5 Highest paid UFC fighters of all time
In the world of combat sports, no sport has enjoyed such a meteoric rise as the UFC. Now a household fighting brand all over the world, some of the UFC’s finest fighters have gone onto make life altering sums that would make even the most famous boxers pay attention. With fighters now able to earn millions every time they step into the Octagon. In this article, our resident UFC expert, Aladár Kollár ranks the five UFC fighters who top the UFC rich list.
Ranking The Highest – Earning UFC Fighters
1. Conor McGregor
“My success isn’t a result of arrogance – it’s a result of belief.“
Perhaps it isn’t surprising that it is Conor McGregor who tops the rankings when it comes to the richest fighter in UFC history. Hailing from Ireland, McGregor’s flashy and boxing based fighting style perfectly reflected his personality and with his promo skills proving to be unparalleled, no body has been able to impact the UFC, or gain as big a following as the enigmatic McGregor.
McGregor made his UFC debut back in the Lightweight division back in 2013, McGregor quickly notched up the wins and was able to beat the likes of Dustin Poirier and Jose Aldo. One of his greatest victories came when he avenged a defeat to Nate Diaz. Launching his career to a different stratosphere, his time in the Octagon was less and at UFC 229, McGregor was on the receiving end of a brutal defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Having amassed career earnings that top out near $40 million, His total earnings have far exceeded that amount thanks to his various business interests and movie cameos.
Although he is regarded as one of the best characters in the UFC, his time in the Octagon isn’t done. Set to return, McGregor will want to bow out of the sport on his own terms and on top.
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
“My best background is, like, smash opponents. I all the time go forward. I all the time try to take down somebody. Make him give up. This is my style, you know. This is what I do all my life.“
Widely regarded as one of the best UFC Champions of all time, Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the most ferocious fighters of his generation. Managing to get through his career undefeated, Khabib would rank in the top five of any all time UFC list, and thanks to his domination inside the Octagon, he is also one of the highest paid.
With the ability to call upon a range of mixed martial arts as well as being a devastating striker, Khabib’s greatest moment in the UFC came in 2018 when he was able to beat Al Iaquinta to the UFC Lightweight title in five dramatic rounds.
Fact: By winning his title, Khabib became an overnight sensation and quickly became one of the faces of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Able to command a huge salary, Khabib was lined up to make his first title defence to Conor McGregor at UFC 229. Easily defeating the Irishman, he quickly became one of the highest paid UFC fighters and signed a highly lucrative UFC contract.
Always willing to stay true to his word, Khabib hinted that his time at the top of the UFC would be brief and after destroying Justin Gaethje, he decided to retire and hasn’t been lured back for a single fight since.
Boasting a UFC career that few can match, Khabib is a true great and for many will never be topped as the greatest UFC fighter of all time.
3. Alistair Overeem
Much like in boxing, being a heavyweight fighter can earn you millions and one of the highest-paid fighters in the UFC was Alistair Overeem. Eclipsing the amount that other heavyweight fighters such as Brock Lesnar was able to earn, Overeem was one of the most devasting strikers in UFC history.
A true UFC heavyweight, Overeem spent ten years in the UFC, stepping into the Octagon for a final time back in 2021.
Although never able to capture the UFC heavyweight title, his time in the UFC is fondly remembered. His fights against Stipe Miocic and Junior Dos Santos still ranks as some of the best fights in UFC history .
A knockout specialist, his UFC career earnings top out at $15.4 million and his ability to both box and kickbox has paved the way for other kickboxers to follow.
4. Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva is one of the most recognised UFC fighters in history. Hailing from Brazil, Silva enjoyed a fourteen year career in the UFC and thanks to his sheer brilliance he is easily one of the 10 highest paid UFC fighters in history.
A true titan of the Middleweight division, Silva is often recognised as the greatest UFC middleweight champion in history and nobody has made as many successful title defences as Silva.
One of the first major UFC stars, Silva’s ability to win fights by technical submission and via devastating strikes made him a hugely popular figure.
A true MMA great, his tenure in the UFC was marred by a sloppy end to his career. Having dominated the Middleweight division for years, Silva would go onto lose his title to Chris Weidman and before retiring from the sport he would also lose to Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier and Israel Adesanya.
Although his time in MMA didn’t end the way he would have liked, his stature as one of the highest-paid UFC fighters was already secured and when anybody thinks of the UFC Middleweight title, they will forever think of Anderson Silva
5. Andrei Arlovski
Rounding out our list of the highest paid MMA fighters is the Belarusian fighter Andrei Arlovski. Another heavyweight great, Arlovski was the first Belarusian to ever win a UFC Championship and very few fighters have been able to match his overall win record.
Having fought some of the very best in the heavyweight division, Arlovski often bought mayhem to a UFC fight and very few were able to match his power or speed.
Although he has lost his last four starts Arlovski can still command one of the best fees in the MMA, although his championship days might be behind him, Arlovski has gone onto make the kind of money that the majority of UFC fighters would have loved to have made.
UFC continues to rule combat and fighting sports
With their still being massive frustrations when it comes to boxing with all of the best boxers commonly avoiding each other, the UFC is now the number one combat sport in the world and all over the world, fighters dream of being able to headline the Octagon.
As the UFC continues to thrive so does the money and all of the fighters on our rich list as well as others such as Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko have paved the way for future generations to earn millions.
Viktor Halmi, Laszlo Senyei and Adam Borics are just three Hungarian fighters who have been able to dominate the UFC landscape and there are high hopes that over the next few years, Hungarian fans will have new MMA heroes to cheer on.
The UFC’s Pay-Per-View fights are amongst some of the most popular sporting events on the planet and for those ready to bet on UFC fights in Hungary, there are plenty of UFC fights for you to sink your teeth into. The UFC is one of the most watched sports in the country and Hungarian fans are some of the most passionate in the world.