Introduction

Wanderlei Silva is a Brazilian-American former professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $18 Million.

Quick Facts

• Allegedly earned $9.7 million during his UFC tenure
• Disclosed fight purses typically ranged between $200,000 and $300,000
• Sold his home in Las Vegas for $320,000 (2020)

Fight Earnings

Despite fighting 49 times during his professional career, there’s not a whole lot of information surrounding Wanderlei Silva’s individual fight earnings. Nonetheless, here’s what we know.

For Silva’s fight against Rampage Jackson at Bellator 206 in 2018, he reportedly earned $200,000, while Rampage earned $300,000. Regarding the UFC, Wanderlei typically earned a base purse of $200,000 per fight. This includes his bouts with Chris Leben at UFC 132, Cung Le at UFC 139, and Rich Franklin at UFC 147. He also secured a $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus against Cung Le, bringing his total to $270,000.

Those three UFC fights alone earned Wanderlei Silva approximately $670,000. While we don’t have specific figures for any of his other individual purses, Dana White has previously claimed that Silva earned $9.7 million during his tenure with the organization. This was in response to Silva’s claim that fighters were underpaid, and in response, Dana stated:

“You know how much money Wanderlei Silva has made since he’s been with the UFC? $9.7 million.”

Legal Issues & Lawsuits

Wanderlei Silva has been involved in several lawsuits during his career. In 2014, ahead of his scheduled fight with Chael Sonnen, Silva was subjected to a random drug test, which he refused. His attorney, Ross Goodman, claimed that the Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t have jurisdiction to punish Silva for this incident. However, the claim was denied, and Wanderlei was banned from fighting in Nevada for life. He was also issued a $70,000 fine. In response, “The Axe Murderer” filed a lawsuit against the NSAC, though the outcome is unknown.

In 2015, Wanderlei landed himself in some legal trouble with the UFC over comments he made about the company. He published the following statement on his social media account (translated from Portuguese):

“I’ve made it very clear to you all that I will never again fight for this promotion, the U.F. Circus. Fixed fights – and I can prove it! I haven’t dropped the bomb yet. I haven’t said everything I know!”

In response, Zuffa LLC, the UFC’s parent company, filed a defamation lawsuit against the fighter. They sought initial damages in excess of $10,000 and varying amounts to be determined at trial. Silva ultimately retracted his remarks, and the dispute was settled.

Real Estate

In March 2009, Wanderlei Silva paid $180,000 for a 1,893-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Las Vegas, Nevada. He sold this home for $320,000 in 2020, likely profiting just over $100,000. He also owns a home in his Brazilian hometown, splitting his time between the two houses while operating a training facility in Nevada.

Summary 

Making it as a professional mixed martial artist for 2 years is hard enough, but Wanderlei Silva stayed at the top of the MMA world for 22 years. Though the back end of his career included a lot of losses, it also brought a lot of big paydays for the former Pride Middleweight Champion. Now a member of the Hall of Fame, the MMA fighter can enjoy retirement in Las Vegas and Brazil, knowing that his career was among the best.

Introduction

Khabib Nurmagomedov is a Russian former professional UFC fighter and current MMA coach with an estimated net worth of $40 Million.

Nurmagomedov retired on his own terms after losing his father, a man who was always in his corner for every one of his fights. Khabib’s professional MMA record remains 29-0-0, going undefeated throughout his career. After earning approximately $15 million during his career, Khabib leveraged his fight income to invest in numerous companies, including the Eagle Fighting Championship, Fitroo by Khabib, Eagle Mobile, and Khabib Gym.

This article highlights Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career earnings, as well as the business ventures that have contributed to his net worth growth in recent years.

Quick Facts

• Earned an estimated $15 million in UFC fight earnings
• Received $6.09 million for his final UFC fight
• Fined $500,000 for jumping the cage after the McGregor fight
• Investments include Eagle FC, Fitroo, and Eagle Mobile

UFC Earnings

The UFC has typically also followed a pay structure of pay-to-show and pay-to-win for the up-and-coming fighters. As a fighter’s ranking and star power improve, they begin earning significantly higher paychecks per fight, often receiving a small percentage of the pay-per-view (PPV) sales.

