Introduction

Randy Couture is an American professional actor and former MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $7 Million.

Early Career 

In his teenage years, Randy Couture joined the U.S. Army, where he was part of the wrestling team. Upon discharge, he attended Oklahoma State University, where he won gold at the Pan American Games. He served in the military from 1982 to 1988, finished college in 1992, and then became an Olympic alternate afterward.

MMA Career 

On May 30, 1997, Randy Couture made his UFC debut with two matches, defeating both Tony Halme and Steven Graham in the UFC 13 Heavyweight Division Tournament.

Just a few months later, Couture won against Vitor Belfort to set up a UFC Heavyweight Championship match against Maurice Smith, winning via majority decision. Couture lost his title due to a contract dispute with UFC and fought in Japan before returning in 2000 to defeat Kevin Randleman and reclaim his title.

Throughout his career, Couture would have five title reigns across the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions and fought the likes of Chuck Liddell, Brock Lesnar, and Tito Ortiz. During the back half of his career, Couture began an acting career and starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham in the Expendables series.

UFC Earnings

Similar to most professional MMA fighters, not all of Randy Couture’s fight purses are public knowledge. There’s also a substantial difference between disclosed purses and the fighter’s total purse, which includes PPV revenue. The table above highlights seven fights where Couture’s salary was disclosed. However, several reports suggest he was also earning a hefty sum from pay-per-view shares. We’ll get to that in just a second.

Randy’s earliest recorded purse was $120,000 for his loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 46. During the peak of his career, Couture typically earned a base salary of $250,000 per fight. This was the case for the majority of his fights, including against James Toney, Brock Lesnar, and Tim Sylvia. Each of these bouts earned him $250,000. 

When Randy fought Gabriel Gonzaga in 2007, he earned $250,000 plus an additional $35,000 for Fight of the Night. For his third fight with Chuck Liddell at UFC 57, Couture received a base pay of $225,000. Finally, when he fought Antonio Nogueira at UFC 102 in 2009, Couture earned $250,000 for the fight and a $60,000 bonus for Fight of the Night, totaling $310,000.

This brings his total disclosed pay to $1.7 million from these seven fights. However, this doesn’t even account for a quarter of his 30 professional fights, and doesn’t account for PPV earnings.

Pay-Per-View Earnings

A fighter’s income from PPV revenue is not often disclosed to the public and varies significantly depending on the fighter and the number of buys an event receives. In Couture’s case, this is where things get interesting. In 2007, Randy claimed that the UFC wasn’t being honest about fighter pay, and that he was “being taken advantage of” by the promotion. Couture said he felt that his compensation wasn’t adequate, given his history as a primary face for the UFC. 

In response, the company’s CFO, John Mulkey, put out a statement, claiming that Couture had earned a total of $2.9 million for 2007 alone. He went on to say that for the year, Randy earned $1.2 million from UFC 68, $1.1 million from UFC 74, a $500,000 signing bonus, and $160,000 for his commentary work. Documentation for cashed checks from these two events highlights $924,000 and $787,000 in earnings for UFC 68 and 74, respectively.

UFC president Dana White later claimed that Couture was earning $3.25 million per fight, although this figure has never been backed up with documentation. The relationship between White and Couture soured during the 2007 pay dispute and lawsuit.

Real Estate

In March 2007, Randy Couture paid $828,000 for a 3,743-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Based on the public records, he still owns the house, which now has an estimated value of $1 million, and costs him approximately $4,600 in annual property taxes.

Summary 

When you think of the UFC, Randy Couture might be the first UFC fighter that you think of because of his impact. Couture was there with the early days of the company and helped to make it popular in the mainstream while making himself a star. Now a retired mixed martial artist, Couture continues his career as an actor and coach, building on his legacy in the sport.

Introduction

Junior Dos Santos is a Brazilian professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $10 Million.

Early Life 

Junior Dos Santos was born on 30 January 1984 in Cacador, Brazil, and trained in multiple martial arts and boxing while growing up. Much of Dos Santos’ training came in the form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, although it wasn’t until he was in his early twenties that he began to train more seriously.

Dos Santos proved to be a natural in mixed martial arts and quickly joined the professional ranks at the age of 22. He would win his first five matches easily, as he defeated every opponent in the first round, including a 50-second submission victory.

