Introduction

Jon Jones is an American professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $3 Million.

Jones is a former UFC Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion, with many considering him the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time. While his career has been highly controversial, suffering setbacks from legal issues and suspensions for banned substance use, his only loss in the cage was due to a disqualification from an illegal elbow strike.

Jon was the most dominant UFC light heavyweight champion of all time, winning fourteen title fights over a ten-year period. Despite this, he has never been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame due to his numerous legal issues and controversies.

Quick Facts

• Earned at least $15 million during his UFC career
• Net worth has been negatively affected by numerous arrests/legal issues.
• Allegedly turned down a $30 million offer to fight Tom Aspinall
• Will receive a settlement from the UFC of between $6 million and $7 million
• Highest-recorded purse of $3.64 million against Daniel Cormier (rematch)
• Sold his 4,406-square-foot home in Ithaca, New York, for $713,000

Before Wealth & Fame

Growing up in New York, Jon Jones came from an athletically gifted family. His two brothers, Arthur and Chandler, were both professional NFL players. Jon was the smallest of the Jones brothers, and whilst he played football in high school, wrestling was where he shone the most. He was an NJCAA national champion in college, but later dropped out to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. 

While pursuing his MMA career, Jones worked as a bouncer at Doo-Z’s nightclub in Ithaca, New York, and briefly as a high school janitor.

UFC Career

In 2008, at the age of 21, Jon Jones was signed to the UFC. He won his first two fights against Andre Gusmao and Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision. After submitting Jake O’Brien in his third UFC fight, Jones then fought Matt Hamill, where he suffered his only career loss due to disqualification for an illegal elbow. 

From 2010 onwards, Jones never lost a fight and officially won the UFC light-heavyweight championship in 2011 against Mauricio Shogun Rua. He defended the light-heavyweight belt numerous times against legends such as Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, and Chael Sonnen.

Stripped of the Belt

In 2015, after winning his first fight against Daniel Cormier, Jones was involved in a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, injuring a pregnant woman and fleeing the scene. The UFC stripped him of the light-heavyweight title and suspended him indefinitely. 

He won his first fight back in the UFC in April 2016 against Ovince Saint Preux for the interim light-heavyweight belt. However, he was stripped of the belt once again after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole ahead of his scheduled rematch with Daniel Cormier. A year later, Jones won the second fight against Cormier, but the decision was later overturned due to testing positive for Turinabol. This would be the third time the UFC stripped Jones of his belt.

In 2018, Jones reclaimed the belt after beating Alexander Gustafsson for a second time. He successfully defended the belt three times against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating the belt in 2020 due to pay disputes with UFC President Dana White.

Heavyweight Division

In 2023, Jones returned to the sport, moving up a weight class to submit Ciryl Gane in the first round at UFC 285 and win the UFC heavyweight championship. He recently defended the belt in November 2024 against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. 

Fight Earnings

Jon Jones has been actively competing in the UFC for almost twenty years, during which time the fighter’s pay structure has undergone numerous changes. The UFC is also known for not disclosing individual fighter pay unless the state where the event occurred requires public disclosure. However, in recent years, a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company, leading to the public disclosure of the salaries of several top fighters. This includes that of Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor, and Jon Jones.

According to the documents, in 2012, Jones earned $2.28 million for defeating Rashad Evans and $1.57 million for submitting Vitor Belfort. The following year, he reportedly earned $2.75 million from his bout with Chael Sonnen and $1.17 million for defeating Alexander Gustafsson. In 2014, he earned $1.24 million for beating Glover Teixeira. A year later, for his first fight with DC, he was paid approximately $3.64 million, the highest salary of his career to date. Finally, he received $2.68 million in 2016 for defeating Ovince St. Preux.

This amounts to approximately $15.3 million in total, but it does leave a lot to the imagination. Since the St. Preux fight, Jones has fought seven more times for the UFC, likely earning significantly higher sums.

Tom Aspinal Fight Offer

The word on the street is that Jon Jones was offered as much as $30 million to fight the then-interim UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tom Aspinal; however, nothing ever materialized. This was the fight that fans wanted to see, but Jones retired (temporarily) before a matchup could take place. 

