What Is the UFC Fight Night Prize Money This Weekend? Main Event, Prelims Payouts
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Vladislav Tchakarov
This week's UFC Fight Night prize money cannot compare to the millions that will be spent on salaries next week but it is still worth talking about. Matchmakers gave their best to construct a competitive card with the best available fighters. Here is everything we know about the Allen vs Curtis payouts.
UFC Fighter Pay: What Will Allen vs Curtis Be Paid at UFC Fight Night 240?
We understand that this feels like “just another event until UFC 300” but we truly believe that it is worth watching. The main event is an unusual one given the rankings of the two fighters but this is what happens when someone agrees to fight on short notice.
Initially, Curtis was supposed to fight Marvin Vettori, but on March 15 it was announced that Vettori was injured and Brendan Allen would replace him. The fighters already met in 2021 when Curtis won by knockout in the middle of the second round, but that fight was scheduled for three rounds. This rematch will be a five-round scrap and both fighters have changed a lot since then.
This seems like a bad matchup for Allen who should be aiming for the big names in the division. He only lost to Curtis and Strickland since joining the UFC and is on a 6-win streak right now. It feels like Dana White is not a big fan of the American as he never gets meaningful fights. If he loses to Curtis (ranked #14) again while being #6 in the division, he will probably drop in the rankings.
Nevertheless, a fight is a fight, especially if you are getting paid well. Allen and Curtis are undoubtedly going to earn the most from the UFC Fight Night prize money as the only ranked fighters on the main card.
Some reports indicate that the payouts for the whole event will be around $750,000, although we would argue that such information rarely comes out before an event.
Speaking about Brendan Allen, he should be earning around $100,000 per fight at this point. For example, he earned at least $85,000 as a base salary when he fought Bruno Silva in June 2023. His purse for the Paul Craig fight has not been revealed but we believe that it was around $100,000.
There were rumors that he was paid the astonishing $250,000 but we believe that this is a fictional sum. How can he jump from $85k to $250k when it wasn't a title match or even a title eliminator that grants a shot at the belt?
With this said, we predict that Allen will earn the biggest cut from the Allen vs Curtis payouts at around $100,000-120,000. As for Chris Curtis, his case is more complicated.
If we go back to January, we predicted that he would earn $85,000 from his bout against Marc-Andre Barriault. Since he won that match, it is possible that he gets a slight increase but we doubt that it will be more than $100,000. Certainly not more than the higher-ranked and more successful Brendan Allen.
UFC Fight Night 240 Payouts: What the Rest of the Card Can Expect
Apart from the Allen vs Curtis payouts, there are a few other fighters with solid salaries this week. One would expect that the salaries increase with the higher position of the fight on the card but it seems like Alex Morono may be the 3rd-highest earner on this event despite being in the prelims. The fighter has been in the promotion for eight years, fighting 2-3 times per year, and he recently got paid a lot of money too.
Reports indicate that he earned at least $160,000 for his most recent fight against Joaquin Buckley and this is wild. We definitely do not expect him to earn as much this time but we predict around $80,000, which more or less coincides with the latest reports we found. The same goes for his opponent, Court McGee, whose purse is rumored to be between $50,000 and $60,000.
Among the other big earners this weekend, we have Alexander Hernandez and Damon Jackson, who will fight in the co-main event. We found no information about his past earnings but we believe that he will get at least $60,000 from the UFC Fight Night prize money.
Damon Jackson was making around $50,000 per fight a year ago and after losing his two most recent bouts, we doubt that he will earn more this time. As for the rest of the main card, we have some predictions too:
As for the remaining fighters on the prelims, they are unlikely to earn good wages. It is well-known that unranked fighters and newcomers to the promotion do not get paid much and typically earn between $10,000 and $20,000 at best.
Of course, there are some exceptions like Norma Dumont and Cynthia Calvillo, who have been in the UFC for a while now. Norma, for instance, is probably going to get at least $40,000 for her fight here despite getting placed in the undercard. She is one of the hottest talents in the Women's Bantamweight division with 6 wins in 8 bouts since her debut.
Cynthia normally earns around this much per fight too but this could also be her last match in the promotion. She lost five in a row across two divisions since 2020. Nevertheless, she will probably get at least $40k from the UFC Fight Night prize money too.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