One of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s earliest recorded salaries was $64,000 for defeating Rafael dos Anjos in 2014. He earned 50% ($32,000) to show up, and the other 50% for his win bonus. Given that Khabib never lost during his professional MMA career, we know that he always secured the win bonus when it was available.

In 2016, he earned $135,000 for defeating Darrell Horcher, which included a $65,000 to show, a $65,000 to win, and a $5,000 promotional bonus. That same year, his next victory against Michael Johnson earned him $80,000 to show, $80,000 to win, and a $10,000 bonus, for a total of $170,000.

By 2017, Khabib’s base show/win rate had increased to $85,000, earning him $170,000 for defeating Edson Barbosa. However, this time he received $60,000 in bonuses, bringing his total to $230,000.

Title Fight Earnings

Khabib’s final four fights in the UFC were all title fights, which meant he was no longer on the pay-to-show and pay-to-win structure. He was now guaranteed a certain purse per fight, which led to him earning significantly higher sums. When he won the lightweight championship belt against Al Iaquinta in 2018, he received a total of $530,000. 

When he defeated Conor McGregor by rear-naked choke in October 2018, Khabib earned a guaranteed $2 million, plus an additional $40,000 bonus. However, after making McGregor tap out in the fourth round, Khabib immediately jumped out of the cage and lunged into the crowd, aiming for Dillon Danis. One of his teammates jumped into the octagon and started throwing punches at McGregor. His antics led to the UFC suspending him and fining him $500,000, reducing his earnings from the fight to $1.54 million.

For his final two fights against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, Khabib earned $6.09 million per fight. This brings his total known earnings to roughly $14.85 million. However, this doesn’t include his first five fights in the organization. Assuming a scalable pay-to-show, pay-to-win structure, he likely earned between $20,000 and $48,000 per fight. This potentially brings his career earnings to just over $15 million.

Eagle Fighting Championship

Following Nurmagomedov’s retirement from the UFC in 2020, he steadily built his investment portfolio into what it is today. ​In November of that year, Nurmagomedov purchased the Russian MMA promotion company Gorilla Fighting Championship (GFC) for $1 million. He later rebranded it as the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) and created an international platform for up-and-coming fighters, providing them with a pathway into the UFC.

EFC’s first event was held in December 2020 in Moscow. It then hosted events across Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and made its U.S. debut in Miami, Florida, on January 28, 2022. The brand evolved into a respected MMA league featuring former UFC stars such as Kevin Lee and Junior dos Santos. Although EFC remains active today, it is financially smaller than it was during its U.S. expansion in 2022.

The promotion initially generated approximately $7 million in annual revenue from sponsorships, ticket sales, and broadcast rights. However, that figure reportedly declined to around $3-$5 million by 2024 after Nurmagomedov stepped back to focus on his family.

Food Brand Investments

Later in mid-2021, Nurmagomedov launched two new food brands across the UAE. Fitroo by Khabib, focused on nutrition and fitness, and pH Top Water by Khabib. Fitroo sold protein bars, sportswear, and training supplements, while pH Top Water offered a mineral-rich, pH-balanced hydration product. Outside of the UAE, the products were also sold across Russia and parts of Europe. The emphasis was on clean, natural ingredients inspired by Nurmagomedov’s healthy upbringing in the mountainous region of Dagestan, Russia.

Eagle Mobile

After focusing on nutrition, Nurmagomedov expanded into the telecommunications industry in early 2022 with the launch of Eagle Mobile. The mobile network provides nationwide services across Russia and supplements traditional phone plans with exclusive loyalty programs, including discounts on Fitroo products, autographed memorabilia, and fan meet-and-greets.

