Who would have thought Corey Anderson would be one of the highest paid fighters in MMA today?
The former UFC Light Heavyweight contender has come a long way since winning season 19 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ in 2014.
Anderson left the UFC for Bellator MMA in 2020, claiming he made more money in his first two fights in Bellator than he did in his 15-fight UFC career.
‘Overtime’ continues to cash massive checks in the PFL, with the final Bellator light heavyweight champion winning in his heavyweight debut against last year’s PFL Champion Denis Goltsov.
Anderson pummeled Golstov for a second-round TKO at PFL Cape Town and took home quite the purse.
Corey Anderson makes flat rate of $800K for heavyweight debut
According to a report from MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin, Anderson pocketed a guaranteed $800,000 for his latest win on Saturday.
This is significantly more than what UFC Champions Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili made for their title defenses at UFC 311 in January, with Makhachev getting a flat rate of $200,000 and Dvalishvili earning $500,000.
For an additional reference, former heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou made $600,000 for his final UFC fight against Ciryl Gane in 2022.
Anderson was the highest paid fighter on the PFL Cape Town card, which featured champions Johnny Eblen and Dakota Ditcheva.
Anderson took a little more than eight minutes to dispatch his opponent Goltsov, essentially making $1,500 each second.
“Makes sense why they had him on the bench,” one fan said of the PFL, as Anderson has been inactive since his title win over Karl Moore in March.
Corey Anderson is one of a few potential opponents for Francis Ngannou
There aren’t many people lining up to fight Francis Ngannou in the PFL.
The former UFC Heavyweight Champion made quick work of 6’8″ PFL Champion Renan Ferreira in his promotional debut last October, stopping him with relentless ground and pound strikes in the opening round.
1-0 as a heavyweight and UFC name value behind him, Corey Anderson could potentially fight Ngannou next if there’s no one else willing to.
Anderson’s two-time rival, former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov is also in the running to face Ngannou, but it’s worth noting Nemkov recently became a free agent following his latest win over Tim Johnson in January.