UFC payouts: Kamaru Usman, Paulo Costa and others made less than Gamebred Boxing 4 headliners

The UFC has long been criticized for underpaying its fighters, and as per a new revelation, even A-listers like Kamaru Usman and Paulo Costa could be victims of the world's premier MMA promotion's pay scale.

Combat sports journalist Shakiel Mahjouri recently posted a tweet that drew salary comparisons between the recently concluded Gamebred Boxing 4 and the UFC 278 pay-per-view.

As per the tweet, Gamebred Boxing 4 shelled out a total of $2.83 million to compensate the 26 fighters on the card, while the MMA pay-per-view had a total payout of $2.54 million for its 24 fighters.

Gamebred Boxing 4 paid its 26 fighters a combined $2.83 million. UFC 276 paid its 24 fighters a combined $2.54 million. Take a look below for a more detailed breakdown 👇

Per the data provided by Mahjouri, Usman only managed to rake in a purse of $500k for UFC 278. Meanwhile, both the Gamebred Boxing 4 headliners made more than the former welterweight champion, with Roy Jones Jr. taking home $700k and Anthony Pettis $650k.

Furthermore, Paulo Costa, one of the co-main event fighters on the same UFC card, only managed to get a fight purse of 130k for his efforts, while Gamebred Boxing 4 co-headliner Vitor Belfort saw a payout of $400k.

Another interesting fact is that former UFC pound-for-pound king Jose Aldo, who fought on both cards, only earned $400k for his UFC fight. However, his fight purse was a bit higher at $425k at Gamebred Boxing 4.

Here are the breakdowns for the Top 3 fights:

✅ Jones Jr. ($700K) vs. Pettis ($650K)
❌ Usman ($500K) vs. Edwards ($350K)

✅ Belfort ($400K) vs. Jacare ($200K)
❌ Costa ($130K) vs. Rockhold ($200K)

✅ Aldo ($425K) vs. Stephens ($200K)
❌ Aldo ($400K) vs. Dvalishvili ($198K)

UFC payouts: How much did Kamaru Usman earn in his most recent fight

Kamaru Usman lost his welterweight title rematch to Leon Edwards in his most recent fight at UFC 286. Despite the defeat, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was the top earner for the pay-per-view.

Watch highlights of Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 3 below:

As per a report by FirstSportz, the 35-year-old bagged a total of $1.6 million at the event, while his opponent and reigning welterweight kingpin Edwards took home $1.3 million.

In the co-main event, former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje earned a total of $ 1.2 million for his winning effort against Rafael Fiziev. 'Ataman's' fight purse was substantially lower at $170k.