10 of the highest paid UFC fighters of all time
9. Jon Jones - $7,300,000
Arguably one of the greatest combat sports athletes in history, Jon Jones has dominated three generations of elite fighters during his legendary MMA career. At 21, Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history and has competed as a defending champion for a vast majority of his career.
While his shenanigans outside the octagon have imparted a dark grey shade to his character, nobody can question Jones’ achievements inside the UFC Octagon. After ruling the light heavyweight division for a better part of a decade, Jones made his highly anticipated move up to heavyweight in 2023 and became the champion.
Apart from being a dominant champion, Jones is also one of the UFC’s biggest crow-pullers. He has made $7.3 million in earnings from his UFC fights so far. Although he appears to be at the tail end of his storied career, Jones is also the active champion in this list and still has the potential to improve his standing.
8. Georges St-Pierre - $7,350,000
Georges St-Pierre formed a third of the UFC”s crowd-pulling trio of champions in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the other two being Jon Jones and Anderson Silva. St-Pierre was the brightest representative of the first generation of UFC fighters that possessed a truly well-rounded skill set in terms of striking and grappling.
He is the consensus greatest welterweight champion in UFC history and many argue that he deserves to be considered the greatest of all time, especially after he captured the middleweight title in 2017.
The most interesting fact about St-Pierre’s progression is that he came into the UFC as a flashy Karate fighter but transformed into one of the most dominant wrestlers in the following years. While this transformation helped him enjoy a greater degree of competitive success, it also turned a section of MMA fans against him as many felt the new version of St-Pierre was ‘boring’.
But fan-friendly performances and greatness don’t go hand-in-hand at all times. Despite the criticism, St-Pierre enjoyed massive support from fans, especially in his home country of Canada. This translated well in his career earnings as well and St-Pierre earned upwards of $7.3 million from his UFC fight earnings.
But St-Pierre’s financial growth was slow and painful at the beginning. He came into the UFC when MMA was still frowned upon and money was still scarce. To put in perspective, St-Pierre earned a paltry $6,000 in his UFC debut against Karo Parisiyan, including a $3,000 win bonus.
Things had changed dramatically by 2009 as St-Pierre, along with Brock Lesnar, bagged the highest disclosed salary among UFC 100 fighters, taking home $400,000 for defeating Thiago Alves.