The main event of UFC 268 featured a highly anticipated battle between the two of the best fighters in UFC. Kamaru Usman defended his belt against Colby Covington by defeating him two times in a span of two years. Apart from taking his win streak to 14 fights, he also earned the highest of his career in this fight.
Kamaru took a total of $1,042,000 dollars from his fight at UFC 268 against Colby Covington. It includes $500k as a base salary, $500k as a performance bonus, and $42k as incentive pay. Moreover, Covington also managed to get a bag full of cash from this fight. His share of $782,000 dollars included $500k as a base salary, $250k as a performance bonus, and $42k as incentive pay.
In the post-fight conference of UFC 265, Mr. White said that the gate was $9,800,000. The attendance at Madison Square Garden was 20,715.
UFC 268 Fight of the Night: Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler
Justin Gaethje defeated Michael Chandler in a deadly battle via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 30–27). Both Gaethje and Chandler Put on a Performance Worthy of Fight of the Year at UFC 268. So it was almost inevitable to give them the fight of the night bonus.
“The Highlight” earned a total of around $356,000 which included $150,000 to show, $150,000 as win bonus, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, and $6,000 fight week incentive pay. Likewise, Chandler earned $164,000 including a $50k fight of the night bonus.
Performance bonuses at UFC 268:
Marlon Vera:
Vera defeated UFC veteran Frankie Edgar with a spectacular front kick to earn his performance bonus of $50k. This made his total purse around $216,000. Vera finishing Edgar was certainly the highlight of the night. UFC legend and former lightweight world champion Edgar is currently at 4 losses from his last 5 fights.
Alex Pereira:
Pereira defeated Andreas Michailidis with an incredible flying left knee strike. He was the only man to knock out the current champion Israel Adesanya in kickboxing. This vicious win in his debut caught Adesanya’s eye, who now is planning to take revenge from him in near future. Dana awarded Alex with a $50k bonus making his total earing $134,000 from the fight.
Bobby Green:
UFC veteran Bobby Green displayed his deadly finishing combo at UFC 268 against hometown favorite Al Iaquinta. He knocked out Iaquinta in the very first round of the fight. Hence, was awarded a performance bonus of $50k making his total salary $155,000 from the bout.
Chris Barnett:
Chris Barnett claimed his first UFC win with a staggering spinning kick. When a 35 yr old heavyweight fighter does that in his second fight, UFC had to give him a bonus. With this, his total purse from the fight became around $74,000. Aso, a win over UFC veteran Gian Villante in the preliminary card of UFC 268 is a definite push for Barnett’s career. However, it certainly ruined Villante’s retirement bout.