South Africa's Dricus du Plessis has reason to smile. Picture: Saeed Khan / AFP
So, just how much does a fighter earn to get punched in the face?
Or rather, in the case of an undefeated fighter like South Africa’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, how much does he get paid to punch someone else in the face, or in Sean Strickland’s case, break someone’s nose?
The simple answer is a lot. But before we get to Du Plessis’ payday from his dominant second title defence over American Strickland in Sydney at the weekend, let’s go back to the beginning.
DDP earned his first UFC contract in October 2020 after dominating the African and European mixed martial art (MMA) scene for a number of years.
In the African organisation — the Extreme Fighting Championship — Du Plessis was the first double champion, dominating both the welterweight and middleweight divisions.
He was also the welterweight champion in KSW, one of Europe’s elite organisations.
He eventually dropped out of the welterweight division to concentrate on becoming the world’s best middleweight.
His first taste in the UFC was at UFC Fight Night against Brazilian Markus Perez in Abu Dhabi, a fight he won by dispatching his opponent in the first round.
According to publication Marca, Du Plessis received a base salary of $16 000, a win bonus of $16 000 and a performance bonus of $75 000, taking his debut winnings to an alleged $107 000. In rand terms that’s R1.97 million.
Fast forward to December 2022 — and two more wins — Du Plessis found himself on the main card at UFC282 where he took on Briton, Darren Till, for his first high profile fight. Considering base salary, a bonus and sponsorship earnings, Du Plessis is said to have pocketed a cool $154 400 – or R2.8 million.
Keeping with his upward curve in the UFC rankings, his salary kept on climbing.
In January 2024 he got his first shot at the middleweight title — his first meeting against then-champion Strickland.
A much tougher night at the office — a split decision victory that went the full five rounds — left the battered and bruised Du Plessis laughing all the way to the bank.
Along with the coveted middleweight belt, DDP walked away with an impressive estimated $632 000 in total winnings — or R11.6 million.
Next up was his first title defence against future UFC hall of famer Israel Adesanya, which again ended in victory — a submission win in the fourth round.
It was at this point that Du Plessis officially entered the elite bracket of UFC earners, pocketing the man from Pretoria a whopping $2.042 million, if reports are accurate. That’s a staggering R37.5 million.
On Sunday, Du Plessis went another five rounds with Strickland, but this time he dominated from round one and won comfortably in the end.
According to givemesport.com, Du Plessis is said to have walked away with another big deposit of $3 342 000 (R62 million) after his weekend’s work, which will be from salary, bonuses and other rewards.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
