It was recently announced that the Bryce Harper-sweepstakes had finally ended with the Major League Baseball free agent signing a record 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. That marked the largest contract in the history of baseball. Given that, it’s fun to imagine a world in which MMA fighters could receive huge deals such as the 26-year-old Las Vegas native received.
While it is difficult to compare the popularity of Major League Baseball to MMA, we can still make educated guesses on what some UFC champs would earn if they were to receive contracts as lucrative as the top players in baseball.
1. Jon Jones
Perhaps the only athlete you could compare to someone like Bryce Harper, Jon Jones would undoubtedly be the UFC’s top dog in terms of contract. The current UFC light heavyweight champion has been unstoppable throughout his career. At 31 years of age and the current pace he plans on fighting, he would receive the largest contract on this list.
Total: $300 million
Years: 10
Annual Salary: $30 million
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
The current UFC lightweight champion is another athlete that has been unstoppable throughout his career. With an MMA record of 27-0, the Dagestan native is currently only 30 years old. “The Eagle” doesn’t look like he will be stopping anytime soon. If he continues his domination in the lightweight division, it’s easy to predict he would receive the second-largest contract next to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Total: $270 million
Years: 12
Annual Salary: $22.5 million
3. Daniel Cormier
At 39 years of age, the current UFC heavyweight champion doesn’t have much time left in his MMA career. Cormier recently joined Conor McGregor as just the second fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold two championships in two weight classes. With perhaps two or three fights left in his career, Cormier won’t get a big contract, however, the UFC heavyweight champion gets paid nonetheless.
Total: $60 million
Years: 2
Annual Salary: $30 million
4. Robert Whittaker
The current UFC middleweight champion is the youngest fighter on this list at 28 years old. Whittaker has had a small history of injuries after being unable to defend his middleweight title against ex-champ Luke Rockhold in Australia. He later pulled out of the main event of UFC 234 against Kelvin Gastelum due to a hernia. Even though those injuries occurred, Whittaker has a lot of potential and would receive a big contract due to his age and potential to become a dominant champion in the middleweight division.
Total: $220 million
Years: 10
Annual Salary: $22 million
5. Amanda Nunes
The current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes is another fighter who has been riding an impressive win-streak. After winning the title from Miesha Tate in 2016 at UFC 200, Nunes has since defended her title three times against Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko and Raquel Pennington. Nunes also moved up in weight and won the UFC women’s featherweight championship against none other than Cris Cyborg at UFC 232. The 30-year-old is already being talked about as the greatest female fighter in history. Rightfully so, and with that tag would come a huge contract for the double-champion.
Total: $172 million
Years: 8
Annual Salary: $21.5 million
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