UFC 286 (on March 18, 2023) was a pay per view card featuring the highly anticipated rematch between champion Leon Edwards and former long reigning champion Kamaru Usman. In their first encounter at UFC 278, Edwards shocked the world with a final round come from behind knockout victory. In the rematch, Edwards proved that it wasn’t a fluke by outstriking and outpointing the grappler Usman. Edwards defended the takedown well and his volume striking proved to be too much for Usman as he won a majority decision to defend his title. The co-main event provided an absolute banger as Justin Gaethje battled Rafael Fiziev. The “Fight of the Night” showcased both athletes incredible power but Gaethje’s constant pressure was just too much as he wore down the kickboxer Fiziev.
Bonuses were earned by Fiziev and Gaethje along with Gunnar Nelson and Jake Hadley.
Assumptions:
Assuming only Edwards is getting PPV money as he is the defending champion
Assuming Usman is getting paid flat money with no possible win bonus
550,000 PPV buys is an educated guess solely for the purpose of estimating PPV share – based on the drawing power of the card.
*Note that the official payouts have not been disclosed for this fight card in London 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 285: $6,282,500
Venum (Sponsorship) Fighter payout: $250,500
Performance Bonus money paid out: $200,000 (official)
UFC 286 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 | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $500,000 | $500,000 | 550,000 | $500,000 | $42,000 | $1,542,000 | ||
| Kamaru Usman | Leon Edwards | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $1,000,000 | $0 | $32,000 | $1,032,000 | ||||
| Justin Gaethje | Rafael Fiziev | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $500,000 | $500,000 | $50,000 | $6,000 | $1,056,000 | |||
| Rafael Fiziev | Justin Gaethje | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $150,000 | $0 | $50,000 | $6,000 | $206,000 | |||
| Gunnar Nelson | Bryan Barberena | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $90,000 | $90,000 | $50,000 | $11,000 | $241,000 | |||
| Bryan Barberena | Gunnar Nelson | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $60,000 | $0 | $16,000 | $76,000 | ||||
| Jennifer Maia | Casey O'Neill | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $60,000 | $60,000 | $6,000 | $126,000 | ||||
| Casey O'Neill | Jennifer Maia | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $40,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $44,500 | ||||
| Marvin Vettori | Roman Dolidze | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $350,000 | $350,000 | $11,000 | $711,000 | ||||
| Roman Dolidze | Marvin Vettori | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $56,000 | ||||
| Jack Shore | Makwan Amirkhani | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $50,000 | $50,000 | $4,500 | $104,500 | ||||
| Makwan Amirkhani | Jack Shore | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $90,000 | $0 | $11,000 | $101,000 | ||||
| Chris Duncan | Omar Morales | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $24,000 | $24,000 | $4,000 | $52,000 | ||||
| Omar Morales | Chris Duncan | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $56,000 | ||||
| Yanal Ashmouz | Sam Patterson | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $12,000 | $12,000 | $4,000 | $28,000 | ||||
| Sam Patterson | Yanal Ashmouz | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $12,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $16,000 | ||||
| Muhammad Mokaev | Jafel Filho | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $50,000 | $50,000 | $4,500 | $104,500 | ||||
| Jafel Filho | Muhammad Mokaev | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $12,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $16,000 | ||||
| Lerone Murphy | Gabriel Santos | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $30,000 | $30,000 | $4,500 | $64,500 | ||||
| Gabriel Santos | Lerone Murphy | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $12,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $16,000 | ||||
| Christian Leroy Duncan | Duško Todorović | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $20,000 | $20,000 | $4,000 | $44,000 | ||||
| Duško Todorović | Christian Leroy Duncan | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $56,000 | ||||
| Jake Hadley | Malcolm Gordon | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $30,000 | $30,000 | 50000 | $4,500 | $114,500 | |||
| Malcolm Gordon | Jake Hadley | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $24,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $30,000 | ||||
| Joanne Wood | Luana Carolina | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $70,000 | $70,000 | $16,000 | $156,000 | ||||
| Luana Carolina | Joanne Wood | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $20,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $24,500 | ||||
| Jai Herbert | Ľudovít Klein | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $30,000 | $30,000 | $4,000 | $64,000 | ||||
| Ľudovít Klein | Jai Herbert | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $40,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $44,500 | ||||
| Veronica Hardy | Juliana Miller | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | W | $30,000 | $30,000 | $6,000 | $66,000 | ||||
| Juliana Miller | Veronica Hardy | 3/18/2023 | UFC 286 | L | $30,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $34,000 |
