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

Leon Edwards is a Jamaican-English professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $1.2 Million.

Quick Facts

• Earned just under $1 million from the Kamaru Usman trilogy

UFC Fight Purses

If you’ve read any of our other profiles on MMA fighters in the past, you’ll know that it’s not always easy to track a fighter’s earnings. In the UFC, fight purses are disclosed for one of two reasons. The first of which is when the fight takes place in a state that requires fight pay to be disclosed. The second is from lawsuits, since the UFC has been involved in several lawsuits with fighters over the years, in which numerous fight purses have been revealed.

Now, if a fighter’s pay is disclosed under state law, PPV shares don’t need to be listed. This leads many outlets to list different figures as they’re guessing a fighter’s PPV revenues.

With all that out of the way, how much has Leon Edwards earned during his UFC tenure?

Early Career Purses

When Edwards joined the UFC in 2014, his first fight was against Claudio Silva at UFC Fight Night 56. At the time, he was reportedly under an entry-level contract paying $8,000 to show and $8,000 to win. He lost the fight by split decision, taking home $8,000. The following year, in April, Edwards knocked out Seth Baczynski with the first punch he threw, and the fight lasted just 8 seconds. Again, he received $8,000 to show up, plus an additional $8,000 for winning the fight. However, Leon also received a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, which brought his total purse to $66,000. This worked out to $8,250 for each second the fight lasted.

Three months later, Edwards fought Pawel Pawlak at another UFC Fight Night and won the fight by decision. Again, he received $16,000 in total, including his win bonus.

Kamaru Usman Trilogy Earnings

Leon Edwards fought the former Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, three times, though there was a significant gap between their first and second matchups. Edwards lost the first fight in December 2015, earning just $17,500. However, for their rematch at UFC 278 in 2022, Leon secured a last-minute knockout from a headkick after struggling for the entire fight. He won the belt and reportedly earned $432,000, comprising:

• Base purse: $350,000
• Sponsorships: $32,000
• Fight bonus: $50,000

Finally, reports suggested that Edwards earned in the region of $542,000 from his third and final fight with Usman.

Summary 

Leon Edwards is one of the best rags-to-riches stories in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after tragedy struck his family at a young age. Edwards found his calling as an MMA fighter, cutting his teeth in England before becoming a global icon who earned a title fight.

Introduction

Frank Mir is an American former professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $11 Million.

During his MMA career, Frank Mir fought 32 times, predominantly in Bellator and the UFC, and often earned multiple six-figures per fight. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion retired with a record of 19 wins and 13 losses.

Fight Earnings

The last time Frank Mir fought was a boxing match against Steve Cunningham on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren pay-per-view in 2021, which earned Mir $350,000. Before that, Mir only had one payday since 2018, and that came from his match at Bellator MMA 231 against Roy Nelson, with Mir getting the win to bring his record to 19-13.

Looking at his career earnings, Mir has had notable paydays, including $300,000 for his fight against Fedor Emelianenko and $395,000 for his fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which are his biggest checks.

Surprisingly, Mir earned only $185,000 for his two matches against Brock Lesnar, yet he has accumulated more than $4 million in career earnings across mixed martial arts and boxing. The Las Vegas native and former UFC Heavyweight Champion is estimated to have a net worth of $9 million when endorsements and salary are taken into consideration.

Endorsement Deals

In addition to his fight purses, Frank Mir also earned a substantial income from his sponsors. At the time, UFC fighters earned significantly more from brand endorsements. They were allowed to wear their own fight gear, displaying logos on their shorts and training shirts. They were also allowed to hold banners over the edge of the octagon displaying all their sponsors’ logos. However, this was eventually phased out by the promotion as it secured contracts with Reebok and, later, Crypto.com.

Regardless, here’s a list of all the known brands that Frank Mir partnered with:

• Affliction Clothing
• Bodybuilding.com
• Envirotek
• Harley Davidson
• Hayabusa
• MMAWarehouse.com
• Nutrabolics

Summary 

While the heavyweight division in the UFC may not receive the same level of attention as some lower weight classes, Frank Mir helped make it must-watch television. Mir became a star in the ring and was the longest-tenured fighter in UFC history, earning massive six-figure paychecks along the way. Now in his 40s, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion is able to ride off into the sunset after taking part in his last fight.