UFC Anti-Trust Settlement

At the end of 2025, more than 1,200 current/former professional UFC fighters are set to receive a settlement as part of the antitrust lawsuit filed against the organization over a decade ago. The suit alleged that the UFC violated antitrust laws in the United States by monopolizing the MMA market and intentionally suppressing the pay of its talent. 

Last year, the UFC, without admitting any wrongdoing, agreed to settle the lawsuit for $335 million. This will be split among the 1,200 athletes who competed for the promotion between December 16, 2010, and June 30, 2017. According to reports, Jon Jones is set to receive the second-highest payout (roughly between $6 million and $7 million), behind Anderson Silva‘s $10.3 million settlement.

Individual settlements will vary depending on how active the fighter was during this period and their relative popularity. In other words, champions headlining high-selling PPV events will receive higher compensation per event.

Legal Issues & Lawsuits

Jones has faced numerous legal issues and lawsuits during his MMA career. In May 2012, he was arrested for a DWI after crashing his Bentley Continental GT into a utility pole in Binghamton, New York. Jones pleaded guilty, received a six-month license suspension, was fined $1,000, and was ordered to pay $6,563.62 to the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation for damages to the pole.

Hit-and-Run Arrest

Three years later, in April 2015, Jones was involved in a hit-and-run in Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to police reports, Jones ran a red light and hit a car driven by Vanessa Sonnenberg, whose vehicle then crashed into another car. Sonnenberg was pregnant at the time of the incident and suffered a broken arm and other minor injuries.​ After the crash, Jones left the scene, but the next day he turned himself in to the police.​ On September 29, 2015, Jones pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation. The UFC stripped Jones of his light heavyweight title, suspended him, and removed him from the main event at UFC 187. The suspension lasted seven months, after which Jones returned to fight Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197 on April 23, 2016.

Battery Arrests

Several years after the hit-and-run accident, in July 2019, Jones was accused of battery. A cocktail waitress at TD’s Eubank Showclub in Albuquerque, New Mexico, alleged that Jones slapped and kissed her and attempted to wrestle her at the bar.​ Jones pleaded no contest to the disorderly conduct charge, meaning he didn’t admit guilt but accepted the conviction and received a 90-day deferred sentence under unsupervised probation.

In another incident in September 2021, just hours after his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, Jones was arrested in Las Vegas. He was staying at Caesars Palace with his fiancée, Jessie Moses, when one of their children asked a security guard to call the police. When the police arrived, Moses was found crying with blood on her face, and so the police arrested Jones for domestic battery. However, Jones then became angry during the arrest, headbutted a police car, and was then charged with tampering with a vehicle. Though the domestic violence charge was dropped, Jones was ordered to pay $750 for damage to the car and agreed to complete anger management counseling.

Alleged Assault

Three years later, on March 30, 2024, Jones was visited at his Albuquerque home for a surprise drug test. When the anti-doping officials arrived, Jones became upset as he struggled to give a urine sample. According to agent Crystal Martinez, Jones took her phone and threatened her aggressively. Martinez filed charges against Jones, and he was summoned to appear in court, where he pleaded not guilty.

The court agreed to a deal where Jones would attend anger management courses, and if he avoided arrest or legal trouble for the next 90 days, the case would be dismissed. Despite his numerous arrests and legal issues, Jones consistently returned to professional fighting, with his net worth remaining largely unaffected by the allegations against him.

Real Estate

In March 2012, Jones paid $644,500 for a 4,406-square-foot, four-bedroom home in Ithaca, New York. The property featured an oversized three-car garage, which Jones used as a home gym. In November 2016, he listed the house for sale at $750,000, which sold in May of the following year for $713,000.

Introduction

Alex Rodriguez is an American former professional MLB player and investor with an estimated net worth of $350 Million. 

