UFC 316 compliance salaries: Merab tops bill as newcomer takes home $50,000 bonus

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UFC 316 compliance salaries: Merab tops bill as newcomer takes home $50,000 bonus

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Mathew Riddle | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 1:46 PM ET

With UFC 316 behind us, we can take a look at the little-known fighter compliance salaries.

UFC often treats fighter salaries as a 'trade secret,' meaning plenty of athletic commissions don't disclose how much the champions, challengers, or debuting fighters make on Fight Night.

What we can deduce, however, is the promotional guidelines compliance pay for every fighter on the card. This is the money fighters earn for attending media events and following general promotional guidelines throughout the week. They're paid in a tiered system according to the number of fights they've had, or their status as champion or challenger.

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UFC 316 pays out $320,500 in promotional guidelines salaries

UFC paid out a total of $320,500 in promotional guidelines payouts to its athletes at UFC 316. The number increased with the double title fight headliner, which saw higher payouts for both champions and challengers.

Notably, Kayla Harrison earned $32,000 despite having three fights in the UFC. As for non-champions, Kevin Holland and Vicente Luque topped the bill with $21,000 each. Merab Dvalishvili and Julianna Pena each earned $42,000 as champions.

With his performance bonus at UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili earned a minimum of $92,000 for submitting Sean O'Malley.

UFC 316 marks one of the highest payouts of the year, topping recent events.