UFC 294 fighter payslips 'leaked' ahead of the event in Abu Dhabi

The UFC 294 fight purses have been revealed ahead of Saturday's blockbuster event from Abu Dhabi.

The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi with two monstrous fights as Islam Makhachev defends his UFC lightweight title against Alexander Volkanovski and Khamzat Chimaev faces Kamaru Usman in a huge middleweight tilt.

And the four combatants will take home hefty payslips, with the main-event fighters set to pocket seven-figure purses.

According to The Sports Daily, Makhachev and Volkanovski will both bag $1,011,000.

That fee consists of a base pay of $1 million and an incentive pay of $11,000.

As for Usman, he will earn $516,000 - a base pay of $500,000 and an incentive pay of $16,000.

Chimaev, meanwhile, will receive a fight purse of £506,000 - a base pay of £500,000 and inventive pay of $6,000.

However, Makhachev, Volkanovski, Usman and Chimaev could potentially earn more through pay-per-view points if they qualify for such bonus.

Their purses also don't include dressing room bonuses and UFC's Performance of the Night bonus.

Dana White during the UFC 294 pre-fight press conference. Image: Getty

UFC 294 has seen major changes to the card following the withdrawals of Charles Oliveira and Paulo Costa.

Of course, Volkanovski replaced Oliveira while Usman took Costa's spot.

Despite the changes, Dana White claims the excitement is still very high.

"But look at the buzz and excitement," said the UFC boss. "You know what I mean? The energy, what does that tell you? It tells you they made the right choice, and this is the type of stuff that we, as fight fans, love, and get excited about.

"So, yesterday, when I posted the video of the announcement, it had 10 million views in like 10 hours," White said. "That answers all the questions [about the excitement]."

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Topics: UFC, Khamzat Chimaev, Kamaru Usman, Alexander Volkanoski

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar