The Richest MMA Fighters In The World
ByBrian Warneron March 17, 2013inArticles›Entertainment
Who are the richest MMA fighters in the world? Thanks mainly to Dana White’s UFC, Mixed Martial Arts has become one of the fastest growing and most popular sports in the world. This is impressive because not only is the UFC a relatively young organization, but MMA is so brutal that it is actually banned in several states, including New York! So clearly MMA fighters must be raking in big cash to subject themselves to such pain right? Well, compared to their boxing and WWE contemporaries, MMA fighters earn relatively small amounts for a single fight. In fact, Floyd Mayweather earned more in 2011 alone ($85 million) than the cumulative sum of every UFC athletes’s career fight earnings. But that doesn’t mean MMA fighters are poor! It just means that in order to be one of the richest MMA fighters in the world , you need to get creative. The top fighters on this list have all mastered the art of turning themselves into a brand in order to make millions of dollars outside the cage from endorsements, clothing lines, private gyms, acting careers and more. And, for one fighter, it helps to be born rich. So who are the richest MMA fighters in the world?
Also keep in mind that 700,000 PPV buys makes UFC 154 one of the largest UFC events in recent history. UFC 150 had just 190,000 buys. When we run the numbers using the same logic described above, the biggest PPV bonus for UFC 150 was just $250,000. Now, as for the claim that Georges St-Pierre makes $15 million from endorsements each year. The only source that confirms that amount is GSP himself, and as we have shown above he clearly likes to exaggerate. All we can say is that if GSP was bringing home $15 million a year from endorsements, he would be making more than Dale Earnhardt Jr , Dwight Howard and Peyton Manning , three of the highest earning celebrity endorsers in the world.
Who are the Richest MMA Fighters in the World?/ KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images
The figures contained in this list were acquired from all publicly available information including per fight salaries, real estate holdings, divorces, merchandise, royalties and endorsements. The final net worths come from a formula that takes out taxes, manager’s fees, agents’ fees, and lifestyle.
The Richest MMA Fighters in the World:
- #1: Georges St Pierre Net Worth – $25 Million
- #2: BJ Penn Net Worth – $22 Million (Family money, + RVCA, gyms, books )
- #3: Anderson Silva Net Worth – $18 Million
- #4: Randy Couture Net Worth – $17 Million ( Expendables 1-3, gym, clothing line )
- #5: Brock Lesnar Net Worth – $16 Million ( WWE, NFL )
- #6: Wanderlei Silva Net Worth – $16 Million ( Gym in Vegas, huge in Japan )
- #7: Tito Ortiz Net Worth – $15 Million ( Clothing line, gym, Jenna Jameson )
- #8: Fedor Emelianenko Net Worth – $15 Million
- #9: Chuck Liddell Net Worth – $14 Million ( Has highest UFC career earnings @ $4.3 million )
- #10: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Net Worth – $12 Million
- #11: Jon Bones Jones Net Worth – $10 Million
- #12: Junior dos Santos Net Worth – $10 Million
- #13: Frank Mir Net Worth – $9 Million
- #14: Chael Sonnen Net Worth- $9 Million
- #15: Rashad Evans Net Worth – $8.5 Million
- #16: Frank Shamrock Net Worth – $8 Million
- #17: Matt Hughes Net Worth – $8 Million
- #18: Urijah Faber Net Worth – $8 Million
- #19: Forrest Griffin Net Worth – $7 Million
- #20: Mauricio Rua Net Worth – $6.5 Million
- #21: Vitor Belfort Net Worth – $5.5 Million
- #22: Mirko Cro Cop Net Worth – $5.5 Million
- #23: Dan Henderson Net Worth – $5.5 Million
- #24: Alistair Overeem Net Worth – $5 Million
- #25: Thiago Silva Net Worth – $5 Million
- #26: Zab Judah Net Worth – $5 Million
- #27: Michael Bisping Net Worth – $4.5 Million
- #28: Lyoto Machida Net Worth – $4 Million
- #29: Rich Franklin Net Worth – $3.5 Million
- #30: Nick Diaz Net Worth – $3 Million
- #31: Thiago Alves Net Worth – $2 Million
- #32: Josh Koscheck Net Worth – $2 Million
- #33: James Toney Net Worth – $2 Million (Mainly from boxing career)
- #34: Chris Lytle Net Worth – $2 Million
- #35: Ken Shamrock Net Worth – $1.5 Million
- #36: Cain Velasquez Net Worth – $900 Thousand
- #37: Nate Diaz Net Worth – $700 Thousand
- #38: Jason Mayhem Miller Net Worth – $600 Thousand
- #39: Kimbo Slice Net Worth – $500 Thousand
- #40: Stephan Bonnar – $500 Thousand
Bonus:
- Dana White Net Worth – $300 Million
- Joe Rogan Net Worth – $22 Million
- Bruce Buffer Net Worth – $2 Million
Dana White Net Worth /Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
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