UFC 312 Purse and Payouts: Dricus Du Plessis and Zhang Weili’s Estimated Earnings for Successfully Defending Their Belts

UFC 312 had fans buzzing with excitement as the promotion made its annual trip down under, and the action didn’t disappoint. The night was headlined by a thrilling middleweight title bout between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, with plenty of drama unfolding in both the main and co-main events. 

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to break down what the fighters walked away with, not just in terms of victory but also their earnings. 

Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 

Du Plessis was on the move early in the main event, landing a few solid strikes while Strickland focused on jabbing and pressing forward. As the round went on, DDP started landing more, supplementing his head kicks with a few body shots. Du Plessis then picked up the pace, cracking Strickland’s Philly shell in the process.

Soon, Strickland was bleeding from his chin, struggling to keep up with the South African’s offensive onslaught. Unfortunately, the entire time, Strickland seemed stuck in his typical ‘teep and jab’ loop. It didn’t help since DDP broke through his defense and his nose. Literally!

Interestingly despite repeated feedback from his coach Eric Nicksick to force the issue, Strickland refused to shift gears and consequently lost the fight.

For his efforts, Du Plessis reportedly raked in a solid payday with a base salary of $1.2 million. Assuming around 500,000 buys for UFC 312, his PPV payout added another $400,000, pushing his total earnings for the night to an impressive $2.14 million, along with $42,000 in sponsorships. 

On the other hand, Strickland is said to have earned $1 million as his base salary, along with an additional $32,000 from sponsorships, totaling $1.03 million. 

While both fighters made significant amounts, Du Plessis came out ahead, thanks to the added PPV payout, which is a major boost for any fighter, especially when they are champions headlining main events. 

Zhang Weili vs Tatiana Suarez 

Suarez showed a lot of heart but despite her best efforts found Weili to be just that little bit better than her. She quickly got a takedown and worked from half-guard after the bell rang. For most of the first round, the challenger had top control, though there wasn’t much damage. Weili, however, managed to scramble out of a guillotine and worked from the top as the round ended.

She then picked up the pace, landing big shots and stuffing Suarez’s takedown attempts in the second. By the third round, Suarez was visibly tired, and Weili’s strikes were landing cleaner than ever. Suarez’s face bore further damage as Weili’s defense and striking kept her in charge all the way through to the bell.

All three judges saw the fight the same way and awarded Zhang a unanimous decision win and her third title defense. With this win, she becomes the first UFC women’s fighter after 35 to successfully defend her title against a younger opponent. 

In doing that, she is said to have earned a base salary of $800,000. Also assuming the event hit around 500,000 PPV buys, Weili made an additional $400,000 from the payout. Throw in $42,000 for sponsorships, and her total earnings for the night come to an impressive $1,742,000. 

Meanwhile, Tatiana Suarez, while not quite matching Zhang’s total, still took home a solid amount with a base salary of $300,000 and $32,000 in sponsorships, bringing her total earnings to $332,000.