UFC 331 Salaries Revealed - Gable Steveson Among Top Earners for Losing Fighters

Find out how much the fighters were paid after UFC 331.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Thanks to the California State Athletic Commission,  the public has access to the full fighter
payouts from UFC 331.

Taking place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA, UFC 331 was headlined by a highly-anticipated rematch for the UFC flyweight title that saw Joshua Van take a hard-fought unanimous decision over the division’s former titleholder Alexandre Pantoja.

While the Van vs. Pantoja rematch was the card’s only title fight, UFC 331 featured a number of other important matchups and several of the promotion’s major stars.

How Much Money Did UFC 331 Fighters Make?

As with last month’s UFC Sacramento card, full fighter payouts for UFC 331 were disclosed by the CSAC and were first reported by MMA Junkie.

Joshua Van: $500,000

Alexandre Pantoja: $650,000

Arman Tsarukyan: $350,000

Mauricio Ruffy: $110,000

Patricio Freire: $400,000 ($200,000 to show + $200,000 win)

Doo Ho Choi: $85,000

Sean Sharaf: $60,000 ($30,000 to show + $30,000 win)

Gable Steveson: $160,000

Alonzo Menifield: $310,000 ($155,000 to show + $155,000 win)

Iwo Baraniewski: $50,000

Marlon Vera: $400,000 ($200,000 to show + $200,000 win)

Charles Jourdain: $108,000

Robelis Despaigne: $200,000 ($100,000 to show + $100,000 win)

Tai Tuivasa: $350,000

Michael Aswell: $60,000 ($30,000 to show + $30,000 win)

Joo Sang Yoo: $12,000

Ryan Gandra: $28,000 ($14,000 to show + $14,000 win)

Ozzy Diaz: $25,000

Edmen Shahbazyan: $250,000 ($125,000 to show + $125,000 win)

Brunno Ferreira: $95,000

Casey O'Neill: $132,000 ($66,000 to show + $66,000 win)

Eduarda Moura: $33,000

Joanderson Brito: $158,000 ($79,000 to show + $79,000 win)

Giga Chikadze: $93,000

The disclosed payouts for the event just include the show and win money for the 24 competing fighters, several of whom made significantly more money through post-fight bonuses awarded after UFC 331.

Joshua Van & Alexandre Pantoja Top UFC 331 Fight Purses

The two biggest earners were unsurprisingly the card’s two headliners, followed by former Bellator star Patricio Pitbull, former bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera, and co-main event winner Arman Tsarukyan.

Arman Tsarukyan (red gloves) looks on before a fight against Mauricio Ruffy (not pictured) during UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Van is just over three years into his UFC career but made $500,000 for what was his second defense of the UFC flyweight belt. Pantoja netted $150,000 more, but the Brazilian has been with the promotion for nearly 10 years.

Joshua Van looks on before his flyweight title bout against Alexandre Pantoja (not pictured) during UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Without accounting for any sort of undisclosed compensation from the UFC, both Van and Pantoja also made and extra $100,000 each after taking home “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC 331.

Alexandre Pantoja (blue gloves) fights Joshua Van (red gloves) during UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The aforementioned Tsarukyan also secured an extra $100,000 for knocking out Mauricio Ruffy in the night’s co-main event, and the other “Performance of the Night” bonus went to Casey O’Neill following her armbar submission of Eduard Moura in the second fight on the prelims.

Gable Steveson Gets Major Payday for Losing Effort in Second UFC Fight

UFC veterans Alonzo Menifield ($310,000) and Edmen Shazhbazyan ($250,00) were also among the card’s highest earners thanks to their big wins, while Joanderson Brito also cleared six figures after knocking out Giga Chikadze in the opening bout for UFC 331.

Robelis Despaigne (blue gloves) fights Tai Tuivasa (red gloves) during UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

UFC returnee Robelis Despaigne netted $200,000 after defeating Tai Tuivasa, who took home the most significant payday for any of the card’s losing fighters.

Sean Sharaf (blue gloves) fights Gable Steveson (red gloves) during UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Gable Steveson was also paid $160,000 after a stunning upset-loss to Sean Sharaf in what was just his second UFC fight, and co-main event loser Ruffy and Charles Jourdain also both made over six figures even after losing their respective bouts at Crypto.com Arena.