Introduction

Yoel Romero is a Cuban former professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $10 million.

Romero fought for the UFC for seven years before joining Bellator MMA. During his MMA career, Romero has had several title shots and headlined three pay-per-view events.

MMA Career 

In December 2009, Yoel Romero made his professional debut and won his first four matches before being defeated in his lone Strikeforce bout. Romero then went on a long winning streak, which included victories over Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza, and Chris Weidman.

When the UFC Middleweight Championship was up for grabs, Romero won over Luke Rockhold, but unfortunately missed weight. Therefore, Romero wouldn’t be named the title holder, then missed weight on his second title shot and lost the third to Israel Adesanya. After the final bout, Romero switched to Bellator, where he went 2-1 with wins over Alex Polizzi and Melvin Manhoef.

Earnings & Net Worth

When he first started, Yoel Romero earned about $20,000 per fight, but that changed when he joined the UFC. Though he was given just $10,000 to show in his UFC debut, Romero won several bonuses, earning him $85,000 in total.

Over the years, his payouts would increase, and his fight against Tim Kennedy at UFC 178 was his first six-figure payday. Romero earned the most in one fight, $430,000, against Robert Whittaker at UFC 213 in 2017.

Between his time with Strikeforce, UFC, and Bellator MMA, Romero has made over $2.5 million from payouts and bonuses. When his fight checks and endorsements are taken into consideration, Yoel Romero’s net worth is estimated at $10 million, thanks in large part to his winning a lawsuit against a supplement company.

Goldstar Performance Products Lawsuit

In 2015, Yoel Romero failed a USADA drug test after testing positive for ibutamoren, otherwise known as the SARM MK-677. Upon failing the test, Romero provided a sample of a supplement he had been taking, Shred Rx, which was advertised primarily as a diuretic. The sample was later tested and found to contain “approximately 5 micrograms” of ibutamoren per capsule. A subsequent test was conducted on a sample from a sealed bottle of Shred Rx, which yielded a reading of 12 micrograms per capsule.

Romero’s suspension was reduced, but not negated, as a result of the test’s findings. This led to the fighter filing a lawsuit against Goldstar Performance Products (the manufacturer of Shred Rx) in 2016. The company never responded to the suit, and Romero was awarded $27.45 million in damages, broken down as follows:

• Lost wages – $3 million
• Reputable harm – $3 million
• Emotional damage – $3 million

The judgment was then tripled as per the “Consumer Fraud Act”, which states that damages awarded can be tripled when a company is found to have committed consumer fraud.

Personal Life

Yoel Romero is a devout Christian who frequently discusses his spirituality in interviews with media members. He has kept much of his personal details private, including his wife’s name, but he has been married with three children for quite some time. He doesn’t speak English fluently, as he’s from Cuba and speaks Spanish, but he does currently reside in Miami, Florida.

Summary 

Yoel Romero is one of the greatest athletes to hail from Cuba, and certainly among the best Cuban mixed martial artists. Even without winning a UFC championship belt, Romero has proven himself to be an all-time great. When you consider his lawsuit win and MMA earnings, he’s also one of the richest Cuban athletes ever.

Introduction

Brendan Schaub is an American stand-up comedian, podcast host, and former professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $4 Million.

UFC Earnings

While Brendan Schaub was never one of the highest-paid fighters in the UFC, he managed to secure some decent paydays throughout his MMA career. For his knockout against Mirko “Cro Cop” at UFC 128 in 2011, Schaub earned a combined $94,000, comprising $12,000 to show, $12,000 to win, and a $70,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night. 

In 2013, he reportedly earned a combined $82,000 from his bouts with Matt Mitrione and Lavar Johnson. A year later, he earned an additional $79,000 from his fights with Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski. Schaub reportedly earned at least $255,000 from these five fights.

The figures mentioned above don’t include additional income from sponsorships and PPV splits. It’s also worth noting that his fights took place before the UFC’s deal with Reebok, when fighters were allowed to display sponsor logos on their shorts and fight banners. Before the agreement, sponsors accounted for a significant amount of a fighter’s income.

The Fighter & The Kid Podcast

In 2013, shortly before retiring from mixed martial arts, Brendan Schaub launched The Fighter & The Kid podcast with his friend Bryan Callen, under the Fox Sports umbrella. The podcast features various guests to discuss topics related to MMA, comedy, and other miscellaneous day-to-day stories. They hosted TFTK with Fox Sports between 2013 and 2016, airing roughly 160 episodes, before leaving the network to publish independently on YouTube and other platforms.

In the last few years, the show has gone through several setbacks, one of which was due to the sexual misconduct allegations levied against Bryan Callen, which led him to step out of the limelight for a brief period. 

Another, more recent issue was when Callen decided to move his family, and the podcast, from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas. It appears that Schaub wasn’t particularly keen to move, but was somewhat forced to do so to keep the podcast alive. Many spectators have shared their opinions on the move, claiming that Schaub has looked slightly depressed in recent interviews after moving to a new studio in Austin.

Pure Spectrum CBD Earnings & Lawsuit

In February 2019, Brendan Schaub signed a contract with the CBD company, Pure Spectrum, that would give him a 10% stake in the brand. The terms of the agreement were recently disclosed as part of a lawsuit filing against Schaub, and outline Brendan’s obligations as follows:

• Post 5 Instagram stories per month
• Publish two static posts per month on all platforms
• Feature Pure Spectrum on the TFTK podcast
• Allow the brand to use his likeness for marketing
• Host the owner of Pure Spectrum on his podcast
• Make one in-person event appearance per year

Aside from an equity percentage, Schaub was also given the highest affiliate commission rate possible for generating sales for Pure Spectrum. According to various affiliate platforms, the base commission rate is 20% of the order value for each sale referred; however, premium affiliates can earn up to 40% per sale. This is likely the percentage that Schaub received, although it could have been as high as 50%.

