by UFC 251 took place on July 12, 2020, at the Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event featured the main event between Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and no. 1 contender Jorge Masvidal who accepted the bout on short notice after the initial opponent Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19. Usman successfully defended the title and earned a paycheck of $640,000.
The co-main event was between Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Blessed could not take back the title as he lost to the champion in the decision. The other title bout was between Jose Aldo and Petr Yan for the vacant bantamweight championship which Yan won via TKO.
Though the athletic commissions don’t release fighter pay info, the below-given salary is not official but is the fairly accurate purse.
UFC 251 Fighters Salary, Incentive Pay, and Sponsorship Bonus
Kamaru Usman: $640,000 ($600,000 to show, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)
Jorge Masvidal: $530,000 ($500,000 to show, $30,000 fight week incentive pay)
Alexander Volkanovski: $390,000 ($350,000 to show, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)
Max Holloway: $280,000 ($250,000 to show, $30,000 fight week incentive pay)
Jose Aldo: $430,000 ($400,000 to show, $30,000 fight week incentive pay)
Petr Yan: $230,000 ($100,000 to show, $100,000 to show, $30,000 fight week incentive pay)
Rose Namajunas: $160,000 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 win bonus, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $10,000 fight week incentive pay)
Jessica Andrade: $115,000 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $15,000 fight week incentive pay)
Amanda Ribas: $36,000 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 win bonus, $4,000 fight week incentive pay)
Paige VanZant: $51,000 ($46,000 to show, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
Jiri Prochazka: $153,500 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Volkan Oezdemir: $100,000 ($95,000 to show, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
Muslim Salikhov: $32,000 (($14,000 to show, $13,000 win bonus, $4,000 fight week incentive pay)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos: $38,000 ($28,000 to show, $10,000 fight week incentive pay)
Makwan Amirkhani: $45,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 win bonus, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
Danny Henry: $17,500 ($14,000 to show, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Leonardo Santos: $57,000 ($26,000 to show, $26,000 win bonus, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
Marcin Tybura: $150,000 ($70,000 to show, $70,000 win bonus, $10,000 fight week incentive pay)
Maxim Grishin: $13,500 ($10,000 to show, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Raulian Paiva: $25,100 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 win bonus, $2,400 fine for missing weight, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Zhalgas Zhumagulov: $15,900 ($10,000 to show, $2,400 from Paiva for missing weight, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Karol Rosa: $30,500 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 win bonus, $3,000 from Melo for missing weight, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Vanessa Melo: $10,500 ($10,000 to show, $3,000 fine for missing weight, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Martin Day: $13,500 ($10,000 to show, $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
Davey Grant: $83,000 ($14,000 to sow, $14,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
