UFC 308 saw another bumper night of cage fighting action, with the fight card delivering in a way many did not see coming. Ilia Topuria defending his featherweight championship against Max Holloway was the main event, and the champ shocked fans as he defended successfully, becoming the first person ever to stop the American in the process.
For his highlight-reel performance, Topuria topped the charts for payouts on the night after his performance earned him recognition as one of the top performers for UFC 308, alongside Khamzat Chimaev and Sharabutdin Magomedov, who both secured impressive finishes themselves, with the former submitting Robert Whittaker, and the latter knocking out Armen Petrosyan.
Ilia Topuria Tops UFC 308 Salaries
He took home a very respectable $3,992,000
The featherweight champion was the highest-paid fighter on the night, as you would expect for the defending champion in the main event fight, taking a whopping $3.9 million and bagging himself a $50,000 bonus as part of his Performance of the Night award.
That salary saw Topuria top the payout figures as only two other fighters took home more than a million dollars after he cemented his name at the top of the featherweight division. He was, however, one of five who took home a bonus payout from Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses.
Despite losing his title fight, Holloway was behind his opponent for total payout, taking home just under $2.5 million to ease his sorrows before searching for his next fight. Khamzat Chimaev, meanwhile, edged over the one million mark to make him the third fighter to take more than one million dollars home this weekend.
UFC 308 salaries (selected) | |
|---|---|
Fighter | Estimated payout |
Ilia Topuria | $3,992,000 |
Max Holloway | $2,432,000 |
Khamzat Chimaev | $1,056,000 |
Robert Whittaker | $771,000 |
Magomed Ankalaev | $411,000 |
Shara Magomedov | $234,500 |
Mateusz Rebecki | $234,500 |
Rafael dos Anjos | $221,000 |
Geoff Neal | $211,000 |
Lerone Murphy | $206,000 |
Kennedy Nzechukwu | $191,000 |
Dan Ige | $166,000 |
Aleksandar Rakic | $156,000 |
Abusupiyan Magomedov | $144,500 |
Armen Petrosyan | $78,000 |
Going into UFC 308, many expected the champion to retain his title against Holloway, who had been putting a run of form together, but it was not going to be an easy task for him. The former champion was hot off a win against Justin Gaethje, adding another highlight knockout to his resume, marking his 26th win and 12th stoppage.
That win earned Holloway a shot at Topuria’s title, but even he would have known how big a task it was going into the fight. However, it was the manner in which the Georgian-Spaniard defended his title that shocked fans, as he confidently knocked out his challenger, something which had seemed impossible to many fans. Despite the brutal loss, Holloway still holds the BMF championship, leaving a number of options for what comes next for him, with one potential option being Charles Oliveira.
The featherweight champion’s win sees him continue his journey in the UFC, which has seen him become touted as a sure-fire future legend for the promotion. Chimaev has been labelled to be on the same path as Topuria as well, and both put in performances that showed just why fans think that of them.
While both had been predicted to emerge victorious from UFC 308, it was not an easy task for them to do so, but their performances on the night said otherwise, with both picking up stoppage victories against strong opposition.