UFC 281 Salaries and Payouts

UFC 281 (on November 12, 2022) is a highly anticipated pay-per-view card featuring two title fights. In the main event, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya takes on the most feared striker in the world in Alex Pereira. Izzy has been near perfect in the UFC with his lone loss coming from Jan Blachowicz when he tried to move up a weight class to capture a second belt. Adesanya is currently riding a 3-fight win streak with victories over Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori. After making his name as a world champion kickboxer, Pereira has blitzed up the UFC ranks in just one year. In his last fight, he knocked out perennial contender Sean Strickland. In the co-main event, wrestler Carla Esparza looks to defend her title against the powerhouse former champion Zhang Weili from China. In the other featured main card bout, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier takes on Michael Chandler in a high stakes lightweight bout.

Update: In a stunning 5th round, Alex Pereira captured the belt by knocking out defending champion Israel Adesanya. It was the third time that Adesanya has lost to “Poatan” – twice in kickboxing and now in MMA. Adesanya looked to tire out Pereira but the Brazilian’s power proved to be too much. Adesanya was reacting to every single one of Pereira’s punches. In the co-main event, Zhang Weili recaptured her belt from Carla Esparza by trapping her in a crucifix and transitioning to a rear naked choke. Weili was too powerful on her feet for the American Esparza and she outscrambled Esparza once it hit the mat. The Fight of the Night went to Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier for their slobberknocker of a fight that ended with Poirier submitting Chandler after an amazing back and forth battle.

Assumptions:
Assuming Adesanya and Esparza are getting PPV points since they are champs (standard UFC policy)
Assuming Poirier is getting points based on his drawing power
Assuming Adesanya, Poirier, Chandler and Frankie Edgar are getting paid flat salaries with no potential win bonus.
Solely for the purposes of salary estimation, assuming 600,000 buys based on the star power of this card. This is a best guess based on previously disclosed PPV numbers.

*Note that the official payouts have not been disclosed for this fight card in New York so the salaries listed are based on estimates of previous contracts, trends, and drawing power. Other assumptions are made like expected contract changes. All promotional compliance pay figures are based on the formula negotiated with Venum.

Total Payout for UFC 281: $9,103,100 (estimated)
Venum (Sponsorship) Fighter payout: $331,500
Performance Bonus money paid out: $200,000 (Weili, “Poatan”, Chandler, Poirier)

UFC 281 Detailed Payouts

FighterOpponent DateEventResultBase SalaryWin BonusPPV BuysPPV Payout (est)Performance BonusSponsorshipTotalComments
Alex PereiraIsrael Adesanya11/12/2022UFC 281W$300,000 $300,000 $50,000 $32,000 $682,000
Israel AdesanyaAlex Pereira11/12/2022UFC 281L$2,000,000 $0 600,000$600,000 $42,000 $2,642,000
Dustin PoirierMichael Chandler11/12/2022UFC 281W$1,000,000 $0 600,000$600,000 $50,000 $21,000 $1,671,000
Michael ChandlerDustin Poirier11/12/2022UFC 281L$500,000 $0 $50,000 $4,500 $554,500
Dominick ReyesRyan Spann11/12/2022UFC 281L$114,400 $0 $6,000 $120,400 Recieved 20% from Spann
Dan HookerClaudio Puelles11/12/2022UFC 281W$160,000 $160,000 $16,000 $336,000
Frankie EdgarChris Gutierrez11/12/2022UFC 281L$250,000 $0 $21,000 $271,000
Renato MoicanoBrad Riddell11/12/2022UFC 281W$60,000 $60,000 $11,000 $131,000
Carla EsparzaZhang Weili11/12/2022UFC 281L$250,000 $0 600,000$600,000 $42,000 $892,000
Zhang WeiliCarla Esparza11/12/2022UFC 281W$200,000 $200,000 $50,000 $32,000 $482,000
Chris GutierrezFrankie Edgar11/12/2022UFC 281W$60,000 $60,000 $6,000 $126,000
Claudio PuellesDan Hooker11/12/2022UFC 281L$50,000 $0 $6,000 $56,000
Brad RiddellRenato Moicano11/12/2022UFC 281L$72,000 $0 $6,000 $78,000
Ryan SpannDominick Reyes11/12/2022UFC 281W$57,600 $57,600 $6,000 $121,200 Spann missed weight
Molly McCannErin Blanchfield11/12/2022UFC 281L$60,000 $0 $6,000 $66,000
Erin BlanchfieldMolly McCann11/12/2022UFC 281W$30,000 $30,000 $4,000 $64,000
Andre PetroskiWellington Turman11/12/2022UFC 281W$30,000 $30,000 $4,000 $64,000
Wellington TurmanAndre Petroski11/12/2022UFC 281L$40,000 $0 $6,000 $46,000
Matt FrevolaOttman Azaitar11/12/2022UFC 281W$50,000 $50,000 $6,000 $106,000
Ottman AzaitarMatt Frevola11/12/2022UFC 281L$40,000 $0 $4,000 $44,000
Karolina KowalkiewiczSilvana Gómez Juárez11/12/2022UFC 281W$60,000 $60,000 $11,000 $131,000
Silvana Gómez JuárezKarolina Kowalkiewicz11/12/2022UFC 281L$30,000 $0 $4,500 $34,500
Michael TrizanoChoi Seung-woo11/12/2022UFC 281W$40,000 $40,000 $6,000 $86,000 Trizano missed weight
Choi Seung-wooMichael Trizano11/12/2022UFC 281L$60,000 $0 $6,000 $66,000 Recieved 20% from Trizano
Julio ArceMontel Jackson11/12/2022UFC 281L$60,000 $0 $6,000 $66,000
Montel JacksonJulio Arce11/12/2022UFC 281W$24,000 $24,000 $6,000 $54,000
Carlos UlbergNicolae Negumereanu11/12/2022UFC 281W$36,000 $36,000 $4,500 $76,500
Nicolae NegumereanuCarlos Ulberg11/12/2022UFC 281L$30,000 $0 $6,000 $36,000

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