UFC 317 Payouts: How Much are Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira Earning for Lightweight Title Fight

On the sidelines since October, ex-featherweight king Ilia Topuria drove up a hard bargain for his 155-pound second coming. Now, he meets former titleholder Charles Olvieria at the UFC 317 PPV top bill, this Saturday. Bagging the vacant UFC 155-pound crown is all that matters this weekend, and both fighters are expected to bank championship payouts and handsome fight purses for it.

UFC’s 13th Annual International Fight Week showdown for the stateside enthusiasts has Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira cap off the end of a sizzling lineup. The seventh pay-per-view event on the UFC competition calendar can see both top-order fighters make big bucks, PPV sales, and fight purses/added post-fight bonuses.

“Do Bronx” is a high-caliber finisher and operates best as an underdog; Topuria is a hard-hitter fresh from a back-to-back KO title campaign and crisp pound-for-pound skillset. Both challengers are worth their weight in gold and will be meaning to prove that.

UFC and athletic commissions no longer publish fighter salaries in detail, but here is a brief overview of what these highest-profile fighters can make at UFC 317. These figures are based on their previous earnings, net worth, and career earnings.

Salary of Ilia Topuria at UFC 317

Before this PPV assignment at UFC 317, “El Matador” logged a single-count maiden defense of his 145-pound gold over Max Holloway. On the PBD Podcast, Topuria admitted to making $2.4 million for his UFC 308 performance.

Before that, Ilia Topuria snagged featherweight gold with another hard-hitting KO of Alexander Volkanovski at the UFC 298 PPV main event. According to MMASalaries and Forbes, his purse consisted of a fight compensation starting within a disclosed bracket of $350,000 and amounted to $482,000 ($532k all in) for the win over the Aussie legend.

He edgily surpassed Josh Emmett before that, and in terms of base salary, the Alicante-Georgian had it set at $80,000, in addition to a $50,000 bonus in fight purse. While not the biggest PPV draw, Topuria has come into his own as a true star, and an IFW Showcase top spot at UFC 317 will only push that further.

In terms of UFC 317 PPV prize money, his base payout won’t be $750,000 for entering as a champ anymore. But given the astute gold-grabbing implications, the reality is he could be grappling with somewhere around an inflated $1.5 or 2 million for dealing with Charles Oliveira!

Salary of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317

It’s not just surrounding Guarujá, São Paulo, mates or Team Chute Boxe who pray to see a Charles Olveira scrapper. “Do Bronx” making a championship return is something his die-hard fans have waited for years. The ‘champ’ has always had a name and a game to go with it, and his fight history and fight purse go to show that.

UFC’s most comprehensive and prolific finisher banked a flat purse of $1 million for his PPV rematch win against the explosive Missouri veteran Michael Chandler. The UFC 309 PPV pay scale started with $500,000 base payout, but went up to $16k sponsorship payout and more.

Before that, per BetGM, Oliveira earned a $750,000 base salary against UFC 155-pound top seed for gold, Arman Tsarukyan; he went the distance but dropped the title eliminator by decision. Oliveira also earned some $1.7 million despite a title loss to former kingpin Islam Makhachev. 

Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira punctuated a sturdy $600,000 bracket against Dustin Poirier in their brawl with $1,050,00 in win/PPV buys. He also had $400,000 in win bonus/PPV buys with Chandler prior. Oliveira is a steady bet; at UFC 317 in his showdown against Ilia Topuria, he can bank a similar payout of around $1.7 – 1.9/2 million.

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay is a comprehensive payout scale and includes additional funds from Venum’s multi-year outfitting sponsorship. In addition to experience-based pay, champions or title challengers earn perpetual royalty payments.

Topuria gets brand merch payments for his links to RYU Apparel Inc. (2021), anpai Pandas (Kanpai collective), and so on. Meanwhile, Oliveira is a big post-Zuffa LLC “Venum” era hit. Both are also big parts of the EA Sports™ UFC® 5, with perpetual royalty pay often accounted in their six to seven-figure paydays.

Also Read:

• UFC 309 Payouts: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic salaries for Madison Square Garden event?
• UFC 307 payout: Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree salaries for PPV card