Top 20 Highest Paid UFC Fighters of All Time Ranking
The UFC has become the premier stage for elite mixed martial artists, with its popularity soaring since the late 2000s. Early pioneers like Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock introduced the sport to audiences, while later stars such as Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Tito Ortiz helped attract a massive following.
Despite their foundational roles, the sport's significant growth over the past twenty years means none of these early icons appear on the list of the top 20 highest-earning UFC fighters. Fighter compensation has long been a point of debate, but after the UFC's $4 billion sale to Endeavor in 2016, the promotion's top stars have achieved considerable wealth.
A prime example is British heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, whose life has been transformed by the UFC. His controversial no-contest bout with Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 earned him a remarkable $3,542,000, securing his place among the all-time top 20 earners alongside other legendary fighters.
The following ranking details these fighters and their total career earnings from UFC fights. These figures, sourced from Bet MGM and GIVEMESPORT's salary reports, represent official fight purses only and do not account for discretionary bonuses, pay-per-view revenue shares, or endorsement income.
Top 20 Highest-Paid UFC Fighters in History
20 Tom Aspinall – $8,528,000
19 Vitor Belfort – $9,000,00018 Mark Hunt – $9,800,000
17 Daniel Cormier – $10,200,000
16 Dustin Poirier – $10,430,000
15 Donald Cerrone – $10,600,000
14 Georges St-Pierre – $10,950,000
13 Junior Dos Santos – $11,000,000
12 Michael Bisping – $11,100,000
11 Andrei Arlovski – $11,200,000
10 Israel Adesanya – $11,500,000
9 Islam Makhachev – $12,174,000
8 Brock Lesnar – $13,295,000
7 Anderson Silva – $13,500,000
6 Stipe Miocic – $13,600,000
5 Alistair Overeem – $14,400,500
4 Alex Pereira – $16,082,000
3 Jon Jones – $17,200,000
2 Khabib Nurmagomedov – $22,900,000
1 Conor McGregor – $39,300,000
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