10 of the highest paid UFC fighters of all time

3. Alistair Overeem - $10,030,000

One of the most decorated fighters in the heavyweight division’s history, Alistair Overeem achieved everything in his combat sports career except winning the UFC title. Overeem came dangerously close to becoming the UFC champion in a closely contested fight against former champion Stipe Miocic but failed to pull off a victory.

In the never-ending discussion about UFC fighter pay, Alistair Overeem set the bar high right from the beginning of his UFC career and bagged a respectable $380,000 in his promotional debut against Brock Lesnar. Overeem’s biggest paycheck in the UFC came with his win over Fabricio Werdum at UFC 213 when he topped the payday with $800,000. Overall, Overeem earned a total of $10 million from his UFC fights.

2. Khabib Nurmagomedov - $15,350,000

A formidable force in the UFC lightweight division, Khabib Nurmagomedov is remembered for his absolute decimation of opponents in the storied 29-fight MMA career. Nurmagomedov acquainted the MMA community with the Dagestani style of grappling that still remains an unsolved puzzle in the sport. With an exception of Round 3 in the Conor McGregor fight, Nurmagomedov never even lost a round in his career and retired with a perfect 29-0 record.

But despite being a dominant fighter, Nurmagomedov took his time to improve his financial gains in the sport. Nurmagomedov’s first disclosed six-figure pay came at UFC 219 when he outclassed Edson Barboza en route to a unanimous decision victory, taking home $160,000 for his effort. Nurmagomedov became a global superstar following a win over his greatest rival, Conor McGregor which also made a huge impact on his earnings in the subsequent MMA career.

Nurmagomedov received a $2 million salary to fight McGregor and he was reportedly paid three times more for his fights against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. His total earnings from UFC fights stand at $15.3 million.