MMA Career 

Just two years after turning pro, Dos Santos made his UFC debut with a victory over Fabricio Werdum and would go on a winning streak that included takedowns of Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Roy Nelson.

After defeating Nelson, Dos Santos was placed into the UFC Heavyweight Title Eliminator, where he defeated Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez to earn the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He would successfully defend the title against Frank Mir, but lost his rematch to Cain Velasquez, as well as the rubber match.

From December 2014 to March 2019, Dos Santos took on the likes of Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem, and Derrick Lewis, but lost his final four UFC matches. After losing to Ciryl Gane in late 2020, Dos Santos’ time with UFC came to an end, and he joined Eagle FC, where he lost his first match against Yorgan De Castro in May 2022.

UFC Earnings

During our research into Junior dos Santos’ fight earnings, particularly within the UFC, we found information relating to just nine of his thirty professional fights. The majority of these fights occured between 2010 and 2013, when dos Santos was considered to be at the peak of his career. At the time, his earnings were among the highest in mixed martial arts.

However, dos Santos’ earliest recorded fight purse was $71,000 against Fabricio Werdum. This somehow included his $65,000 knockout bonus, indicating that his base pay was just a few thousand dollars. In March 2010, he earned a similar sum ($70,000), for knocking out Gabriel Gonzaga in the first round.

After six straight wins in the UFC, five of which were knockouts, dos Santos quickly began commanding a higher salary. When he fought Shane Carwin at UFC 131 in 2011, Junior earned $200,000, comprising $100,000 to show and $100,000 for the win. Later that year, he secured a similar sum ($220,000) for his win over Cain Velasquez, securing the Heavyweight Championship belt. In 2012, his disclosed earnings from his bout with Frank Mir were $200,000; however, there may have been certain bonuses that went undisclosed. At UFC 155, where Velasquez reclaimed the belt, dos Santos reportedly secured a $400,000 purse.

The final three disclosed earnings of Junior dos Santos’ UFC career were $240,000 against Mark Hunt, $260,000 against Stipe Miocic, and $400,000 against Alistair Overeem. These nine fights amounts to an estimated $2.06 million in earnings, but may still be missing several bonuses, etc.

Additional Earnings

Post-UFC, Junior dos Santos also competed in the BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship), and Eagle FC, which is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s MMA promotion. However, these organizations are somewhat reluctant to publish their fighter’s earnings. Thus, we’re unable to know how much dos Santos has earned with them, despite many sources guessing. Junior has fought twice in the BKFC, and once for Eagle FC. In an interview, he claimed that he was “going to make as much” if not more with Eagle FC than he did in the UFC.

Personal Life

For much of his career, Junior Dos Santos was married to Vilsana Picolli, though the two announced that they would be divorcing in 2013 after a decade of marriage. That wasn’t the end of their working relationship, though, as Picolli remained as Dos Santos’ manager, and the former UFC Heavyweight Champion has more recently been linked to Brazilian TV presented Isadora Santos.

In addition to his fighting career, Dos Santos has made several appearances with All Elite Wrestling and competed in the 2019 season of Dancing with the Stars in his native Brazil.

Awards & Achievements

Here are the top awards and achievements from Junior Dos Santos’ UFC career:

• One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with one successful title defense.
• Three-time Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night bonus winner.
• Holds the longest winning streak in the history of the UFC heavyweight division with nine.
• Has the second most knockout victories in UFC heavyweight history with 10.
• Named to the 2011 Sherdog All-Violence First Team.

How Does Junior Dos Santos Spend His Money?

Junior Dos Santos may be one of the richest fighters, but the former UFC Heavyweight Champion doesn’t quite spend like it. Dos Santos revealed that he just wanted to be comfortable as he grew up in an impoverished area in Brazil and spent a lot of money helping his family.

In fact, one of the reasons Dos Santos left the UFC was that the injuries were no longer worth the paydays, and he wanted to work on a more manageable schedule, even if it meant earning less money. Dos Santos loves winning, and that comes with good paydays, but the money primarily goes toward his family and community.

Summary 

Junior Dos Santos was a staple of the UFC’s heavyweight division for years and is considered among the promotion’s best fighters in its history. As he approaches his 40s, Dos Santos seems to have his sights set more on professional wrestling now with All Elite Wrestling. Along the way, Dos Santos has made millions and is considered a legend of the heavyweight division for good reason.

