UFC 298 was just concluded, and according to reports on the internet, it has garnered some huge numbers. UFC’s second Pay-Per-View event of the year was a major success, with the stacked main card living up to its hype. In the main event, Ilia ‘El Matador’ Topuria took on Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight championship.
The Spaniard lived up to his word and knocked out the Australian great in the second round with a nasty right hand. In doing so, he became the first Georgian and Spanish UFC champion ever. In the co-main event, Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker put on an absolute show for the fans. With ‘The Reaper’ taking the win in the match.
what a crazy angle of Ilia’s knockout #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/Yub4WIEhMb
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) February 18, 2024
To add to these performances, Ian Garry won a closely fought match with Geoff Neal via unanimous decision in the welterweight bout on the card. Whereas in the bantamweight bout, Merab Dvalishvili made an absolute mockery of former double champion Henry Cejudo to clinch his 9th straight win in the division.
UFC 298 gate breaks UFC records in Anaheim, California
UFC 298 was not just a spectacle to behold, but also raked in huge value for the MMA promotion. All in all, reports have suggested that UFC’s 2nd PPV event of the year had an impressive turnout. The announced gate value at Anaheim stands tall at an estimated $7.26 million. This corresponds with the reported announced audience of 18,186 for the UFC 298 event in Anaheim, California.
As of now, there are no official reports about the PPV buys for UFC 298. Furthermore, this event makes comparisons with past UFC events in Anaheim, California, look silly, to say the least.
#UFC298 Anaheim
Announced Gate: $7.26M
Announced Attendance 18,1862024 UFC PPVs:
UFC 297 Toronto
Announced Gate: $7,898,695
Announced Attendance: 18,559A look at all #UFC events from Anaheim. pic.twitter.com/HPtkWYX8AU
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 18, 2024
According to a tweet by Jed I. Goodman, UFC 298’s announced gate numbers and audience numbers tower over the past events in Anaheim. UFC 270 had an announced gate of $5.29 million. While UFC 241 had the gate at $3.24 million and UFC 214 had it at just $2.45 million.
Reported fight purses at UFC 298 ft. Volkanovski, Whittaker, Topuria etc.
The reported fighter’s purses for UFC 298 put former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski as the highest earner on the night. He is set to earn around $750,000, with his challenger and the new featherweight champion of the UFC, Ilia Topuria, reportedly getting a bag of $350,000. Furthermore, neither fighter has been promised any performance or fight bonuses.
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Robert Whittaker, who won against Paulo Costa in the co-main event, will get a purse of $400K, which includes a $100K performance bonus. His opponent, ‘Borrachinha’, will get $250,000. Ian Machado Garry will bag $55,000 for the fight and another sum of the same amount as a bonus. Meanwhile, his opponent, Geoff Neal, is set to earn $108,000.
The Georgian Merab Dvalishvili collected $210,000, including a $105,000 bonus. Whereas his opponent, Cejudo, got $210,000. For the first fight of the main card, Anthony Hernandez and Roman Kopylov got $122,000 ($66K win bonus) and $80,000, respectively. It is important to note that these numbers don’t represent a fighter’s exact earnings; for example, PPV earnings, sponsorships, etc. are not disclosed publicly.