Fighter pay has been one of the most contentious topics in the UFC, especially since Dana White helmed the promotion’s presidential position. As a boss, the UFC head honcho is a shrewd businessman, and made sure that all his fighters fight tooth and nail to get a massive pay check. And it’s not just a fighter’s performance but the ability of the athletes to sell fights. While a lot of top fighters have earned juggernaut paydays, given their superstardom, they too had to start from the bottom.

Yup, fighters like Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and infamously, Nate Diaz (who never backed down from raising the fighter pay issue) had to scratch their way up to the massive paydays they earned in the later parts of their careers. On that note, let’s take a look at five of the lowest UFC payouts featuring what you would consider UFC royalty today.

1. Nate Diaz ($16,000 vs. Rafael dos Anjos – UFC on FOX 13, 2014)

It is widely considered that Nate Diaz was paid a low purse for his fight against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on Fox 13: Dos Santos vs. Miocic. Many fans and veterans pointed out the disparity compared to the payouts of other fighters on the card especially since Diaz’s popularity grabbed attention for the fight card.  

The former TUF winner was paid only $16,000 to fight the future lightweight champion. There is also a little story behind this whole ordeal. For the unversed, UFC had signed his Cesar Gracie teammate Gil Melendez after a bidding war with Bellator. Melendez had a contract that guaranteed 75% of his fights would be PPV. When Nate Diaz learned about his teammate’s purse, he asked to be released from his contract with UFC. As a result of this, he was even pulled from the UFC rankings at one point!

However, Diaz eventually fought dos Anjos. His contracted income had escalated to; $20,000 to show, and $20,000 to win. Diaz lost and was fined 20% of his bag for missing weight, so he ultimately made $16,000. Even after the lower pay, Diaz was perceived as a big draw for the fight card due to his fighting style and charisma (and him being Nick’s little brother) which contributed to the success of that event.

2. Jon Jones ($20,000 vs. Stephan Bonnar – UFC 94, 2009)

Jon Jones is one of the UFC GOAT, at least as per Dana White. He has racked up a record of 28-1-0 in his career, now spanning 17 years. He was also the youngest UFC champion in history at the age of 23 by defeating Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua by TKO at UFC 128. However, before his successes as a champion—just one year into UFC in 2009—Jones was done dirty by the promotion and paid abysmally for his fight against Stephan Bonnar in UFC 94.

Jones had won by unanimous decision against Bonnar but still got paid less. Why is this surprising? Well, it’s because ‘Bones’ was already considered to be a future star. However, he still made only $20,000 including the win bonus for his dominating performance against an already well-known fighter.

3. Khabib Nurmagomedov ($32,000 vs. Rafael dos Anjos – UFC on FOX 11, 2014)

Khabib Nurmagomedov, too, started from a low-paying position when he joined the UFC. Four fights into the promotion and he was already an elite-level fighter, making waves by the time he clashed against dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 11 in 2014. ‘The Eagle’, with a 22-0 record, absolutely dominated RDA. He earned $16,000 to show, and $16,000 to win, which, in hindsight and given his skill, was shockingly low for beating an established name like dos Anjos.

The then 25-year-old Khabib had dominated a prime Rafael dos Anjos during the latter’s greatest run of his career. We’re saying this because RDA became the lightweight world champ 11 months after losing to Khabib.

4. Stipe Miocic ($38,000 vs. Andrei Arlovski – UFC 195, 2016)

Stipe Miocic fought Andrei Arlovski at UFC 195 in January 2015 for a non-title heavyweight matchup. It was a pay-per-view at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. On top of that ‘Stone Cold’ was coming off of a dominant win against Mark Hunt. Arlovski was looking to boost a 6-fight win streak that had put him back into title contention.

Even when Miocic was on the verge of a title shot he was paid a meager salary of $38,000 despite knocking out the former champ. However now Stipe Miocic has earned an estimated $6.6 million, which makes him the second-highest-paid UFC heavyweight fighter. Andrei Arlovski on the other hand,  has earned an estimated $5.6 million, which makes him the third highest-paid UFC heavyweight fighter. 

5. Sean O’Malley ($40,000 vs. Marlon Vera Fight – UFC 252, 2020)

In  2020, the then-undefeated rising star Sean O’Malley clashed with Marlon Vera in the co-main event at UFC 252. O’Malley was the betting favorite going into the fight and was expected to win against the Ecuadorian. However, the Montana native was stopped by Vera in the first round after O’Malley’s right foot being injured became apparent as he started tripping over himself. For the losing effort against the Ecuador native he was paid $40,000 for this fight.

Most fighters on this list were between two and five fights into their UFC careers, and tearing through their divisions. Despite their dominance, they still had to start from the bottom, financially. It just goes to show how shrewd the UFC is with its fighter pay business model. Once in a while, a fighter comes along, providing a spectacle for audiences before screaming in the mic, “Dana… 60 G’s, baby!!”, and the landscape of fighter pay changes. Regardless, future superstar or not, every fighter starts from the bottom.

What do you think of the purses of the fighters mentioned in this list? Do you think their compensation was justified? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.