Pure Spectrum Lawsuit

In June 2025, Brady L. Bell, the founder of Pure Spectrum, filed a civil lawsuit against Brendan and several others, citing numerous allegations, including civil theft, fraud, wire fraud, and IRS fraud. The lawsuit detailed the contractual obligations listed above and also stated that Schaub had earned $370,000 in affiliate commissions from Pure Spectrum but failed to fulfill his duties.

One of the more interesting claims from the court documents was that Schaub allegedly demanded that Pure Spectrum send emails to its customer database promoting Schaub’s comedy specials, which had received very negative reviews on review websites such as IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. This case was so severe that IMDb and Showtime allegedly threatened legal action against the company for improper promotional activities. The lawsuit is currently ongoing.

Highlights 

Here are some of the best highlights of Brendan Schaub’s career:

• The Ultimate Fighter (Television Series, 2009) 
• The Fighter and the Kid (Comedy Podcast) 
• Been doing stand-up since 2015 

Introduction

Eddie Alvarez is an American professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $8 Million.

Before Wealth & Fame

Edward Alvarez was born on January 11, 1984, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he still resides today. Alvarez learned boxing at a young age thanks to his father, Frank, who practiced the sport at the Front Street Gym in Philadelphia.

During his teenage years, Alvarez got more involved with wrestling, turning down several scholarship offers to pursue a career as a mixed martial artist. Alvarez finally had his first professional match in 2003, defeating Anthony Ladonna via knockout in the first round. 

MMA Career 

Eddie Alvarez would run his career record to 10-0 at the start of his career and lost just one (to Nick Thompson) of his first 16 fights.

In 2009, Alvarez made his debut with Bellator MMA, defeating Greg Loughran in the first round via submission, and went on to become the promotion’s first lightweight champion. Alvarez fought for Bellator MMA for five years, including a win that reclaimed the title he had lost, before moving to the UFC in 2014.

He would lose his debut match against Donald Cerrone, but went on to win fights against Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos, ultimately winning the UFC Lightweight Championship. Alvarez dropped the belt to Conor McGregor in 2016, and since then has had sporadic matches, including fights against Dustin Poirier, Iuri Lapicus, and Ok Rae Yoon.

UFC Earnings

Eddie Alvarez was with the UFC for several years and became one of the richest MMA fighters thanks to his time in the championship scene. Alvarez frequently had fights throughout Bellator MMA and UFC, typically earning six figures per bout, with most of his matches paying him between $100,000 and $200,000.

Although the UFC doesn’t disclose every single fighter’s paycheck, there are several of Eddie’s previous purses that we do know. In 2014, Alvarez fought Donald Cerrone at UFC 178, earning $50,000 to show and $50,000 to win, totaling $100,000. When he fought Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90 in 2016, he received a base salary of $150,000, plus an additional $50,000 bonus for Performance of the Night, totaling $200,000.

Naturally, it would be safe to assume that Eddie’s fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 205 produced the biggest payout of his career. Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing for sure, as his pay was never disclosed. However, McGregor’s, on the other hand, was revealed as part of an antitrust lawsuit filed against the UFC. Conor reportedly earned $6.8 million for his knockout victory over Alvarez, which was listed as the second-highest payout of all time.

ONE Championship Contract

Most people assume that because the UFC is the biggest and most successful MMA organization, they automatically pay more money than every other organization. However, this is not necessarily the case. In 2018, after leaving the UFC, Alvarez signed a contract with ONE Championship and revealed on Ariel Helwani’s show that the offer was “through the roof” and was a “guaranteed eight-figure deal” in total, which means that he should have earned at least $10 million from the contract. He was also made a partner of the organization, which likely had its own financial benefits.

Now then, Alvarez only fought four times in ONE Championship before becoming a free agent. Therefore, we don’t know whether he actually completed the contract in full or terminated it early. He did say the eight-figure sum was guaranteed, so in either case, his earnings with the promotion were likely much more than his time in the UFC.

Expenditure

Although not among the richest MMA fighters, Eddie Alvarez has still earned a significant amount of money throughout his career. Alvarez was born and raised in Pennsylvania and chose to stay in the city when buying a new home. Although the exact amount wasn’t listed for the sale, it’s estimated that Alvarez spent over $500,000 to relocate to the northeast part of Philadelphia. It isn’t just his own home, either, as Alvarez heavily invests in real estate and considers it his second-largest hobby, behind fighting.

Personal Life

Eddie Alvarez met his now-wife Jamie in high school, and the couple has been married since 2008. Along the way, the two have had four children, three of whom are sons, with the family now residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

From 2009 to 2012, Alvarez made multiple appearances on the hit reality series Bully Beatdown on MTV, knocking out each bully he faced.

Summary 

Eddie Alvarez has accomplished a great deal throughout his fighting career and is considered one of the best lightweight fighters of his time. Not many people can say they’ve won championships with both UFC and Bellator, but Alvarez has done just that. He begins to focus on his investing career when he’s done fighting, which will undoubtedly also be a success.