The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is set to house the UFC’s first-ever event in the country on June 22nd. Although Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev were supposed to headline the card, the latter had to pull out due to an untimely illness. Subsequently, Russian prospect, Ikram Aliskerov was pitted against ‘The Reaper’ on short notice, and now fans are even more intrigued to find out how much each fighter will be making in the event.
Reports have claimed that Whittaker is expected to make more than what he used to in his previous bouts while Aliskerov, who took on the challenge on short notice, is also expected to bag something considerable this weekend. According to NYFights, Whittaker made a generous $250,000 against Dricus du Plessis despite the heavy-handed loss and consequently snagged $400k as a win bonus for defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 298.
Meanwhile, as per the same source, Aliskerov bagged a minimum of $50k for his first-round TKO of Warlley Alves. The Russian was also guaranteed a $81k purse for his fight against Antonio Trocoli which was scheduled for last week. Still, we believe that UFC Saudi Arabia will be a big step for the Russians, both in terms of a salary hike and career trajectory.
In general, the UFC Saudi Arabia main event will be pivotal for both fighters as Whittaker and Aliskerov are expected to make more than their previous bouts.
Expected UFC Saudi Arabia co-main event purse
Dana White has certainly set an exciting card for fans in Saudi. It is action-packed with several big names being featured, apart from the hotly anticipated main event action between former champion, Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov. While Aliskerov gets an opportunity to prove his mettle by taking on the #3 ranked Whittaker, his fellow countrymen Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov will touch gloves in the co-main event.
Despite suffering a first-round loss at the hands of UFC heavyweight interim champion, Tom Aspinall, Pavlovich racked up $256k according to The Sports Daily. Whereas, Volkov was slated to bag $311k for submitting Tai Tuivasa in September of last year at UFC 293. Now, with the UFC pitting both the Russians against each other, the fandom is certainly going to get the best of it and the fighters are most likely to receive a bump in their pay as well.
