UFC 278 was marked by talk about athlete compensation after both Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold used media week to spotlight different issues regarding UFC’s pay structure.
Rockhold was adamant that crooked managers are a huge part of the issue and went so far as to advise young athletes to get a manager outside of the MMA system. He also questioned why UFC bonuses haven’t been raised for a decade almost.
Meanwhile Paulo Costa explained he only made $30,000 for his 5 round main event against Marvin Vettori and explained he parted ways with longtime manager Wallid Ismail.
But the discrepancy in UFC’s system don’t stop there. New champion Leon Edwards received only $350,000 for his title winning 5 round performance. Meanwhile Jose Aldo received $400,000 for that defensive minded outing against Merab Dvalishvili.
But those are just the highlights. Rockhold made $200,000 for his final outing prior to retiring. Meanwhile Costa made only $120,000 – $60,000 to show and $60,000 to win. For comparison’s sake Marcin Tybura was on the prelims and had been compensated $120,000 to show and $120,000 to win for his performance.
The UFC 278 payouts were initially not to be disclosed but MMAFighting did the ground work and deserves the h/t. After initially telling Mike Bohn they wouldn’t be disclosed, the Utah commission has released UFC278 disclosed pay.
Main Card
Leon Edwards ($350,000 + no win bonus = $350,000) def. Kamaru Usman ($500,000)
Paulo Costa ($65,000 + $65,000 win bonus = $130,000) def. Luke Rockhold ($200,000)
Merab Dvalishvili ($99,000 + $99,000 win bonus = $198,000) def. Jose Aldo ($400,000)
Lucie Pudilova ($23,000 + $23,000 win bonus = $46,000) def. Wu Yanan ($20,000)
Tyson Pedro ($43,000 + $43,000 win bonus = $86,000) def. Harry Hunsucker ($12,000)
Preliminary Card
Marcin Tybura ($120,000 + $120,000 win bonus = $240,000) def. Alexandr Romanov ($36,000)
Jared Gordon ($47,000 + $47,000 win bonus = $94,000) def. Leonardo Santos ($44,000)
Sean Woodson ($24,000) vs. Luis Saldana ($14,000)
Ange Loosa ($12,000 + $12,000 win bonus = $24,000) def. A.J. Fletcher ($10,000)
Early Preliminaries
Amir Albazi ($16,000 + $16,000 win bonus = $32,000) def. Francisco Figueiredo ($14,000)
Aoriqileng ($12,000 + $12,000 win bonus = $24,000) def. Jay Perrin ($12,000)
Victor Altamirano ($10,000 + $10,000 win bonus = $20,000) def. Daniel Lacerda ($10,000)