs Nick Diaz
$3,250,000 vs Michael Bisping
$4,208,675 vs Daniel Cormier
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