Rodriguez played 22 seasons of Major League Baseball for three teams: the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers. He retired with a .295 batting average, hitting 3,115 times for 696 home runs. A-Rod earned approximately $455.2 million from salary and bonuses, translating to an average annual wage of $20.69 million.

Quick Facts

• Earned $455.2 million during his MLB career
• Peak annual salary of $35 million in 2011
• The highest career earnings in MLB history
• Signed two separate contracts worth over $250 million each

MLB Career

The Seattle Mariners selected Alex Rodriguez in the 1993 Major League Baseball draft and signed him to a three-year contract worth $1.3 million. He made his professional debut in 1994 as a minor league player for the Appleton Foxes before being promoted to the Jacksonville Suns. 

In July 1994, he debuted in the major leagues as a starting shortstop, the third 18-year-old to hold the position since 1900. The following year, he took over as the Mariners’ regular shortstop and led the American League with a .358 batting average. Rodriguez remained with the Mariners until 2000, when he became a free agent and was recruited by one of the richest MLB teams, the Texas Rangers. 

The Texas Rangers

With the Rangers, Alex Rodriguez signed the most lucrative contract in sports history, worth $252 million over 10 years, equivalent to $428 million today. Although the Texans were in last place in the division, Rodriguez’s hitting numbers significantly improved their standing. During his first season, he enjoyed one of the top offensive seasons for a shortstop, leading the league with 52 home runs. That year, he also won his first Golden Glove Award and the Babe Ruth Home Run Award for leading the MLB in homers. 

The 2003 season was meant to be his last with the Rangers, and he was going to be traded to the Boston Red Sox. However, the deal fell through, and in 2004, he was traded to the Yankees, where he transitioned to third base, as Derek Jeter was the team’s shortstop. 

The New York Yankees

In 2004, Alex Rodriguez was elected to the American League All-Star Team, but his team lost the ALCS to their rivals, the Red Sox. He won his second AL MVP Award in 2005, becoming the fifth player to win it with two different teams. Shortly after, he was named an All-Star and hit his 2,000th hit six days before his 31st birthday, which also marked his 450th home run. 

Rodriguez appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2007 before earning his 14th career grand slam. The same year, he became the first player in MLB history to have 35 home runs, 100 runs, and 100 RBIs in 10 consecutive seasons. At the end of the season, he opted out of his contract and became a free agent before he could hash out another contract. Under his new contract, which included multimillion-dollar incentives for milestones, he finished the 2008 season strong. 

Injuries and Scandals 

Rodriguez was set to represent the Dominican Republic in the 2009 World Baseball Classic but withdrew due to a cyst on his hip. He then discovered he had a torn labrum and underwent surgery and a nine-week recovery period, after which he started spring training. 

In 2010, Rodriguez became the seventh player in history to hit 600 homers, and in September, he hit his 30th homer of the season. The following year, he underwent surgery on his knee and then, in 2012, suffered from a non-displaced fracture that landed him on the disabled list. After more surgery, he played with the Yankees’ Class A affiliate, the Charleston RiverDogs, but soon sustained another injury. 

When he returned to the Yankees in 2013, he was immediately suspended due to the Biogenesis baseball scandal. Although he missed the 2014 season, he returned with an apology in 2015 and had an overall solid season. 

A Post-Baseball Career

Alex Rodriguez played his final season in 2016 and announced he’d remain a special advisor to the Yankees owner the following year. The same year, he became a guest judge on Shark Tank and signed a deal with ABC to become a contributor. He also served as an MLB analyst for FOX Sports and earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality of the Year. 

In 2018, he hosted “Back in the Game,” a show that focused on athletes like Evander Holyfield as they attempted to regain their form. Most recently, he appeared in The Captain, a 2022 miniseries that showcased Derek Jeter’s life and career, as well as their friendship and fallout.

MLB Salary & Contracts

Despite being out of the game for several years, Alex Rodriguez still holds the record for the highest-earning player in MLB history. He earned a total of $455.2 million throughout his career, comprising both salary and bonuses. This figure was split across the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees, with the latter representing just under $345 million of his career earnings.

