UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington Payouts & Fighters Salaries

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Fans await the next fight during a UFC 261 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, April 24, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.
(AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
Anatoly Pimentel @AnatolyPimentel Dec 17, 2023, 7:18 PM
  • Leon Edwards has the biggest payout with $1.6 million.
  • Six fighters secured a payout of over $200,000.
  • Five fighters received an additional $50,000 bonus.

The last UFC pay-per-view event of 2023 saw two champions retain their titles as Leon Edwards and Alexandre Pantoja unanimously beat their respective challengers, Colby Covington and Brandon Royval, in the main event and co-main event of UFC 296, which went down on Dec. 16 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Both Edwards and Pantoja proved why they were favorites in UFC odds.

Edwards showed that his striking and grappling were above Covington’s as he dominated him from start to finish. The former landed more significant strikes and won most grappling positions to defend his UFC welterweight title successfully. On the other hand, Pantoja used his superior grappling skills against Royval to continue his reign as the UFC flyweight champion.

Aside from the incredible performances from both titleholders, five other fighters received an additional $50,000 bonus for their excellent showing during the night. Josh Emmett, Ariane Lipski, and Shamil Gaziev secured the Performance of the Night bonus, while Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa got the Fight of the Night honor for their all-out bantamweight brawl.

See below the complete list of all fighters’ salaries and payouts for UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington.

UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington Payouts & Fighters Salaries

FighterEstimated Total Payout
Leon Edwards$1,642,000
Alexandre Pantoja$942,000
Colby Covington$782,000
Stephen Thompson$416,000
Tony Ferguson$271,000
Cody Garbrandt$261,000
Brandon Royval$182,000
Josh Emmett$161,000
Shavkat Rakhmonov$156,000
Paddy Pimblett$154,500
Irene Aldana$113,000
Ariane Lipski$106,000
Andre Fili$106,000
Karol Rosa$104,000
Alonzo Menifield$101,000
Bryce Mitchell$96,000
Dustin Jacoby$96,000
Shamil Gaziev$94,000
Brian Kelleher$81,000
Casey O’Neill$54,000
Cody Duren$56,000
Martin Buday$56,000
Tagir Ulanbekov$34,500
Lucas Almeida$28,500

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About the Author

Anatoly Pimentel

Read More @AnatolyPimentel

Anatoly Pimentel is an NBA and MMA writer previously featured in ASEAN Sports, Asian Persuasion MMA, and Overtime Heroics MMA. He graduated from Adamson University with a B.A in Communication and is a Web Content Writer for BetMGM.

Anatoly Pimentel is an NBA and MMA writer previously featured in ASEAN Sports, Asian Persuasion MMA, and Overtime Heroics MMA. He graduated from Adamson University with a B.A in Communication and is a Web Content Writer for BetMGM.