10 Richest Black UFC Fighters Ranked By Net Worth

The Mixed Martial Art industry has become a multibillion-dollar enterprise with lucrative financial incentives for its fighters, with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) commanding the lion’s share.

We thrill ourselves with the ruthlessness and relentlessness of UFC fighters, but they earn huge sums for doing what they do best.

While boxing viewership rates remain stagnant, the UFC’s rising numbers are taking over.¹

The earlier currently grosses a lot of money and higher sales, but the gap is quickly narrowing down, and the fighters’ net worths are starting to reflect the latter’s growth.

We will now consider the promotion’s wealthiest fighters according to their net worth.

Richest Black UFC Fighters

10. Uriah Hall Net worth: $1 million

Nationality: Jamaican-American

Over the hills and into the UFC is Jamaican-born American fighter Uriah Hall. Hall holds two UFC records, becoming the first-ever fighter to win a fight without attempting a strike; alongside Anderson Silva & Thiago Santos,

Hall has won the most knockout victories in the UFC Middleweight division. He competed in Bellator MMA and Ring of Combat, winning the ROC Championship twice.

Uriah Hall’s average earning is about $65,000 per fight. He has contested in seventeen, winning thirteen.

Therefore, he is tipped to have surpassed $1.1 million in total earnings throughout his UFC career.

Without a doubt, Hall’s Bellator and Ring of Combat spells have contributed to his net worth.

9. Aljamain Sterling Net worth: $1 million

Nationality: American

Championships undoubtedly bring prestige, but cash is another highly desired reward. Aljamain ‘Funk Master’

Sterling was UFC Bantamweight champion and was Bantamweight champion in the Cage Fury Fighting Championship.²

Therefore, we expect that he is worth a bundle.

Funk Master has enough for fun, and there are no bones about it, having amassed over $1.2 million in cumulative earnings; his fight against Petr Yan at UFC 259 was the highest payout ($230,000) of his UFC career.³

Sterling has endorsement deals with BodyArmor, P3, Draftkings, and sponsorship deals with Everlast, Trojan, Findlay Toyota, and Speedy Bear, as reported by his website.⁴

His wealth has been crucial to starting a foundation, “Fighters for Cerebral Palsy,” aimed at helping children with Cerebral Palsy and other special needs.

8. Jared Cannonier Net worth: $1.3 million

Nationality: American

As fans fondly know him, Tha Killa Gorilla made his professional MMA debut in June 2011, amassing about a million dollars since then.

His worth may seem small, judging from how much other fighters have made within a lesser duration.

Still, it is noteworthy to understand that he sporadically fought until 2016, a year after signing with the UFC.

Cannonier had never gone beyond the $500,000 mark.

His most considerable earnings came from Derek Brunson in UFC 271, receiving $261,000.

He also won $191,000 in his UFC match on ESPN with Kelvin Gastelum.

7. Neil Magny Net worth: $2 million

Nationality: American

“The Haitian Sensation,” Neil Magny made his UFC debut in 2013, earning over $2.1 million in total MMA recorded fight earnings.

His fight against Geoff Neal tabled his career’s highest payout ($201,000).

6. Derrick Lewis Net worth: $3 million

Nationality: American

Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis is the UFC’s fighter with the most knockout victories in the Heavyweight division, winning twenty-one via knockout from twenty-six overall wins.

Our list reveals that he is among the wealthiest black UFC fighters, with over $1.5 million in financial assets.

Derrick Lewis’s total MMA recorded fight payout is roughly  $5 million.⁵

Therefore, his $3 million-dollar net worth is unsurprising. Lewis earned his highest payout ($732,000) against Ciryl Gane at UFC 265.

5. Kamaru Usman Net worth: $3 million

Nationality: Nigerian-American

We were not expecting less from “The Nigerian Nightmare,” who competes in the UFC welterweight division. Kamaru Usman has lost twice from his twenty-three contests, headlining three UFC pay-per-view bouts with 2.7 million total pay-per-view buys.

Usman earned the $600,000 guaranteed amount plus a $40,000 promotional bonus for defeating Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 with no less than $500,000 from pay-per-view sales.

