UFC’s maiden event in Saudi Arabia went down as a blockbuster with Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker smoking Ikram Aliskerov to earn his second win of the year. Whittaker bounced back in epic fashion after his KO loss to Dricus du Plessis, and the way in which he knocked the Dagestani out will surely earn him a big fat paycheck.
As per reports from NyFights, the Aussie will most likely take home $500,000 for derailing the hype train, stopping Aliskerov right in his track, and snapping his three-fight win streak. Moreover, considering how Whittaker took home $400k for his win over ‘The Eraser’ Paulo Costa, this KO win will most likely get him Dana White’s $50k bonus, especially after such a lopsided performance.
As for his opponent, Aliskerov, who accepted the fight on short notice, his bravery is expected to be rewarded with a career-high payout of $250,000. Well, this amount is massive given the fact that this is the World Sambo champion’s third fight in the promotion.
Meanwhile, Whittaker is not the only one earning a handsome purse from the Saudi Arabia event, as some other fighters are also going to walk away with boatloads of money.
Other UFC Saudi Arabia purses and payouts
The co-main event between Sergei Pavlovich and his compatriot, Alexander Volkov certainly enthralled the crowd as the two behemoths hit the gas from the get-go. Pavlovich who boasts an impeccable record is most likely to take home $350k while Volkov is expected to make $50k less than the Russian knockout artist.
However, with his back-to-back wins, Volkov will most certainly earn a lot more than Pavlovich who suffered another loss on Saturday. In the welterweight division, former middleweight contender, Kelvin Gastelum who went up against Daniel Rodriguez is set to receive $250,000 while ‘D-rod’ is expected to make $90,000 in the process.
As for the fan favorite, Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov, he is expected to take home $80,000 for his win against Antonio Trocoli who will most likely bag $40,000, while card openers Johnny Walker and Volkan Oezdamir will likely receive $200,000 each.
