Alexander Volkanovski may have lost his featherweight title on Saturday night, but he was nonetheless compensated quite nicely for his efforts.
Volkanovski took home an event-high $750,000 for his second-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria ($350,000) in the UFC 298 headliner at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. The 35-year-old Australian was one of 13 fighters who earned a six-figure payday, according to salary figures released by the California State Athletic Commission.
Meanwhile, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was the card’s second second biggest earner, as he banked $400,000 for a unanimous decision triumph over Paulo Costa ($250,000) in the evening’s co-main event.
UFC 298 Salaries:
Ilia Topuria: $350,000
Alexander Volkanovski: $750,000
Robert Whittaker: $400,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
Paulo Costa: $250,000
Ian Garry: $110,000 (includes $55,000 win bonus)
Geoff Neal: $108,000
Merab Dvalishvili: $210,000 (includes $105,000 win bonus)
Henry Cejudo: $150,000
Anthony Hernandez: $122,000 ( includes $66,000 win bonus)
Roman Kopylov: $80,000
Amanda Lemos: $160,000 ( includes $80,000 win bonus)
Mackenzie Dern: $200,000
Marcos Rogerio de Lima: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
Junior Tafa: $23,000
Rinya Nakamura: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus)
Carlos Vera: $12,000
Mingyang Zhang: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Brendson Ribeiro: $10,000
Danny Barlow: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Josh Quinlan: $12,000
Oban Elliott: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Valentine Woodburn: $15,000
Miranda Maverick: $150,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus)
Andrea Lee: $70,000