In 2021, Usman made a ballpark figure of $2.5 million by defeating Masvidal and Covington in UFC 261 and 268, which he headlined.

However, there must have been a significant increase from our estimate, thanks to PPV shares and other promotional bonuses.

Usman’s Primary income source is MMA.

He has become a big shot in the field as the first Nigerian-born UFC champion, narrowly losing out on becoming the first Nigerian-born UFC fighter to win the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) award.

4. Jon Jones Net worth: $3 million

Nationality: American

Unarguably, Jon Jones is one of the best black UFC fighters, but he is undoubtedly one of the wealthiest.

He wasted no time making a name for himself after making his professional debut in April 2008, keeping an undefeated record in his first-six octagon appearances and becoming the youngest-ever UFC champion with his title victory over Maurício Rua at age 23.

Jon Jones has headlined thirteen UFC pay-per-view bouts grossing over seven million in total sales. He earns approximately $500,000 per fight, receiving his highest payout ($1.83 million, including bonuses) in 2017 from UFC 214 against Daniel Cormier.

Another highlight that comes to mind is Jones’s UFC 247 victory over Dominick Reyes via a unanimous decision, earning $540,000.

Some big companies have found Jones worthy of associating with their brands.

Nike, Gatorade, Reebok, and MuscleTech have signed sponsorship deals with the Albuquerquean fighter.⁶

Jones is revered as the first international Nike-sponsored MMA fighter.

3. Israel Adesanya Net worth: $4 million

Nationality: Nigerian-New Zealand

‘Israel of all trades, master of all.’ Israel Adesanya has won championships in mixed martial art, kickboxing, and boxing.

He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and third in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

His UFC career began in 2017 and has seen him headline five UFC events with over 2.6 million in total sales.

He bagged approximately $1.54 million from his recent bout against Robert Whittaker.

Adesanya earns over $1 million from endorsements, becoming the first MMA athlete to secure a sponsorship deal with Puma, signing the agreement in 2020.

He was also a stake.com ambassador in early 2021.

Adesanya’s successful YouTube channel also commands over 1 million subscribers, while endorsements from Reebok, Puma, and EA Sports have also contributed to the fighter’s wealth.⁷

2. Francis Ngannou Net worth: $5 million

Nationality: Cameroonian

Francis Ngannou is was the UFC Heavyweight Champion, previously ranked fifth in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, and the world’s hardest recorded puncher.⁸

However, he is also one of the wealthiest black UFC fighters, amassing over $5 million since becoming a professional mixed martial artist in 2013.

The Cameroonian has won seventeen of his twenty contests but made his highest payout ($580,000) against Stipe Miocic at UFC 260.

Francis Ngannou made a Cameo appearance as a ferocious professional in Fast & Furious 9 in 2021; he appeared as himself in the reality comedy film “Jackass Forever” the following year.

Impressively, Francis Ngannou uses his wealth for philanthropic works via the Francis Ngannou Foundation.

He runs the first MMA gym in Cameroon, intending to offer training facilities for young MMA aspirants.

1. Jose Aldo Net worth: $9 million

Nationality: Brazilian

As Jose Aldo’s experience has shown, growing up poor could be motivating.

The Brazilian fighter often went on days with little to no food but would show up at the gym.

Aldo revealed in an interview with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) that his desires, dreams, and goal to own a house propelled him to excel in martial arts.

The Brazilian film “Mais Forte Que o Mundo” talks about Aldo’s early life.

Jose Aldo has headlined seven UFC events, grossing over 2.7 million pay-per-view buyouts.

One that readily comes to mind is the bout against Conor McGregor in UFC 194, which amassed about 1.4 million.

While the match ended as one of Aldo’s worst defeats, losing to McGregor in thirteen seconds, he earned $400,000, excluding sponsor money and the UFC’s traditional “fight night” bonuses.

We also recall UFC 156 against Frankie Edgar, where Aldo won $240,000, excluding sponsor money and the UFC’s traditional “fight night” bonuses.

Wrap Up

Damn cuts and bruises; UFC fighters are swimming in a cash pool.

They live above average, living in luxurious houses and riding assorted cars.

We have reviewed the richest black UFC fighters and hope you enjoyed our list.