Early Career Contracts

In 1994, at just nineteen years old, the Seattle Mariners signed A-Rod to a three-year rookie contract worth $1.3 million. This included a $1 million signing bonus, which at the time was a significant sum for a player’s first contract.

At the end of his rookie period, Rodriguez signed a new three-year agreement with the Mariners, guaranteeing him $10.7 million. With most of the value being heavily weighted toward the end of the contract’s lifespan, he earned $1.1 million in his first year. His annual salary then increased by roughly $1 million per season, reaching $4.36 million by 2000. This concluded his time in Seattle, accounting for $12 million, or approximately 2.6% of his lifetime earnings.

Peak Career Earnings

When Alex Rodriguez signed with the Texas Rangers in 2001, he secured a record-breaking $252 million, ten-year contract. At the time, this was the highest-value contract ever signed in the sport’s history. In fact, the record remained unbroken for almost a decade until A-Rod decided to break it himself. We’ll get to that in just a second.

Under the contract, Rodriguez played the first three seasons with the Rangers, earning an average annual salary of roughly $19.4 million. Following this period, he was traded to the New York Yankees, and the Rangers agreed to pay $67 million of his remaining salary. This money was deferred and later paid out annually from 2011 to 2013. Hence, A-Rod earned a total of $98.2 million with the team, despite only playing with them for three seasons.

By 2007, Alex Rodriguez’s annual salary had reached $24.7 million. He opted to void the final three years of his deal and negotiate a new $275 million, ten-year agreement with the Yankees. His salary eventually peaked at $33 million per year in 2009 and 2010. Rodriguez opted for retirement at the end of the 2015 season, finishing his career with $455.2 million in earnings. At the time of writing, only one other player in Major League Baseball (Justin Verlander) has exceeded $400 million in career earnings.

Business Ventures

Rodriguez started in business in 2011, when he partnered with entrepreneur Mark Mastrov. During that year, they launched Energy Fitness in Mexico, expanding it into one of the country’s largest gym chains. Five years later, Rodriguez joined NRG Esports as an early investor in March 2016, alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Jimmy Rollins. NRG was founded by Sacramento Kings co-owners Mark Mastrov and Andy Miller in late 2015.

As its popularity grew, Rodriguez joined subsequent funding rounds, although the exact funding amounts were not disclosed. However, the Series B round, in which Rodriguez invested, raised approximately $15 million. In the same year, Rodriguez partnered with UFC GYM, obtaining the rights to develop the franchise across Miami-Dade County, Florida. His first purchase was the UFC GYM in Kendall, followed by other UFC gyms in Plantation and Doral in 2020.

Fitplan

A few years later, in 2019, Rodriguez and his company, A-Rod Corp, co-led a $4.5 million financing round for Fitplan, a personal trainer app. The app offers workout routines from top trainers worldwide. Two years later, in August 2021, Rodriguez co-founded another app, called Jump, with Marc Lore and Jordy Leiser. The app allows sports teams to manage their ticket sales, merchandise, and fan engagement in one place. In August 2025, Jump secured $23 million in a Series A funding round, led by Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six firm, pushing Jump’s total funding to $58 million and its valuation to over $100 million.

Minnesota Timberwolves Acquisition

Rodriguez continued his business ventures in April 2021, partnering with Marc Lore again to acquire the Minnesota Timberwolves and their women’s team, the Lynx, for $1.5 billion. The payment was split into three parts, and, after their first two payments, their stake increased by 20%. Following the third payment, it was set to rise by an additional 40%. However, in March 2024, the owner, Glen Taylor, announced that Rodriguez and Lore had missed the final payment.

As a result, Taylor attempted to cancel the deal, claiming that the value of the teams had risen and they were worth more than $1.5 million. However, Rodriguez and Lore disputed Taylor’s claim and initiated an arbitration process to determine who had the right to own the teams.

In early 2025, the arbitration panel ruled in their favor, ordering Taylor to honor the original contract. As a result, the Timberwolves and Lynx were then officially owned by the Lore-Rodriguez group.

