MMA veteran Anthony Pettis made more money than UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou despite losing three of his last four fights.
Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has been making big money since quitting MMA’s premier promotion to join the Professional Fighters League [PFL] in 2020.
‘Showtime’ earned $750,000 (£625,200) from his last fight, a submission loss to Stevie Ray, according to The Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission who released the PFL salary reports to MMA Fighting.
Anthony Pettis and Kayla Harrison were among eight PFL fighters who cashed six-figure purses during the promotion’s recent three-week stop in Atlanta.
Anthony Pettis is one of eight PFL fighters who made six-figure paydays last time out: Rory MacDonald (£208,400), Omari Akhmedov (£171,721), Ray Cooper III (£166,720), Magomed Magomedkerimov (£166,720), Lance Palmer (£141,712), Brendan Loughnane (£141,712), and Nathan Schulte (£125,040).
That’s despite the fact he was way past his prime before leaving the UFC and has won just one of his first four fights in the PFL – a first-round submission victory over Myles Price in May.
The astronomical money Anthony Pettis is making seems even more bizarre when you compare it to what the current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou makes.
Despite being ‘the baddest man on the planet’ Ngannou earned just $600,000 (£500,160) from his most recent outing against Ciryl Gane, when he won by decision to become the undisputed king of UFC heavyweights even though he came into the fight with a knee injury.
‘The Predator’ has been at odds with the UFC regarding his contract for some time.
Ngannou has fought the last fight on his current deal but is tied to the promotion for three more fights or until the end of 2022 – whatever comes first – due to a championship clause in his contract.
The 35-year-old recently underwent surgery on his injured knee and was expected to sit out for the rest of the year before leaving the UFC.
Ngannou is hoping to secure lucrative boxing matches against the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Tyson Fury – who invited him to the ring after his latest win to talk up a hybrid rules crossover fight.
However, the Cameroonian knockout artist recently gave MMA fans hope that he will return to the Octagon in November or December for what would be a mega-money match-up with former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
A complete list of the PFL salaries can be seen below. As always, these figures do not represent a fighter’s total earnings, as sponsorship incomes and other bonuses are not publicly disclosed.
PFL 6, July 1
- Kayla Harrison $500,000 ($500,000 show + no win bonus)
- Kaitlin Young: $20,000
- Sadibou Sy: $52,000 ($26,000 show + $26,000 win)
- Rory MacDonald: $250,000
- Ray Cooper: $200,000 ($150,000 show + $50,000 win)
- Brett Cooper: $20,000
- Magomed Magomedkerimov: $200,000 ($100,000 show + $100,000 win)
- Dilano Taylor: $13,000
- Magomed Umalatov: $32,000 ($16,000 show + $16,000 win)
- Jarrah Hussein: $56,000
- Larissa Pacheco: $48,000 ($24,000 show + $24,000 win)
- Genah Fabian: $20,000
- Marina Mokhnatkina: $32,000 ($16,000 show + $16,000 win)
- Abigail Montes: $13,000
- Martina Jindrova: $42,000 ($21,000 show + $21,000 win)
- Zamzagul Fayzallanova: $10,000
- Olena Kolesnyk: $22,000 ($11,000 show + $11,000 win)
- Vanessa Melo: $13,000
PFL 5, June 24
- Matheus Scheffel: $20,000 ($10,000 show + $10,000 win)
- Bruno Cappelozza: $40,000
- Stevie Ray: $80,000 ($40,000 show + $40,000 win)
- Anthony Pettis: $750,000
- Klidson Abreu: $42,000 ($21,000 show + $21,000 win)
- Renan Ferreira: $19,000
- Chris Wade: $70,000 ($35,000 show + $35,000 win)
- Kyle Bochniak: $15,000
- Ante Delija: $66,000 ($33,000 show + $33,000 win)
- Shelton Graves: $10,000
- Bubba Jenkins: $98,000 ($49,000 show + $49,000)
- Reinaldo Ekson: $10,000
- Denis Goltsov: $70,000 ($35,000 show + $35,000 win)
- Maurice Greene: $18,000
- Lance Palmer: $170,000 ($85,000 show + $85,000 win)
- Sheymon Moraes: $29,000
- Juan Adams: $16,000 ($8,000 show + $8,000 win)
- Sam Kei: $10,000
- Ryoji Kudo: $26,000 ($13,000 show + $13,000 win)
- Alejandro Flores: $26,000
- Brendan Loughnane: $170,000 ($85,000 show + $85,000 win)
- Ago Huskic: $10,000
PFL 4, June 17
- Alex Martinez: $38,000 ($19,000 show + $19,000 win)
- Clay Collard: $28,000
- Antonio Carlos Junior: $98,000 ($49,000 show + $49,000 win)
- Bruce Souto: $10,000
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier: $54,000 ($27,000 show + $27,000 win)
- Raush Manfio: $27,000
- Jeremy Stephens: $200,000 ($100,000 show + $100,000 win)
- Myles Price: $12,000
- Omari Akhmedov: $206,000 ($103,000 show + $103,000 win)
- Teodoras Aukstuolis: $15,000
- Nathan Schulte: $150,000 ($75,000 show + $75,000 win)
- Marcin Held: $26,000
- Delan Kimura: $20,000 ($10,000 show + $10,000 win)
- Emiliano Sordi: $53,000
- Rob Wilkinson: $32,000 ($16,000 show + $16,000 win)
- Viktor Pesta: $18,000
- Josh DaSilveira: $50,000 ($25,000 show + $25,000 win)
- Marthin Hamlet: $16,000
- Nate Jennerman: $16,000 ($8,000 show + $8,000 win)
- Jacob Childers: $8,000