UFC 278 (on August 19, 2022) is a pay per view card featuring a title bout between pound for pound king Kamaru Usman and challenger Leon Edwards. Edwards earned his title shot after beating Nate Diaz in his last fight. He’s undefeated since 2015 with his last loss coming against Usman at UFC on Fox 17. The co-main event features the return of former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. Rockhold has lost two straight and hopes to get back in title contention with a win over Brazilian knockout artist Paulo Costa. The main card also features the return of Jose Aldo who is likely to earn a title shot with a win over Merab Dvalishvili.
Update: In one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history, Leon Edwards shocked the world by knocking out Kamaru Usman with a headkick. Usman was dominating with his wrestling and was likely up 3-1 on the scorecards when Edwards detonated the bomb. In the co-main event, Paulo Costa beat Luke Rockhold in a slobberknocker of a fight. Merab Dvalishvili also managed to defeat Jose Aldo with relentless pressure and striking.
Assumed bonuses for Costa/Rockhold, Edwards and Tyson Pedro. To be updated upon release.
*Note that the official payouts have not been disclosed for this fight card in Utah 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.
Assumptions:
Only champions getting PPV Points (Usman)
Estimating 500,000 PPV buys based on the cards drawing power (solely for the purposes of estimating PPV share)
Total Payout for UFC 278: $3,366,000
Venum (Sponsorship) Fighter payout: $220,000
Performance Bonus money paid out: $200,000 (Crypto.com bonuses pending)
UFC 278 Detailed Payouts
| Fighter | Opponent | Date | Event | Result | Base Salary | Win Bonus | PPV Buys | PPV Payout (est) | Performance Bonus | Sponsorship | Total | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leon Edwards | Kamaru Usman | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $350,000 | $0 | $50,000 | $32,000 | $432,000 | |||
| Kamaru Usman | Leon Edwards | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $500,000 | $0 | 500,000 | $400,000 | $20,000 | $42,000 | $962,000 | Crypto.com Bonus |
| Merab Dvalishvili | Jose Aldo | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $99,000 | $99,000 | $6,000 | $204,000 | ||||
| Paulo Costa | Luke Rockhold | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $65,000 | $65,000 | $80,000 | $6,000 | $216,000 | Crypto.com Bonus | ||
| Luke Rockhold | Paulo Costa | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $200,000 | $0 | $50,000 | $11,000 | $261,000 | |||
| Jose Aldo | Merab Dvalishvili | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $400,000 | $0 | $10,000 | $21,000 | $431,000 | Crypto.com bonus | ||
| Wu Yanan | Lucie Pudilova | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $20,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $26,000 | ||||
| Lucie Pudilova | Wu Yanan | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $23,000 | $23,000 | $6,000 | $52,000 | ||||
| Tyson Pedro | Harry Hunsucker | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $43,000 | $43,000 | $6,000 | $92,000 | ||||
| Harry Hunsucker | Tyson Pedro | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $12,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $16,500 | ||||
| Marcin Tybura | Alexander Romanov | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $120,000 | $120,000 | $16,000 | $256,000 | ||||
| Alexander Romanov | Marcin Tybura | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $36,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $40,500 | ||||
| Leonardo Santos | Jared Gordon | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $44,000 | $0 | $11,000 | $55,000 | ||||
| Jared Gordon | Leonardo Santos | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $50,000 | $50,000 | $6,000 | $106,000 | ||||
| Sean Woodson | Luis Saldana | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | D | $24,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $28,500 | ||||
| Luis Saldana | Sean Woodson | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | D | $14,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $18,500 | ||||
| A.J. Fletcher | Ange Loosa | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $10,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $14,000 | ||||
| Ange Loosa | A.J. Fletcher | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $12,000 | $12,000 | $4,000 | $28,000 | ||||
| Amir Albazi | Francisco Figueiredo | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $16,000 | $16,000 | $4,000 | $36,000 | ||||
| Francisco Figueiredo | Amir Albazi | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $14,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $18,500 | ||||
| Aori Qileng | Jay Perrin | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $12,000 | $12,000 | $4,500 | $28,500 | ||||
| Jay Perrin | Aori Qileng | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $12,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $16,000 | ||||
| Daniel Lacerda | Victor Altamirano | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | L | $10,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $14,000 | ||||
| Victor Altamirano | Daniel Lacerda | 8/20/2022 | UFC 278 | W | $10,000 | $10,000 | $50,000 | $4,000 | $74,000 |
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