{
  "id": 8605539,
  "title": "UFC 331 salaries revealed: Alexandre Pantoja, Joshua Van lead all fighters",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/ufc-331-salaries-revealed-alexandre-pantoja-joshua-van-lead-all",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-20T04:10:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ufc-331-salaries-revealed-alexandre-041025211.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 19, 2026, the California State Athletic Commission unveiled the salaries for fighters competing at UFC 331 in Los Angeles. The top earner was former flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, who was guaranteed a flat $650,000 for his bout to reclaim the 125-pound title after a tragic injury in his last fight. Joshua Van, the reigning flyweight champion, was set to pocket $500,000 for his appearance. Arman Tsarukyan, who secured the No. 1 contender spot in the lightweight division with a brutal knockout of Mauricio Ruffy, was awarded a flat $350,000 with no win bonus. In contrast, Ruffy earned $110,000 to show but failed to claim the additional $110,000 win bonus. The full breakdown of salaries for the event included Alexandre Pantoja ($650,000), Joshua Van ($500,000), Arman Tsarukyan ($350,000), Mauricio Ruffy ($110,000 to show, $110,000 to win), Patricio Pitbull ($400,000), Doo Ho Choi ($85,000), Sean Sharaf ($60,000), Gable Steveson ($160,000), Iwo Baraniewski ($50,000), Alonzo Menifield ($310,000), Robelis Despaigne ($200,000), Tai Tuivasa ($350,000), Giga Chikadze ($93,000), Joanderson Brito ($158,000), Casey O’Neill ($132,000), Eduarda Moura ($33,000), Edmen Shahbazyan ($250,000), Brunno Ferreira ($95,000), Ryan Gandra ($28,000), Ozzy Diaz ($25,000), Michael Aswell ($60,000), Joo Sang Yoo ($12,000), Marlon \"Chito\" Vera ($400,000), Charles Jourdain ($108,000).",
  "summary": "Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja are receiving the biggest paydays for UFC 331 on Saturday",
  "key_points": [
    "Alexandre Pantoja earned $650,000 as top earner at UFC 331.",
    "Joshua Van received $500,000 for his flyweight title fight.",
    "Arman Tsarukyan secured No. 1 contender spot with $350,000."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The disclosed fighter salaries reveal a wide disparity in earnings, with top contenders and champions securing significantly higher guaranteed payouts than lower-profile fighters.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}