Introduction

Georges St. Pierre is a Canadian former professional UFC fighter with an estimated net worth of $30 Million. 

St. Pierre holds the record for most title fight wins in UFC welterweight history and is one of just nine UFC fighters to win belts in multiple weight divisions. In 2020, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Modern Wing. 

Before Wealth & Fame

Growing up in Quebec, Canada, St. Pierre was often bullied at school and felt isolated. He’s previously recounted stories of being beaten up on the school bus. His father introduced him to Kyokushin karate at the age of 7, and he began learning the art to defend himself. Karate became his base martial art, and it wasn’t until his late teenage years that he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

St. Pierre’s family didn’t have much money, so Georges began working various jobs while training in mixed martial arts. These included working as a bouncer at a nightclub in Montreal and as a garbage collector.

UCC Career 

At 21 years old, St. Pierre had already earned a black belt in Kyokushin karate and built a strong foundation of BJJ and wrestling. He made his professional MMA debut against Ivan Menjivar at UCC 7 in January 2002, winning by knockout. Georges won all his next three fights in the UCC by referee stoppage, finishing one by armbar submission and one by elbow strikes. He ended the third against Thomas Denny with a brutal knee to the head from side control. St. Pierre finished every single one of his UCC fights, never needing the judges, and quickly attracting attention from the UFC.

UFC Career

In 2004, St. Pierre made his UFC debut against Karo Parisyan at UFC 46, winning by unanimous decision. In just three UFC fights, he was already challenging Matt Hughes for the welterweight title, but unfortunately lost by armbar submission in the first round.

This set him back roughly two years. Between 2005 and 2006, he beat five opponents consecutively to climb his way back to a rematch with Hughes. Those opponents included legends such as Jason Miller and future Hall of Famer BJ Penn. In November 2006, St. Pierre fought Matt Hughes again for the title. He almost finished the fight in the first round with a Superman punch, but Hughes was saved by the bell. Georges won the fight and the welterweight championship belt in round two with a head kick, followed by several ground strikes and elbows.

Unfortunately, he was unable to successfully defend the belt, losing to Matt Serra in April 2007. This loss later sparked the biggest winning streak of St. Pierre’s career. He won back the championship belt in his third fight against Matt Hughes at the end of the year. He defended the welterweight championship belt ten times against legends of the sport, including Matt Serra, BJ Penn, Dan Hardy, Nick Diaz, and Josh Koscheck.

To this day, Georges St. Pierre still holds the UFC record for most title fight wins in the welterweight division. The final fight of his career was a title fight against Michael Bisping in the middleweight division, where he won by rear-naked choke in the third round. St. Pierre became one of just several fighters to win championship belts in two weight classes.

UFC Earnings

If you do a quick search for Georges St. Pierre’s fight earnings within the UFC, you’ll find a lot of random numbers that are primarily just guesses. UFC fighter pay is only disclosed to the public if either the state in which the event occurred requires disclosure or the fighter reveals the figures themselves. Regarding St. Pierre’s situation, not many of his fight purses were disclosed to the public.

Based on the available information, it’s clear that at the peak of his career, he typically earned a base salary of $200,000. He would also have earned an additional $200,000 for his wins, as well as sporadic bonuses for knockouts, Fight of the Night, and other achievements.

The PPV bonuses are likely where St. Pierre made the majority of his income. Being the biggest star in the sport has its benefits. When he fought Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in 2013, Dana White claimed that GSP earned approximately $5 million from the fight. The majority of this could only have been generated through PPV earnings.

Endorsement Deals

In 2015, the UFC introduced new rules that prohibited fighters from promoting their own sponsors on their fight gear and banners. This was due to the UFC setting up its own sponsor deals with brands such as Venum, Reebok, and Crypto.com, providing every fighter with more uniform-looking gear, with the only variations being the color of their shorts.

However, for fighters like GSP, who fought most of their career in the organization before this rule was introduced, they could earn a significant amount of money from fight sponsors. Towards the end of his career, St. Pierre often promoted his own company, in addition to the gym where he trained. He also regularly endorsed brands such as 888poker, Affliction, Bacardi, Hayabusa, NOS energy drink, and Under Armour. At the peak of his career, it was estimated that these deals earned GSP between $1 million and $2 million per fight.