PFL Investment

In May 2022, a year after the Timberwolves’ acquisition, Rodriguez joined a $30 million Series E funding round for the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Rodriguez also became a member of the PFL board of directors and began advising on the league’s strategy. By mid-2025, Rodriguez, along with other investors, had raised over $200 million in investment capital for PFL. This is just one of Rodriguez’s many successful investments, which have contributed significantly to his growing net worth.

Real Estate

Coral Gables Homes

In May 2010, Alex Rodriguez paid $7.4 million for a 1.11-acre plot of land on North Bay Road in Miami Beach, Florida. He constructed a 19,861-square-foot, nine-bedroom home on the property and listed it for sale at $38 million in August 2012. A deal was finalized for $30 million in May 2013. 

In July 2013, Rodriguez paid $2.69 million for a 1.46-acre lot in Coral Gables. He then built a 10,427-square-foot, six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home. The property is worth an estimated $11.5 million based on recent estimations. However, how much Rodriguez spent constructing either of these two homes is unknown.

Introduction

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

Cormier won both the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and Heavyweight Championship. He was also a collegiate champion in his folkstyle wrestling career and won titles with three other professional promotions.

Net Worth History

During the middle of his career, Daniel Cormier was still receiving government assistance as he couldn’t pay all of his bills. Things would then change as he entered the title scene, becoming a millionaire and one of the wealthiest fighters in the UFC.

Here’s a breakdown of Daniel Cormier’s annual net worth:

• 2013 – $650,000
• 2014 – $1 Million
• 2015 – $3 Million
• 2016 – $3.5 Million
• 2017 – $5.5 Million
• 2018 – $7 Million
• 2019 – $7.5 Million
• 2020 – $8 Million
• 2021 – $8 Million
• 2022 – $8 Million

Before Wealth & Fame

Daniel Cormier trained in amateur wrestling, won three state championships, and was named to the all-state team for football. He continued his wrestling career in college, starting at Colby Community College before transferring to Oklahoma State University, where he became one of the best in the NCAA.

Cormier began a senior career in freestyle wrestling and won six consecutive gold medals at the US National Championship, and was a US Olympic wrestler in 2004 and 2008 before heading into mixed martial arts.

MMA Career 

Daniel Cormier started his professional MMA career with a technical knockout win over Gary Frazier at Strikeforce Challengers. He would continue to add to his win streak, making it to 11-0 after defeating Dion Staring in another Strikeforce pay-per-view.

On April 20, 2013, Cormier entered the UFC to fight for Dana White and won his first match against Frank Mir via unanimous decision. It wasn’t until 2015 that Cormier would lose his first match, coming in a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout against Jon Jones.

Cormier won the same title in his very next match against Anthony Johnson, and added the UFC Heavyweight Championship to his resume by defeating Stipe Miocic in 2018.

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 don’t typically 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 mentioned that after the fight, Dana White was impressed with the performance and sent him a cheque for $1 million. 

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 that champions would receive $1 million per fight. In which case, Cormier likely earned $1 million from the Johnson fight, and for his next fight against Alexander Gustafsson.

Peak Career Earnings

Only three other fights of Daniel Cormier’s career have disclosed earnings. These are a $1 million paycheck for his rematch with Jon Jones at UFC 214, and two $500,000 purses for his fights with 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.

Just based on the figures we’ve mentioned above, Cormier’s disclosed earnings amount to $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. 

Personal Life

Daniel Cormier and his three siblings were raised by his parents, Audrey Cormier and Joseph Cormier, in Louisiana. Cormier was married to a woman named Robin, and following their divorce, he had a child in another relationship, but his girlfriend and child tragically passed away in a car accident.

Since the late 2000s, Cormier has been in a relationship with Salina Deleon. The couple got married in 2017 and has had two children together.

Summary 

Daniel Cormier had perhaps one of the more traditional routes into the UFC thanks to his background in wrestling. However, not many have found the type of success that Cormier has while in the UFC, as he won championships in multiple weight classes. He has used his talents and marketability to launch a successful MMA career that has made him one of the richest combat athletes.