The highly anticipated UFC 321 event, which was supposed to be headlined by Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane, ended in a no-contest because Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in the eye in the first round. Even though the fight ended too soon, Aspinall took home the most money on the card: an impressive $3.5 million. This made him the highest-paid fighter of the night.
The challenger in this heavyweight title fight, Ciryl Gane, made $1.52 million from the fight. The fight on October 25 at the Etihad Arena ended when Aspinall couldn’t continue after being poked in the eye. Fans and fighters were both unhappy.
UFC 321 had a lot of other big payouts besides the main event. Virna Jandiroba got $882,000, Mackenzie Dern got $682,000, and Alexander Volkov got $316,000. The UFC also gave four fighters an extra $50,000 for great performances. Valter Walker and Quillan Salkilld won Performance of the Night, and Ludovit Rebecki and Louie Sutherland won Fight of the Night.
This event not only showed off some of the highest UFC fighter salaries in 2025, but it also showed how profitable pay-per-view events are, since fighters get base pay, win bonuses, and a share of the PPV revenue. Aspinall’s high pay shows that he is a champion and popular in the heavyweight division.
UFC 321 payouts show how much money top UFC fighters can make, even in cases where there is no decision. This shows how MMA is a mix of sport and business today.
