How Adesanya Made More Money Than Du Plessis at UFC 305 Despite Losing

UFC 305 shocked fans when South African fighter Dricus Du Plessis kept his UFC middleweight championship title by beating Nigerian-born MMA star Israel Adesanya. Even though Du Plessis won, reports say Adesanya will make more money from the fight than the South African champion.

Du Plessis, who just defended his title for the first time since beating Sean Strickland earlier this year, was expected to earn more as the champion. The Sportster reports that Du Plessis got a guaranteed base pay of $500,000 plus $42,000 in sponsorships. This amount is less than Adesanya’s guaranteed base pay of $750,000 and his sponsorship earnings of $32,000.
But, the big gap in their total pay comes from the pay-per-view (PPV) cuts. The fight will give both fighters a slice of the PPV money, but Adesanya’s piece is likely to be much bigger. This difference exists because Adesanya has star status and past wins in the UFC, which have boosted his appeal and ability to earn more.

Because of this even though Du Plessis won, Adesanya will get more money from UFC 305. The Nigerian-born fighter’s total earnings from the event will top those of Du Plessis making him the highest-paid fighter that night.

For Du Plessis, the fight still marks a big money milestone. Reports hint that the South African fighter will earn about R19 million from this fight, the biggest payday of his UFC career. This amount shows both how well he did and how successful the event was, but it highlights how Adesanya’s higher base pay and cut of the pay-per-view sales lead to more overall income even though he lost in the octagon.

The two fighters are expected to rake in seven-figure sums from the event. This shows how much money is at stake and how big the payouts can be in top-level MMA fights.