Every single fighter desires to be featured on a card with the main event involving some big names. That actually helps the fighters get their wallet thickened by some extra amounts from PPV payouts. But the story is different when it comes to Fight Nights. These events might not be as exciting as the numbered ones. But these are the unavoidable paths for the fighters to rise to the top. And this time, the chance has been given to Brandon Moreno and Steve Erceg. Of course, the contenders won’t get any PPV cheques or massive bonuses like the ones that the fighters got at UFC 300. But they sure do have some lucrative contracts with the UFC. 

As the fighters get ready for their bouts at UFC Fight Night 256, let’s take a look at their past paychecks and make an estimate of their base pay for their upcoming fight. After all, sometimes it’s the money that motivates the contestants. 

UFC Mexico: Brandon Moreno and Steve Erceg’s salaries

‘The Assassin Baby’ secured a win over Amir Albazi in his last bout and reportedly received about $100,000 as his base salary. His earlier bout against Brandon Rovyal got him a guaranteed $200,000. Before that, he fought Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290. It was a time when Moreno was still the flyweight champion. And for that, he got a base salary of half a million dollars, even though he lost the bout. Coming to UFC Fight Night 256, we can expect Moreno to receive around $100,000 to $200,000, along with a sponsorship paycheck of $42,000. 

On the other hand, Erceg’s last fight was against Kai Kara-France. But the fight ended with the Kiwi knocking Erceg out in the first round at UFC 305. Nevertheless, ‘Astroboy’ managed to receive $75,000 as his base pay for the event. Prior to that, he fought the current flyweight champion at UFC 301 and lost. For the bout, he received a pay check of $38,000. On 29 March 2025, Erceg would fight his 6th battle in the UFC. Hence, we can expect him to get around $100,000 for his base salary against Moreno. 

But what about the other fighters getting ready to fight at UFC Fight Night 256? Will any of the other main card fighters receive a heavier purse than the main eventers? Let’s take a look and find an estimate for Drew Dober, Raul Rosas Jr., and others.

Drew Dober, Raul Rosas Jr., Kelvin Gastelum, and others’ payouts 

In the co-main event, Dober is set to tackle Manuel Torres in the lightweight realm. And as per various reports, Dober earns about $100,000 for showing up for his fights. And while his career earnings are disclosed to be $758,000 as per Tapology, his salary isn’t something that the lightweight contender has revealed. Nevertheless, we do know that he received a total of $325,000 for his win over Ricky Glenn at UFC Vegas 80. His opponent has a disclosed career earning of $150,000 and has fought only 4 fights in the UFC. With his last bout against Ignacio Bahamondes resulting in a loss, Torres’ purse was $38,000. We can expect Torres to receive a base pay of somewhere around $45,000 to $50,000 for the bout against Dober. 

Kelvin Gastelum received $250,000 for showing up to his last fight against Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ABC 6. Before that, he won over Chris Curtis at UFC 287 and bagged a base salary of $180,000. Therefore, we can assume that Gastelum can thicken his wallet by somewhere around $250,000 to $300,000 on 29 March 2025. Meanwhile, Joe Pyfer received a base salary of $12,000 when he fought Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 287. He has already fought 3 more fights and lost one of them in the UFC. And judging from the trends, we can expect him to receive a base salary of about $45,000 at UFC Fight Night 256. 

The event will also feature Raul Rosas Jr., the youngest UFC winner, who got a minivan for his mother with a $50,000 bonus in 2022. Rosas hasn’t really revealed anything regarding his payouts. But we can expect him to get about $100,000 for showing up to his fights. And the same might hold true for his bout against Vince Morales. ‘Vandetta’ has already fought once in 2025. But that ended up in a loss. He had a base pay of $75,000 at UFC Vegas 102. Showing up to fight Rosas Jr. might also get him a similar number. 

And as far as the UFC Mexico Fight Week Incentive Pay, or Promotional Guideline Compliance Pay, is concerned, Jed I. Goodman revealed the details on X. Moreno will receive $16k, Dober and Gastelum will get $21K, Morales will get richer by $11K. Erceg, Pyfer, and Rosas Jr. would bag $6K via compliance pay. Torres, on the other hand, would receive only $4.5K.

What are your thoughts on the estimated salaries for the UFC Fight Night 256 contenders? Do you think the fighters should be paid a bit more than that? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.