Russian UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of four fighters at UFC 242 this weekend to earn $50,000 performance bonuses.
Nurmagomedov, a fan favourite in the Middle East, was awarded one of the coveted “performance of the night” honours for his victory over American Dustin Poirier after beating him by submission in the third round. With the victory, Nurmagomedov cemented his place as the UFC’s lightweight champion.
His father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, told Russia’s TASS news agency that the fighter is set to earn approximately $6 million for the fight.
Three other fighters also earned “performance of the night” honours for the event: Ottman Azaitar, Belal Muhammad and Muslim Salikhov.
B O N U S E S
@TeamKhabib, @BullyB170, @OttmanAzaitar, Salikhov
B2YB – @P3Protein pic.twitter.com/b6kepQdanr
— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2019
German-born Moroccan middleweight Ottman Azaitar needed just one round to secure his bonus after flooring Finland’s Teemu Packalen.
Similarly, Russian welterweight Muslim Salikhov earned his bonus after flooring Frenchman Nordine with a devastating punch in the third round.
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!
Salikhov flashes the lightning fast hands at #UFC242!!! pic.twitter.com/7mV00kukCm
— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2019
The fourth “performance of the night” went to Palestinian-American welterweight Belal Muhammad for tapping his opponent, Japan’s Takashi Sato, in the third round. It was the first win by submission in his 9-fight career in the UFC.
UFC’s $50,000 “performance of the night” bonuses are awarded to athletes who put on the best individual performances at a particular UFC event.
Pay-out Tiers
Although the UFC has not revealed how much fighters were paid for UFC 242, an MMA-focused news website, MMAJunkie, has reported that the fighters collectively took home UFC ‘Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totalling $221,500.
The pay structure, which took effect in 2018, is part of a programme that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other requirements of the fighter code of conduct, as well as fight-week incentives.
The pay-out tiers in the programme, which use the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship deal with the UFC, are based on total number of bouts a fighter has had in the UFC, as well as in fights previously held in World Extreme Cagefighting after January 2007 and in Strikeforce, a now-defunct MMA organisation, after 2011.
The pay-outs also note that UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments totalling 20 to 30 percent of UFC merchandise that bears their likeness.
According to MMAJunkie, Nurmagomedov and Poirier both earned $40,000 in guidelines compliance pay, with the other UFC 242 fighters earning between $3,500 and $20,000.
The figures do not include other pay that fighters may have received, such as pay-per-view broadcasts and other sources.
Follow us on
