The UFC’s recent business moves ensure it will remain the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Groundbreaking sponsorship deals and fights in new countries attract fans worldwide.
For a division such as featherweight, the highest-earning fighters make millions thanks to the UFC’s high profile.
Max Holloway leads all fighters as the highest-earning UFC featherweight. He’s earned $9.7 million in his 12-year career. Holloway has won the lightweight title and featherweight title. He went unbeaten at 145 pounds between 2014 and 2019.
The only other featherweight to earn over $9 million in his career is Alexander Volkanovski, who has made $9.6 million since debuting in the UFC in 2016. He’s 26-4 in his career with 13 wins by knockout and seven first-round finishes.
Aljamain Sterling ranks third with $3.4 million in career earnings. He’s in his 10th year of fighting in the UFC. Sterling holds the record for consecutive successful title defenses in bantamweight history with three.
Fourth on the list is Yair Rodriguez at $2.6 million. Rodriguez won his first three fights after his UFC debut in 2014. He made $1.03 million in one fight, a loss to Volkanovski in 2023.
Coming in fifth is veteran fighter Edson Barboza. He’s earned $1.3 million throughout his UFC career. At 38 years old, Barboza is the oldest featherweight among the top five highest-earning. He’s won an impressive 14 fights by knockout.
But winning isn’t the only thing that brings in the big earnings.
The only two undefeated featherweights on the list, Ilia Topuria and Lerone Murphy, aren’t even in the top half of highest-earners.
Topuria, the current UFC featherweight champion, is 12th with $313K in career earnings. Even if he earned $313K per fight moving forward, it would take him 31 fights to surpass Max Holloway’s $9.7 million in career earnings.
Ranking The Highest-Paid UFC Featherweights
Here is the entire list of the highest-earning UFC featherweights. The list was compiled with data from BetMGM and Tapology.
- Updated: June 20, 2024
| Rank | Fighter | Overall Record | Total Compensation |
| 1 | Max Holloway | 26-7 | $9.7 million |
| 2 | Alexander Volkanovski | 26-4 | $9.6 million |
| 3 | Aljamain Sterling | 24-4 | $3.4 million |
| 4 | Yair Rodriguez | 18-5 | $2.6 million |
| 5 | Edson Barboza | 24-12 | $1.3 million |
| 6 | Arnold Allen | 19-3 | $1 million |
| 7 | Brian Ortega | 16-3 | $796K |
| 8 | Alex Caceres | 21-5 | $752K |
| 9 | Josh Emmett | 19-4 | $573K |
| 10 | Calvin Kattar | 23-8 | $362.1K |
| 11 | Dan Ige | 18-7 | $340K |
| 12 | Ilia Topuria | 15-0 | $313K |
| 13 | Giga Chikadze | 15-3 | $253.2K |
| 14 | Julian Erosa | 29-11 | $210K |
| 15 | Sodiq Yusuff | 13-4 | $182K |
| 16 | David Onama | 12-2 | $174K |
| 17 | Bryce Mitchell | 16-2 | $152K |
| 18 | Diego Lopes | 24-6 | $150K |
| 19 | Billy Quarantillo | 18-6 | $124K |
| 20 | Lerone Murphy | 14-0-1 | $100K |
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