Following UFC 319, each fighter will receive an additional pay check for their conduct on fight week.
The Octagon’s long-awaited return to Chicago looked set up to be one of the most significant events of the year.
With one of the promotion’s biggest stars becoming a champion for the first time after Khamzat Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis over five rounds, this appears to have been the case.
Along with two devastating back-to-back spinning elbow knockouts, that Dana White provided medical updates on, the event produced some great moments.
While several fighters earned performance of the night bonuses for their wins, each athlete on the card will also financially benefit from one of the promotion’s systems.
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Four UFC veterans rank below Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 compliance pay salaries
Alongside the money they earn to show and win on their UFC contracts, fighters also receive an additional paycheck on fight week.
The UFC financially rewards fighters for carrying out their fight week obligations through the promotion’s guidelines compliance salaries.
As seen below, the payments that a fighter can receive are broken up into individual tiers that are determined by how many times they have competed for the promotion.
| Number of UFC or Zuffa-era WEC and Strikeforce bouts | Payment received |
| 1-3 | $4,000 |
| 4-5 | $4,500 |
| 6-10 | $6,000 |
| 11-15 | $11,000 |
| 16-20 | $16,000 |
| 21+ | $21,000 |
| Title challenger | $32,000 |
| Champion | $42,000 |
With champions and title challengers earning the most, likely due to their increased media obligations, Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev were the highest earners at UFC 319.
However, the card also featured several fighters who have been with the promotion for a long time, and therefore, they earned the maximum amount for a non-title fight.
Tim Elliott, Gerald Meerschaert, Jessica Andrade, and Edson Barboza all qualify for the 21 fights or more tier, which saw them all receive an additional $21,000.
See the full list of UFC 319 fighters and what they earned from the promotion’s compliance pay system below.
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| UFC 319 fighter | Amount of UFC fights (including 319) | Payment received |
| Khamzat Chimaev | 9 | $32,000 |
| Dricus du Plessis | 10 | $42,000 |
| Lerone Murphy | 10 | $6,000 |
| Aaron Pico | 1 | $4,000 |
| Carlos Prates | 6 | $6,000 |
| Geoff Neal | 13 | $11,000 |
| Michael Page | 4 | $4,500 |
| Jared Cannonier | 20 | $16,000 |
| Tim Elliott | 21 | $21,000 |
| Kai Asakura | 2 | $4,000 |
| Baysangur Susurkaev | 1 | $4,000 |
| Eric Nolan | 1 | $4,000 |
| Michal Oleksiejczuk | 17 | $16,000 |
| Gerald Meerschaert | 24 | $21,000 |
| Lupita Godinez | 14 | $11,000 |
| Jessica Andrade | 30 | $21,000 |
| Alexander Hernandez | 16 | $16,000 |
| Chase Hooper | 12 | $11,000 |
| Drakkar Klose | 13 | $11,000 |
| Edson Barboza | 31 | $21,000 |
| Karine Silva | 6 | $6,000 |
| Dione Barbosa | 4 | $4,500 |
| Joseph Morales | 4 | $4,500 |
| Alibi Idiris | 1 | $4,000 |
Four UFC 319 fighters earned performance of the night bonuses
Unlike at UFC 318 next month, where there were several deserving contenders, there was no fight of the night winner on Saturday night in Chicago.
Instead, Dana White awarded four performance of the night bonuses, with some of them being instantly told that they would receive an additional $50,000.
- Khamzat Chimaev – defeated Dricus du Plessis via unanimous decision
- Lerone Murphy – knocked out Aaron Pico with a spinning elbow in the first round
- Carlos Prates – knocked out Geoff Neal with a spinning elbow in the first round
- Tim Elliott – submitted Kai Asakura in the second round