10 of the highest paid UFC fighters of all time
5. Andrei Arlovski - $7,600,000
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is one of the longest-tenured fighters in UFC history. Arlovski made his professional MMA debut in 1999 and continues to be an active heavyweight competing against much younger fighters.
Arlovski earned his first six-figure salary, $145,000, at UFC 66 when he defeated Marcio Cruz coming off back-to-back title fight losses against Tim Sylvia. The single biggest payday of Arlovski’s fighting career came outside of the UFC as he received a reported payout of $1.5 million to fight Fedor Emelianenko at the Affliction: Day of Reckoning event in January 2009.
Arlovski has enjoyed a steady growth in his income from UFC fights. According to the latest data available, Arlovski received $325,000 for his winning effort against Philipe Lins at UFC Jacksonville in May 2020. His total earnings from fights stand at $7,600,000.
4. Anderson Silva - $9,000,000
Anderson Silva’s name is proudly mentioned in the list of UFC’s top three greatest fighters of all time. Silva holds the record for second-most consecutive title defences in UFC history (10) behind Demetrious Johnson (11) and he is also the most dominant champion in UFC history by the length of title reign (2457 days).
One of the most important features of Silva’s storied career is that he never changed his approach to fighting even after becoming the middleweight champion. It has been observed that most of the champions focus more on retaining the title and finishes and fan-friendly performances become rare.
Silva never fell prey to this phenomenon. 9 of his 11 title fight victories came by way of finish, which makes him one of the most impressive finishers in UFC history. Silva proved to be a special talent right from the beginning of his UFC career. As a result of this, Silva fought for the title in his second UFC appearance. By the time he lost the middleweight belt to Chris Weidman in 2013, Silva earned $600,000 per fight. His total earnings from UFC fights stand at $9 million.