UFC 295, the second-to-last pay-per-view event of the year, is slated to occur on Saturday, November 11, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Originally, the main attraction of the evening was supposed to be a heavyweight title bout featuring Jon Jones defending his championship against Stipe Miocic. However, last month, Jon Jones suffered a torn pectoral tendon during training, necessitating his withdrawal from the fight. Consequently, Miocic was also removed from the event’s lineup.
Only one will sit atop the LHW throne Saturday night 👑@Jiri_BJP vs @AlexPereiraUFC #UFC295 | SATURDAY | Live on ESPN+ PPV pic.twitter.com/F8mpSRk0dy
— UFC (@ufc) November 9, 2023
Consequently, the co-main event of UFC 295, which showcases a light heavyweight title clash between former 205-pound champion Jiri Prochazka and former middleweight champion Alex Pereira, was promoted to the main event slot. Instead of the originally scheduled Jones vs. Miocic fight and to occupy the empty co-main event slot, the UFC has added an interim title clash between well-known heavyweight contenders Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich.
So, even after some initial troubles, the card has turned out to be an amazing one, as it has two title fights and some of the best fighters on the UFC roster. On top of that, the fight will be hosted at the historical Madison Square Garden in New York, so expect this one to be a complete blockbuster.
UFC 295: How much have Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka made in the past?
In his last fight at UFC 287, Alex Pereira squared off against his old rival and former middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Despite not emerging victorious in the fight, Pereira managed to secure the biggest paycheck of his career.
His base salary amounted to $300,000 without any additional win bonuses, but through performance-based bonuses and other earnings, his total income for the bout amounted to an impressive $1,067,000, according to UFC News. In the fight before that at UFC 281, his earnings summed up to $908,000, which included performance incentives and sponsorship money.
Former champion Jiri Prochazka last fought and defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 275. Reportedly, he took home a total of about $500,000 that night. Before that, he fought Dominic Reyes in 2021, and he got paid $214,000 for the light-heavyweight bout.
Heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall is one of the most talked-about fighters in the heavyweight division of the UFC. In his last fight against Marcin Tybura, which was at UFC London, he made $156,000. This was a raise for the fighter, as he made $118,500 against Sergei Spivak, according to The Sports Daily.
His opponent and another feared fighter in the heavyweight division, Sergei Pavlovich, in his last fight against Curtis Blaydes, his base salary for the matchup was $124,500. On top of that, he was awarded a $50,000 performance bonus. Moreover, for his fight against Derrick Lewis at UFC 277, the Russian earned a substantial purse of $124,500, according to Sportskeeda.