Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, and Donald Cerrone were some of the 2023 UFC Hall of Fame inductees. The induction ceremony, which took place on July 6 at the T-Mobile Arena, was an emotional event. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is an American MMA fighter who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Lightweight Division.
Cerrone joined the UFC roster in 2010 after World Extreme Cagefighting unified with Dana White’s promotion and all WEC competitors moved over. Cerrone made his professional debut at UFC 126, defeating Paul Kelly by rear-naked choke submission.
In the latest Hall of Fame induction event, Donald Cerrone evidently pointed out that he made only $10 million during his UFC career. Despite having fought 48 times in the UFC, fans are skeptical about how little he made.
Donald Cerrone announces in his UFC HOF speech that he made $10 million in his UFC career 💰 pic.twitter.com/KFgdaQ5SOr
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) July 7, 2023
Cerrone overtook Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping for the most victories in the history of the UFC with 21 in November of 2018, and he also passed Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort for the most finishes in UFC history with 15. With such great records, Cerrone got the ‘money fight’ against Conor McGregor back in 2020.
Conor McGregor told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that he anticipated earning $80 million from his fight with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The purse was the normal $3 million, but McGregor was already thinking about additional endorsements and PPV shares. Cerrone, on the other hand, reportedly received a modest $200,000 because he did not receive any PPV money.
Donald Cerrone’s UFC earnings
As per reports from The Sports Daily, Cowboy got a $220,000 fight pay (including a $20,000 fight week incentive) for his fight versus Conor. Cerrone earned the equivalent sum of money for his fights against Anthony Pettis and Niko Price, totaling $200,000. Donald Cerrone used to make $175,000 by show money prior to the McGregor bout.
Donald Cerrone got paid $109,000 for his title fight against former lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos, plus $30,000 for Reebok sponsorship. Cerrone got $105,000 for his historic fight against Nate Diaz. Cerrone’s highest paycheck came from his fight against Al Iaquinta at UFC Fight Night when he earned an estimated $410,000.
Donald Cerrone’s total earnings in the UFC are estimated to be $7,025,800. Cerrone competed more regularly than any other fighter on the UFC roster, and he has been in the industry for almost a decade.
It should additionally be noted that the aforementioned figures are an estimate based on Cerrone’s previous UFC fights and are not entirely precise.