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

Francis Ngannou is a Cameroonian professional MMA fighter and boxer with an estimated net worth of $15 Million.

Ngannou gained fame for his record-breaking punch power and quickly became the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Following a contract dispute with the company, he was released by the UFC and subsequently signed with the PFL. Francis made his professional boxing debut in 2023 against Tyson Fury and also fought against Anthony Joshua in 2024. These two fights earned him more money than from all his MMA fights combined.

Net Worth History

Throughout the early parts of his career, Francis Ngannou was essentially living paycheck to paycheck between fights. However, things changed drastically when he became the UFC’s Heavyweight Champion. When we first started tracking Francis Ngannou’s net worth in 2022, it was estimated to be just $3 million. After stalled contract negotiations with the UFC, he eventually left to join the PFL. 

However, it was his move to professional boxing that truly began bringing in the big bucks. Ngannou has earned an estimated $30 million from just two boxing matchups, against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. As a result, his net worth has skyrocketed to an estimated $15 Million, as of 2025.

MMA Career 

After dropping his second fight against Zoumana Cisse, Ngannou won his next 10 matches, which included his UFC debut against Luis Henrique. Ngannou experienced a brief cold streak in 2018, dropping decisions to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, with the latter being his first title shot. He then rebounded with wins over Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez, running his record to 13-3 and re-entering the title scene in the Dana White promotion.

Ngannou became a dominant force, defeating Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik en route to a rematch with Stipe Miocic, this time winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and defending it successfully against Ciryl Gane.

UFC Fight Earnings

Not all of Francis Ngannou’s fight purses from the UFC were publicly disclosed. However, we do have information for several of them, particularly in the latter stages. Ngannou’s first official fight in the UFC took place in December 2015 against Luis Henrique. After winning the fight by knockout, he secured a total of $22,500, comprising $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win, and $2,500 from his Reebok sponsorship.

Fast forward to 2019, Ngannou earned a combined $525,000 from another two knockouts over Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. Both of which occurred in the first minute of the first round. The following year, when Francis secured his wild knockout over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, he reportedly earned $320,000.

In 2021, Ngannou fought Stipe Miocic for the second time, once again for the Heavyweight title. Adding another knockout to his record, Francis earned $580,000, including bonuses. Finally, a decision win over Ciryl Gane in 2022 earned him $600,000.

For these six fights alone, Francis Ngannou earned an estimated $2.05 million, which is not a lot considering the extent of his dominance in the UFC’s Heavyweight division. However, we are missing a large number of his fights, particularly during his rise to the top of the rankings.

UFC Contract Dispute

The bout with Gane was the final fight on Ngannou’s contract, and although the organization offered him $5 million to sign a new deal, he was reluctant to do so. His relationship with the UFC was already strained due to contract negotiations that failed to take place in 2019. According to Francis, this led to him only receiving one fight per year, placing additional strain on his finances.

Eventually, Francis decided to leave the UFC and join the PFL. Dana White clapped back, claiming Francis is “full of s***” and “isn’t a good guy.”

Boxing Payouts

By far, the most lucrative period of Francis Ngannou’s career was between 2023 and 2024, when he transitioned into professional boxing. This was only made possible due to his decision to leave the UFC, as otherwise, he would have been locked into a contract and unable to compete in other organizations. 

In October 2023, Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury won the fight by decision, reportedly earning $50 million, yet Ngannou still secured an estimated $10 million purse. Francis claimed this was almost double his entire earnings within the UFC. A year later, he fought Anthony Joshua, losing this time by knockout. However, he still walked away with a reported $20 million payday. 

As a result, Ngannous has earned an estimated $30 million from just two boxing bouts, averaging $15 million per fight. Assuming we take his word of earning in the ballpark of $5 million from all fourteen of his fights in the UFC, his average paycheck would have been just $357,000.

Summary 

Francis Ngannou has come a long way since his days of poverty in Cameroon and working odd jobs in Paris. After making his way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ngannou became one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. Throughout his career, Ngannou has established himself as one of the richest and most successful MMA fighters.

Introduction

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

Before Wealth & Fame

Wanderlei Silva was born on July 3, 1976, in Curitiba, Brazil, and began practicing martial arts, including kickboxing and Muay Thai, at a young age.

Silva was fighting bare-knuckle in his amateur days, suffering some injuries along the way that he would recover from quickly. Just a few months after his 20th birthday, Silva would make his professional MMA debut and start his career 4-0 before his first loss to Artur Mariano. Silva lost his second match the following year, this time to Vitor Belfort, but Silva would quickly recover and go on a hot streak.

MMA Career 

In April 1999, Wanderlei Silva became the IVC Light Heavyweight Champion, earning his first title and securing a contract with Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Silva quickly earned a title shot for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, but lost via decision to Tito Ortiz. This launched a long winning streak for Silva, as he left the UFC for Pride Fighting Championships. He went on to an 18-match undefeated streak, including fights against Mirko Cro Cop, Quinton Jackson, and Yuki Kondo.

Since the end of 2004, Silva has experienced both professional losses and wins, but has had memorable matches against notable opponents such as Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, and Brian Stann, ultimately finishing his career with a record of 35 wins, 14 losses, one draw, and one no-contest.

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.”

How Does Wanderlei Silva Spend His Money?

Silva has a couple of BMWs that he enjoys driving, and his house in Las Vegas is estimated to be worth around $200,000. He also owns a home in his Brazilian hometown, splitting his time between the two houses while operating a training facility in Nevada.

Personal Life

Since 2002, Silva has been married to his wife, Tea, with the couple having a son named Thor, as well as a daughter from a previous relationship. He has split his time between the United States and Brazil, his home country, throughout his adult life, and now resides in Curitiba, Brazil.

In 2009, Silva founded his own MMA training organization, called Wand Fight Team, which is based in Las Vegas and has coaches in several forms of martial arts.

Summary 

Making it as a professional mixed martial artist for two years is hard enough, but Wanderlei Silva was able to stay 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.