The final event of 2023, UFC 296, concluded at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last night. In what has been a heavily anticipated event, UFC 296 has certainly lived up to its expectations. From the jam-packed arena to A-lister celebrities in attendance, the event had it all. Following the end of the fight, the payouts for the fighters have been finally revealed.
The UFC has released the Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for last night’s event. UFC’s Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay is the money the fighters receive that is generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC. The pay is based on a multi-tier structure, with the pay grade depending on the number of UFC bouts fought by a fighter.
DOMINANT from start to finish!!@Leon_EdwardsMMA went wire to wire in his victory over Colby Covington #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/BDRy5fxvkn
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023
Fighters with 21 bouts or more earn the maximum amount of $21,000, and the sum lowers with lesser experience. The fighters with a minimum experience of one to three bouts earn the least- $4000. In addition to this, the champions pocket $42,000 and the challengers get $32,000. Thus, Leon Edwards and Alexandre Pantoja brought home $42,000, while challengers Colby Covington and Brandon Royval earned $32,000.
Moreover, the total Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for UFC 296 summed up to be $339,500. Last night’s event had the third-highest compliance pay, with UFC 283 topping the least with $359,500. In addition to this, the year-to-date total Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for 2023 is $8.1 million. The sum has lowered from 2022’s Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, which was $8.3 million.
Past Reported Payouts of UFC 296 Stars
According to reports, Leon Edwards is expected to earn as high as $5 million after winning his bout against Colby Covington last night. When Edwards made his UFC debut back in 2014, the English fighter earned $66,000. At UFC 278, when Edwards became the welterweight champion, the 32-year-old reportedly brought home $350,000.
Meanwhile, Colby Covington earned $16,000 at his UFC debut which was also in 2014. When Covington became UFC’s interim welterweight champion, he earned $380,000. In the two matches against Kumaru Usman for the welterweight title, ‘Chaos’ earned $580,000 and $532,000 respectively. In the meantime, Kazakh fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov extended his unbeaten streak last night after defeating Stephen Thompson.
Rakhmonov earned $6000 from the Promotion Guidelines Compliance pay last night. Rakhmonov earned $39,100 during his debut at UFC 254 in 2020 and got his biggest paycheck, $171,500, at UFC 285. Last but not least, Tony Ferguson made $21,000 from Compliance pay yesterday despite losing against Paddy Pimblett. Ferguson‘s biggest paycheck to date has been $530,000, which he has earned twice at UFC 216 and UFC 249.