The UFC went to the state of Atlanta with their stellar Fight Night event headlined by Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley. The event marked the return of ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, who looked back in his vintage championship form as he secured a unanimous decision victory over ‘Young Buck’. It was believed that the headliners would make a bag after putting on a show for the audience. But turns out that wasn’t the case.
Let’s start with a shocker—the promotion allocated a total purse of just $3 million for the entire card, which was way below expectations. But that’s not all. The full list of payouts revealed some major discrepancies that raised more questions than answers. To top it off, a prelim fighter ended up earning more than the headliner, and even Usman wasn’t the highest-paid on the card.
Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley’s UFC Atlanta purses fail to top the card
Popular X account Jed I. Goodman tweeted the fighter purses, which the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission disclosed. According to the report, Kamaru Usman earned $300K as the returning former champ—and that’s without a win bonus. His opponent? Joaquin Buckley walked away with just $150K for sharing the cage with one of the biggest names at 170 lbs. But that’s not even the real surprise.
Rose Namajunas topped the list as the highest-paid fighter of the night, earning $500K (show and win) for her unanimous decision victory over Miranda Maverick, who pulled in a respectable $ 125 K. Edmen Shahbazyan followed with $183K for securing his second straight win, this time over Andrei Petroski, who earned a flat $ 100K.
Per Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission, Disclosed purses for the fighters on the #UFCAtlanta card.
Kamaru Usman, Joaquin Buckley, Jose Ochoa & Malcolm Wellmaker each also won $50K post fight bonuses.
Again, this is only what was disclosed. pic.twitter.com/zMpUsNwSYE
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) June 16, 2025
Brazilian bantamweight Raoni Barcelos made $102K, combining his show and win money. While Cody Garbrandt took home $250K despite the loss to Barcelos. Well, there’s still more shockers left. The card opener, Alonzo Menifield, was awarded a hefty $250K, which was $100K more than Joaquin Buckley, who actually headlined the event. Meanwhile, his opponent, Omar Sy, walked away with a minuscule $26K. That covers the main card names, so let’s take a look at what the prelim fighters made.
Michael Chiesa joins Usman as another big name with the disclosed UFC Atlanta payout
Paul Craig and Rodolfo Bellato’s prelim headliner ended in a no-contest after an accidental upkick from the Scotsman. However, that didn’t affect the paychecks. Craig still took home $125K in show money, while Bellato received just $12K, even though it was already his fourth UFC fight. Moving down the card, Michael Chiesa didn’t walk away disappointed.
‘Maverick’ matched Kamaru Usman with a $300K payday for showing up and racking up his third straight win, this time against Court McGee. Unfortunately for McGee—who’s been going through a rough patch—he walked away with just $83K. Then came the show-stealer, Malcolm Wellmaker, who earned $24K and also picked up a Performance of the Night bonus for his knockout win over Kris Moutinho, who received just $14K for his return to the promotion.
Going further down the card, Ricky Simon got back on track—not just with a win, but also with a solid $166K payday (show and win) for his victory over Cameron Smotherman, who took home just $14K. Phil Rowe earned $110K, which included a $55K win bonus for his late third-round knockout of Ange Loosa, who received $30K. Finally, Jamey-Lyn Horth bagged $50K, including a $25K win bonus, while her opponent, Vanessa Demopoulos, collected $65K in show money.
Well, that’s the full $3 million breakdown—from the main card to the prelims—which paints a pretty eye-opening picture for what was billed as a big Fight Night event. It makes you wonder how much (or how little) fighters at the Apex cards walk away with. With that being said, what are your thoughts on the UFC Atlanta payouts? Let us know in the comments below.
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