‘Cowboy’ Reveals Staggering UFC Earnings During HoF Speech

How much did Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone make over his 10 years fighting anyone, anywhere in UFC? The answer might surprise you.

Donald Cerrone was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday night as part of UFC’s annual International Fight Week festivities. It was an emotional moment for “Cowboy” and his fans, and it was also fascinating to hear how much he earned over his career with the top mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.

Cerrone fought 38 times for UFC, amassing a 23-14-1 record. He headlined nine UFC events, including one pay-per-view (PPV) against Conor McGregor (one he’d rather forget). He earned 18 performance bonuses, which adds up to roughly $900,000. And during his Hall of Face acceptance speech, he opened the door even more on the finances behind his legendary 10-year tough man run.

“Ten million dollars, that’s what I made in the UFC,” Cerrone said. “How bout that, huh? Ten million dollars. Not bad for a f—ing blue collar country boy.”

Ten million dollars is a lot of money. And we’re happy that Cerrone is happy with what he made. But, it’s hard not to point out that the gate for Cerrone’s fight against McGregor at UFC 246 was $10 million alone. The event sold 1.35 million pay-per-view (PPV) units (roughly $88 million). As the B-side to one of the biggest fights of 2020, he should have made a big percentage of that $10 million in one night.

But, many sources confirm he did not get a cut (or PPV points) of event proceeds.

Following his induction, Cerrone was asked if anything might lure him out of retirement.

“You’d have to come up with a number so big it would just entice me to get off my couch,” Cerrone answered. “I haven’t done a thing since I retired, except for movies, drinking beer, and playing with my kids. I don’t need the money. I’m not itching cuz I need a couple 100,000 dollars. So, it would have to be such a crazy number.

“Ah, f— it. I could use five million,” he joked. “I’d fight my grandma for five million.”

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