UFC 261 purses: How much did Kamaru Usman, Jorge Masvidal earn from mega fight?

On Saturday night, Kamaru Usman violently stopped Jorge Masvidal to retain his welterweight title. The BMF started strong but was soon rocked by a punch that the champion threw at him in the final seconds of round one. Masvidal recovered from the punch while resting on the chair and entered the second round with a huge smile on his face. However, as the bout continued, Masvidal made a mistake of coming in the rage of Usman’s vicious right hand, which the champion successfully connected to fold Gamebred in two. The Nigerian Nightmare then landed some hammerfists for good measure, before referee Herb Dean jumped in to stop the bout.

UFC 261 purses

How much did Jorge Masvidal earn from UFC 261?

Despite losing, Jorge Masvidal earned a hefty purse for his first performance of 2021. According to reports (via Sportbible), the Gamebred took home a whopping $800,000.

How much did Kamaru Usman earn from UFC 261?

Meanwhile, the champion who bested Masvidal received the biggest paycheck. Kamaru Usman earned a whopping $1.5 million purse, more than what he received for his previous clash against Gilbert Burns at UFC 258.

Other UFC 261 purses

Apart from Jorge Masvidal, 11 other fighters also earned a six-figure purse from their UFC 261 performance, including co-main eventers Weili Zhang and newly-crowned women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Others on the list are women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, Chris Weidman, Anthony Smith, Uriah Hall, Jimmy Crute, Randy Brown, Jessica Andrade, Dwight Grant and Brendan Allen.

How much did Kamaru Usman earn from UFC 261: UFC 261 salaries and bonuses

In addition, fighters like Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas, Jeff Molina and Qileng Aori also received $50,000 post-fight related bonuses for their incredible performances at the PPV. While Usman and Namajunas won the “Performance of the Night bonus” for their win over Masvidal and Weili Zhang, respectively, Jeff Molina and Qileng Aori won the “Fight of the Night bonus”.

UFC 261 salaries: Here’s how much the main and co-main eventers earned

• Kamaru Usman took home $1.5 million, which included his Performance of the Night, PPV and sponsorship bonuses ($750,000). He received $750,000 to show at UFC 261.
• Jorge Masvidal earned $800,000, with $300,000 coming from PPV & sponsorship bonuses and $500,000 to show at UFC 261.
• Rose Namajunas banked $310,000, which included her Performance of the Night, win and sponsorship bonuses ($160,000). She received $150,000 to show at the PPV.
• Weili Zhang received $380,000, with $30,000 coming from sponsorship bonus and $350,000 to show at UFC 261.

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