Khabib Gym

By mid-2023, Nurmagomedov had established the Khabib Gym, a 1,500-square-meter luxury fitness facility in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The gym offers MMA training programs, boxing studios, and functional fitness zones. It was designed as a regional hub for world-class coaching and youth athletic development, continuing Nurmagomedov’s mission to grow martial arts education throughout the Middle East. ​The gym also integrates modern sports science with traditional Dagestani training philosophies.

Two years later, on May 21, 2025, Nurmagomedov opened another gym in his hometown of Sildi, Dagestan. The gym cost approximately $5 million to build, which Nurmagomedov said was funded by the money he earned from his 2018 UFC 229 victory over Conor McGregor, and will be used to develop Dagestan’s next generation of fighters. Since retirement, Nurmagomedov has successfully transitioned from UFC champion to global entrepreneur, building multiple income streams that have significantly increased his net worth.

Introduction

Daniel Cormier is an American former professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $6 Million.

This former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion is one of the very few fighters to win belts in two divisions. During his career, Daniel Cormier often earned $1 million per fight and retired in 2020 with a record of 22 wins and 3 losses. Since retiring from fighting, he’s remained with the organization as a commentator and also earns additional income through his YouTube channel, podcast, and coaching career.

In this profile, we’ll cover Daniel Cormier’s career, most significant fight purses, and other factors that have somewhat impacted his net worth over time.

Quick Facts

• Total disclosed earnings of $5.52 million from the UFC
• Typically earned $1 million per fight during the peak of his career
• Earns additional income from YouTube, ESPN, and UFC commentary
• Hosts “Good Guy / Bad Guy” on ESPN MMA with Chael Sonnen

UFC Earnings

If you’ve read any of our other MMA fighter profiles before, then you know the drill. Very few of a fighter’s purses are disclosed, and those that are typically do not include additional earnings from PPV bonuses. In Daniel Cormier’s situation, salaries were disclosed for seven of his fights, beginning in 2014.

When DC fought Patrick Cummins at UFC 170, he earned a total of $160,000, comprising $80,000 to show and $80,000 for the win. Later that year, at UFC 173, Cormier earned a similar sum ($170,000) for submitting Dan Henderson with a rear-naked choke.

In his first title fight against Jon Jones in 2015, he received $90,000 despite the loss, which highlighted that his base purse was gradually increasing. However, Cormier said that after the fight, Dana White was impressed with his performance and sent him a $1 million cheque. 

Later that year, he earned $180,000 for beating Anthony Johnson, again earning a $90,000 base purse, as well as a $90,000 win bonus. That said, Cormier has also mentioned that the UFC’s owner at the time, Lorenzo Fertitta, wanted his champions to make at least $1 million per fight. Fertitta would make up the difference to ensure champions received $1 million per fight. In that case, Cormier likely earned $1 million from the Johnson fight and from his next fight against Alexander Gustafsson.

Peak Career Earnings

Only three other fights of Daniel Cormier’s career have disclosed earnings. These include a $1 million paycheck for his rematch with Jon Jones at UFC 214, as well as two $500,000 purses for his fights against Stipe Miocic. By this point, DC’s pay-per-view bonuses likely exceeded $1 million, and thus, Fertitta didn’t need to make up the difference.

Based solely on the figures above, Cormier’s disclosed earnings total $5.32 million during his tenure with the UFC. That said, this doesn’t include every single one of his fights and doesn’t factor in PPV income. 

Additional Income Sources

Typically, when most fighters reach the later stages of their careers, they branch out into other ventures to supplement their income. For many former UFC champions and contenders, these pursuits include acting, MMA commentary, creating YouTube channels, coaching, and hosting podcasts. Cormier has explored all of the above.

Perhaps his most notable post-retirement source of income is his work as a commentator for the UFC, often alongside Joe Rogan and Jon Anik. Several other former fighters have also worked as commentators for the promotion, including Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping. How much these fighters are paid is somewhat speculative, with reports often suggesting salaries between $75,000 and $100,000 per event.

Additionally, DC earns an income from hosting “Good Guy / Bad Guy” on ESPN MMA with Chael Sonnen and from his personal YouTube channel, which now has just under 470,000 subscribers.