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The ultimate fight for Belal Muhammad is just a few days away, but it will be in his opponent Leon Edwards‘ backyard in the UK. With a chance to win the title, ‘Remember the Name’s prayers were answered by Dana White. But apart from that, fans might want to know about how much they could be earning for the fight at the Co-op Live arena.
UFC 304 will feature two title fights, the interim heavyweight title and the welterweight title. While some may be speculating on the financial side of things for the co-main event, involving Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes, our focus for today will be the main event, so let’s start off with the champion, ‘Rocky’ Edwards.
What is Leon Edwards’ payout at UFC 304?
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Leon Edwards has been undefeated since 2016, and during the course of that period, he’s made some good money while fighting under the UFC banner. The highest paycheck, according to certain sources, that he’s received in Dana White’s promotion was when he fought Colby Covington at UFC 296. The Jamaican-born English fighter took home a total of $1,657,000 that night.
Polls of the day
Poll 1 of 5
Who do you think deserves a bigger payday for UFC 304?
Leon Edwards
Belal Muhammad
Both equally
Neither
Who do you think deserved the UFC 304 bonus the most?
Leon Edwards
Belal Muhammad
Tom Aspinall
Other
Whats your Perspective on:
Leon Edwards' payout—justified reward or overhyped paycheck? What do you think?
Have an interesting take?
Do you think Belal Muhammad's head kick defense will cost him the fight against Leon Edwards?
Yes
No
Not sure
Do you agree with Dana White's assessment that Leon Edwards is not a star?
Absolutely
Not at all
Somewhat
Undecided
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1416166454.jpg?width=150&blur=15)
via Imago
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – AUGUST 20: (L-R) Leon Edwards of Jamaica lands a head kick to Kamaru Usman of Nigeria in the UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 278 event at Vivint Arena on August 20, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
Leon Edwards bagged his second-biggest paycheck against Kamaru Usman in their trilogy fight at UFC 286. The champion banked a total of $1,542,000 that night in the capital of his home country. Other than that, there are no reports of a million-dollar payout in any of his other fights. The next highest payout amounted to $432,000 for the UFC 278 fight, where he landed one of the most iconic leg kicks ever. The other one was about a $231,000 payout for his fight against Nate Diaz.
Hence, after all the above payout statistics, we can assume that Leon Edwards could make at least a million dollars from his third title defense after looking at his last two paychecks. Moreover, it’s his native country where UFC 304 will take place so the crowd’s on his side and will flock to see the hometown hero, boosting PPV and live gate numbers. Now, let’s move over to the challenger, Chicago’s own, Belal Muhammad.
Belal Muhammad’s salary for fighting ‘Rocky’ at UFC 304
What’s your perspective on:
Leon Edwards' payout—justified reward or overhyped paycheck? What do you think?
Have an interesting take?
Belal Muhammad hasn’t quite been the draw that excites Dana White. Despite that, he’s done fairly well for himself from a financial standpoint in the UFC. The 36-year-old probably banked his biggest paycheck in the fight against Gilbert Burns at UFC 288. ‘Remember the Name’ took home an estimated $465,000 for his unanimous decision win over ‘Durinho’. The next biggest payday for Muhammad came in the fight against Sean Brady at UFC 280. Certain reports claim that he took home a total of $266,000.
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1857738156.jpg?width=150&blur=15)
via Getty
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 15: Belal Muhammad poses on the scale during the UFC 296 official weigh-in at UFC APEX on December 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Now, if we have to make an estimation about Belal Muhammad’s UFC 304 payout, we might assume it would be around $400,000 to $500,000. This is an estimation because of the fact that ‘Remember the Name’ is competing in a headlining title fight. Hence, it remains to be seen if this will be the range of his payout against Leon Edwards.
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Dana White promises an additional $100K bonus for UFC 304 fighters
As has become somewhat of a theme since UFC 300 (where he was goaded into increasing the ‘Fight’ and ‘Performance’ bonuses to $300k), Dana White has upped the bonuses for UFC 304. From the usual $50k, Bobby Green talked the UFC CEO into doubling the bonus amount to $100k!
Unlike UFC 303, where White was convinced to give four bonuses instead of the usual two, there will be two bonuses for the Manchester card. This is a good move on the promotion’s part. After all, it has injected some desperately needed vivacity into the card, whose press conference (and indeed line-up) has been criticized by fans as lackluster. With twice the reward, it will surely have fired up the fighters, and driven them to put on a spectacular performance, worthy of a bonus.
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While a $100k bonus may not be a lot for the likes of Edwards, who will earn at least a million dollars, fighters down the card, who fight for a fraction of the amount will certainly find the bonus a huge pay bump.
What do you make of these salary estimations? Do you have any numbers in mind? Let us know in the comments down below.
Debate
Leon Edwards' payout—justified reward or overhyped paycheck? What do you think?