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Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC with a record of 29–0, a perfect score, three title defenses, and a bank account that matched the expectations. However, he didn't start out as a millionaire. His UFC career evolved from receiving five-figure checks for prelims to securing multi-million dollar contracts in Abu Dhabi, with most of his earnings coming during the final three years of his career.
Experts who track disclosed purses, bonuses, sponsorships, and estimated pay-per-view earnings estimate Khabib's total MMA fight income at around 25 to 30 million dollars, mostly from his time in the UFC. Unlike some fighters who made money from many bouts, Khabib achieved that total in just 13 UFC matches.
During this time, he built an image centered around not chasing money. He famously said, “I don’t fight for the money; I fight for my legacy, I fight for history, and I fight for my people.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC with a record of 29–0, a perfect score, three title defenses, and a bank account that matched the expectations. However, he didn't start out as a millionaire. His UFC career evolved from receiving five-figure checks for prelims to securing multi-million dollar contracts in Abu Dhabi, with most of his earnings coming during the final three years of his career.
Experts who track disclosed purses, bonuses, sponsorships, and estimated pay-per-view earnings estimate Khabib's total MMA fight income at around 25 to 30 million dollars, mostly from his time in the UFC. Unlike some fighters who made money from many bouts, Khabib achieved that total in just 13 UFC matches.
During this time, he built an image centered around not chasing money. He famously said, “I don’t fight for the money; I fight for my legacy, I fight for history, and I fight for my people.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC with a record of 29–0, a perfect score, three title defenses, and a bank account that matched the expectations. However, he didn't start out as a millionaire. His UFC career evolved from receiving five-figure checks for prelims to securing multi-million dollar contracts in Abu Dhabi, with most of his earnings coming during the final three years of his career.
Experts who track disclosed purses, bonuses, sponsorships, and estimated pay-per-view earnings estimate Khabib's total MMA fight income at around 25 to 30 million dollars, mostly from his time in the UFC. Unlike some fighters who made money from many bouts, Khabib achieved that total in just 13 UFC matches.
During this time, he built an image centered around not chasing money. He famously said, “I don’t fight for the money; I fight for my legacy, I fight for history, and I fight for my people.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC with a record of 29–0, a perfect score, three title defenses, and a bank account that matched the expectations. However, he didn't start out as a millionaire. His UFC career evolved from receiving five-figure checks for prelims to securing multi-million dollar contracts in Abu Dhabi, with most of his earnings coming during the final three years of his career.
Experts who track disclosed purses, bonuses, sponsorships, and estimated pay-per-view earnings estimate Khabib's total MMA fight income at around 25 to 30 million dollars, mostly from his time in the UFC. Unlike some fighters who made money from many bouts, Khabib achieved that total in just 13 UFC matches.
During this time, he built an image centered around not chasing money. He famously said, “I don’t fight for the money; I fight for my legacy, I fight for history, and I fight for my people.”
10 Best Performances Of Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC Career
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From $20k Prelims to Six-Figure Contender
When Khabib debuted in the UFC in 2012, he was not a millionaire. At UFC 148, where he defeated Gleison Tibau, he earned a total of 20,000 dollars: 10,000 to compete and a 10,000 win bonus. It was a respectable amount for a prelim, not reflective of a future global
star.
Over the next few years, his pay gradually increased as he remained unbeaten. By UFC 219 at the end of 2017, after dominating Edson Barboza, Khabib's disclosed purse had risen to 160,000 dollars, including 80,000 to show, 80,000 to win, and a 50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. For many lightweights, that payment is already at an elite level; for Khabib, it was just the beginning.
He had a big payday lined up earlier. For the canceled UFC 209 fight with Tony Ferguson in 2017, Nevada records showed Khabib was set to earn a guaranteed $500,000, which would have been his largest purse at that time, before he had to pull out due to health issues related to weight cutting.
UFC 223: Champion Money Starts to Show Up
The significant change came with the lightweight title. At UFC 223, when he defeated Al Iaquinta in Brooklyn to claim the vacant belt, Khabib reportedly earned a base purse of $500,000, along with sponsorship funds for fight week. This amount was still far from what he would eventually earn, but it marked the start of his champion-level contracts, which included higher guarantees and, importantly, a share of the pay-per-view revenue from major events.
That fight did an estimated 350,000 buys on pay-per-view, which was respectable but not groundbreaking. The real earnings awaited him in Las Vegas.
UFC 229 vs McGregor: The Night Everything Went Nuclear
Khabib’s life changed at UFC 229. Commission documents show he received a flat purse of 2 million dollars, with no win bonus, to fight Conor McGregor in what became the highest-selling UFC event ever. It reportedly reached 2.4 million pay-per-view buys and generated over 17 million dollars at the gate.
That $2 million was just the disclosed base pay. The UFC does not publicly reveal pay-per-view shares, but it is generally assumed that champions in main events of this size earn several million more in additional revenues. For example, if Khabib earned $7 per PPV, he would have made just under $17 million in PPV revenue. It is also widely reported that Khabib's payment was temporarily withheld and later fined due to the post-fight brawl, adding a strange twist to the richest night of his career until that point.
Still, UFC 229 turned Khabib from a well-paid champion into a genuine pay-per-view star. From this point, his numbers only went up.
Abu Dhabi Era: The Multi-Million Dollar Title Defenses
When the UFC took Khabib to Abu Dhabi, his earnings rose again. Before UFC 242 against Dustin Poirier in 2019, his father Abdulmanap mentioned that Khabib would earn more than three times the 2 million he made at UFC 229. Later estimates of fighter pay for the event suggested Khabib earned about $6,090,000, which included a $6 million show purse, a 50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, and 40,000 in fight week incentives.This figure didn’t necessarily count any potential pay-per-view or local bonuses, and UFC 242 itself was a strong international draw, pulling in a reported million buys on pay-per-view.
His final fight, UFC 254 against Justin Gaethje in 2020, brought in even more. Multiple sources placed his total payout between $6 and $7 million, with one report claiming $6 million dollars, in base pay and bonuses, while others estimated slightly higher when performance and incentive pay were included. UFC 254 was also projected to have hundreds of thousands of buys worldwide.
By the time he retired in Abu Dhabi, Khabib's last two title defenses alone likely netted over $12 million in disclosed and semi-disclosed earnings.
Despite all this, Khabib has consistently claimed that money is not what drives him. In a well-known quote, he said, “I don’t fight for the money; I fight for my legacy. I fight for history. I fight for my people.”
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