Islam Makhachev's Six-Figure UFC 311 Payout Dwarfed by Opponent & Unranked Fighter

It’s not often that fans are privy to the official payouts from UFC events, but that’s one of the major advantages of the promotion making a stop in Los Angeles, CA for UFC 311.

Eight UFC 311 Fighters Surpass Makhachev's Reported Payout

The UFC’s first Pay-Per-View event of 2025 boasted two championship fights at the top of the bill, although Islam Makhachev’s headlining title defense did experience a major weigh-in day shakeup when Arman Tsarukyan withdrew with an injury and Renato Moicano stepped up for the biggest fight of his career.

Islam Makhachev Makes Short Work of Renato Moicano in UFC 311 Main Event

Moicano unfortunately came up short in the UFC 311 main event when he was forced to tap to a D’arce choke in the opening round, but according to the disclosed payouts from the event the Brazilian lived up to his “Money” nickname by pocketing a reported $250,000, which was $50,000 more than Makhachev earned

Islam Makhachev's Six-Figure UFC 311 Payout Dwarfed by Opponent & Unranked Fighter — Jan 18, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Islam Makhachev (red gloves) fights Renato Moicano (blue gloves) in a lightweight title fight during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili topped the UFC 311 payouts with the $500,000 flat purse he took home after handing Umar Nurmagomedov his first loss in the co-main event, and main card winners Jiří Procházka, Jailton Almeida, and UFC newcomer Reinier de Ridder all individually surpassed Makhachev’s purse with their combined show/win money.

The UFC’s reining lightweight titleholder even took home less money after UFC 311 than one of the event’s prelim fighters, as unranked lightweight Grant Dawson got a combined $212,000 for the unanimous decision he took over Diego Ferreira to give the 30-year-old his third-straight win.

One would have to assume there’s more to the story when it comes to the money Makhachev made for his record-breaking fourth lightweight title defense at UFC 311, but unless the 33-year-old plans on fighting in California again sometime soon fans will be left in the dark on future fight purses as he continues adding to his already impressive legacy.

Islam Makhachev Needs One More Victory To Reach UFC History

You can find the California State Athletic Commission's full payouts (courtesy of MMA Junkie) from UFC 311 below.

Islam Makhachev $200,000 (No Win Bonus) def. Renato Moicano $250,000

Merab Dvalishvili $500,000 (No Win Bonus) def. Umar Nurmagomedov $100,000

Jiří Procházka $250,000 ($200,000 Show, $50,000 Win) def. Jamahal Hill $200,000

Jailton Almeida $220,000 ($110,000 Show, $110,000 Win) def. Serghei Spivac $100,000

Reinier de Ridder $210,000 ($105,000 Show, $105,000 Win) def. Kevin Holland $250,000

Raoni Barcelos $96,000 ($48,000 Show, $48,000 Win) def. Payton Talbott $43,000

Bodgan Guskov $86,000 ($43,000 Show, $43,000 Win) def. Billy Elekana $12,000

Azamat Bekoev $24,000 ($12,000 Show, $12,000 Win) def. Zach Reese $30,000

Grant Dawson $212,000 ($106,000 Show, $106,000 Win) def. Diego Ferreira $100,000

Ailin Perez $72,000 ($36,000 Show/$36,000 Win) def. Karol Rosa $75,000

Muin Gafurov $28,000 ($12,000 Show, $12,000 Win) def. Rinya Nakamura $28,000

Benardo Sopaj $24,000 ($12,000 Show, $12,000 Win) def. Ricky Turcios $28,000

Tagir Ulanbekov $72,000 ($36,000 Show, $36,000 Win) def. Clayton Carpenter $28,000

More UFC & MMA News

• Ilia Topuria Delivers Verbal Jab Toward Islam Makhachev Following UFC 311

• Dana White Takes Back Arman Tsarukyan's Title Shot after UFC 311 Pullout

• Paddy Pimblett Rips Renato Moicano for Islam Makhachev Tap at UFC 311: ‘Go to Sleep'

• Ilia Topuria Sends Heartfelt Message to Merab Dvalishvili Post-UFC 311 Title Defense

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