UFC 297 payouts: How much money will Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis to headline Canadian PPV card?

UFC 297 has a blockbuster main event fight featuring Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. They will likely have huge salaries for the UFC 297 payouts as they are the headliner. Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis are expected to earn huge payouts, which include their salary, sponsorships, and PPV points for their middleweight title fight at UFC 297.

Dricus Du Plessis came into the title picture after he defeated former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Interestingly, Du Plessis was the original opponent of Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. However, Sean Strickland replaced the injured Du Plessis on short notice and won the title. Find out more details about the salary of Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis for their title fight at UFC 297.

UFC 297 payouts: Sean Strickland’s salary

Sean Strickland became the UFC middleweight champion at UFC 293 with a dominant display of striking against Israel Adesanya. At UFC 297, Strickland will look to defend his title for the first time. Champions in the UFC have PPV points on their contract.

Sometimes, popular fighters or short-notice replacements also get PPV points. Fighters like Daniel Cormier, Anthony Pettis, and Rashad Evans received PPV points without being champions, and Strickland received PPV points at UFC 293. With a base salary of $500,000, Strickland pocketed around $1.5 million at UFC 293. However, Australia has a 45% tax deduction, and Strickland could only take home half of that.

Sean Strickland will make enormous money irrespective of the result at UFC 297. Strickland and Du Plessis had a heated build-up to the fight, and the Canadian audience is a big fan of Strickland. Therefore, the UFC can expect around 500,000 – 600,000 PPV buys for the event. With a guaranteed purse of $542,000, Strickland can expect to take home a minimum of $1.5 million after UFC 297. If victorious, Strickland has popular fighters like Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev as potential opponents, and those are potentially big PPV headliners.

UFC 297 payouts: Dricus Du Plessis’ salary

Dricus Du Plessis is undefeated in the UFC. The South African has a 95% finish rate, and only one of his fights went the full distance. At UFC 297, Du Plessis attempts to become the first South African champion in the UFC. UFC CEO Dana White had already promised Africa’s first event if Du Plessis becomes champion at UFC 297. He has already surprised fans by angering Strickland with his trash-talk. It is something no other UFC fighter has managed to do.

Du Plessis will not get PPV points as he is not a champion or a big fan favorite. Interestingly, Sean Strickland is both. In his last fight at UFC 290, Du Plessis made $225,000 in total. His contract then was $85,000 to show and $85,000 to win. Moreover, he also got a $50,000 performance bonus at UFC 290 in addition to sponsorship money. As the fight was in Las Vegas, Nevada, there are very low tax deductions.

At UFC 297, Du Plessis will fight on a new contract. The UFC negotiates a new contract when a fighter fights for the title. As such, he has $350,000 guaranteed and an additional $350,000 as a win bonus. If victorious at UFC 297, Du Plessis can take home close to $800,000 after the event. Moreover, potential big fights against Adesanya and Chimaev can further boost his fight purse in the future.

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