Utah Athletic Commission recently released the payouts and salaries for those fighters competing at the UFC 278 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place late last month in Salt Lake City. As expected, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman led the payday way with his flat rate of $500,000, despite losing his 170-pound title to Leon Edwards.
“Rocky” banked $350,000 for the bookie-busting upset.
Elsewhere on the card, former featherweight champion Jose Aldo collected $400,000 for his unanimous decision loss to bantamweight rival Merab Dvalishvili ($198,000). In addition, ex-middleweight kingpin Luke Rockhold will take $200,000 into retirement following his “Fight of the Night” defeat to 185-pound bruiser Paulo Costa ($130,000).
Complete UFC 278 payouts (courtesy of MMA Fighting) below:
UFC 278 Main Card:
Leon Edwards ($350,000 + no win bonus = $350,000) def. Kamaru Usman ($500,000)
Paulo Costa ($65,000 + $65,000 win bonus = $130,000) def. Luke Rockhold ($200,000)
Merab Dvalishvili ($99,000 + $99,000 win bonus = $198,000) def. Jose Aldo ($400,000)
Lucie Pudilova ($23,000 + $23,000 win bonus = $46,000) def. Wu Yanan ($20,000)
Tyson Pedro ($43,000 + $43,000 win bonus = $86,000) def. Harry Hunsucker ($12,000)
UFC 279 Preliminary Card:
Marcin Tybura ($120,000 + $120,000 win bonus = $240,000) def. Alexandr Romanov ($36,000)
Jared Gordon ($47,000 + $47,000 win bonus = $94,000) def. Leonardo Santos ($44,000)
Sean Woodson ($24,000) vs. Luis Saldana ($14,000)
Ange Loosa ($12,000 + $12,000 win bonus = $24,000) def. A.J. Fletcher ($10,000)
Amir Albazi ($16,000 + $16,000 win bonus = $32,000) def. Fran Figueiredo ($14,000)
Aoriqileng ($12,000 + $12,000 win bonus = $24,000) def. Jay Perrin ($12,000)
Victor Altamirano ($10,000 + $10,000 win bonus = $20,000) def. Daniel Lacerda ($10,000)
Keep in mind the payouts listed above do not include fight bonuses, promotional compliance sponsorships, or other unofficial payments. It also does not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc.
For example, the promotion typically hands out extra cash for “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night” bonuses (see those here), as well as the occasional (and undisclosed) locker room incentives.
For complete UFC 278 results and fight coverage click here.