Ferguson Takes Home Biggest UFC Payday
Tony Ferguson’s historic 12-fight winning streak came to an end at UFC 249 following a fifth-round TKO defeat to Justin Gaethje — however, he could take some consolation from the payday he earned on the night.
As per the Florida State Boxing Commission, Ferguson earned a flat fee of $500,000 on the night. That’s a huge increase from the $155,000 — which included a win bonus — he made following his victory over Anthony Pettis at UFC 229 in October 2018.
Although the purse for his fight with Donald Cerrone at UFC 238 last year was not publicly disclosed, it is speculated that he earned a total of $235,000 which included a number of bonuses. Given that his bout with Gaethje was given “Fight of the Night” honors, “El Cucuy” took home a total of $550,000.
Gaethje earned a flat $350,000 and received an additional $100,000 in performance bonuses to take his total to $450,000. The co-main event fighters in Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz, meanwhile, took home $350,000 and $300,000 respectively.
Below are the full purses (via MMA Fighting):
- Tony Ferguson: $550,000 — $500,000 flat fee plus $50,000 for “Fight of the Night.”
- Justin Gaethje: $450,000 — $350,000 salary plus $100,000 for “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night
- Henry Cejudo: $350,000
- Dominick Cruz: $300,000
- Francis Ngannou: $310,000 — $260,000 salary plus $50,000 for “Performance of the Night”
- Jairzinho Rozenstruick: $80,000
- Calvin Kattar: $116,100 — his salary included a fine paid by Jeremy Stephens after he failed to make weight.
- Jeremy Stephens: $46,900
- Greg Hardy: $180,000
- Yorgan De Castro: $12,000
- Anthony Pettis: $310,000
- Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone: $200,000
- Aleksei Oleinik: $160,000
- Fabricio Werdum: $100,000
- Carla Esparza: $102,000
- Michelle Waterson: $60,000
- Vicente Luque: $180,000
- Niko Price: $57,000
- Bryce Mitchell: $54,000
- Charles Rosa: $24,000
- Ryan Spann: $50,000
- Sam Alvey: $65,000
What do you make of the UFC 249 purses?