Islam Makhachev burst into the UFC scene after winning the UFC lightweight title by submitting Charles at UFC 280 on October 22, 2022. Makhachev is a student of former 155-pound king Khabib Nurmagomedov who handpicked him to become his successor.
Islam has been fighting since professionally since 2010 and has headlined three pay-per-view events – UFC 280, UFC 284, and UFC 294 which were all head internationally. With his more than a decade-long MMA career, Makhachev has earned quite a fortune for himself and his family.
Because not all UFC purses are publicly declared, there are conflicting reports on Islam Makhachev’s true net worth.
Estimates it to be a conservative $1 million (AUD 1.52 million) . Meanwhile, a Spanish sports internet outlet says that Islam is worth $4.5 million ( AUD 6.84 million). The bulk of his net worth comes from fight purses and bonuses.
Makhachev has earned an estimated $5.642 million (AUD 8.57 million) while fighting in the UFC. This includes the guaranteed $1.6 million (AUD 2.43 million) fight purse he received for his second fight with Volkanovski.
One fight earlier, Islam also earned a guaranteed $1 million (AUD 1.52 million) for his first fight with Volk. Those marked the first and second times in his career that he’s earned at least a million dollars in a UFC bout.
Aside from the guaranteed purse, Makhachev also earned a pay-per-view share from his last three fights. UFC 284 was listed at 600,000 buys. On the other hand, UFC 284 reportedly had 700K PPV buys. Unfortunately, pay-per-view share isn’t required to be revealed, just like fighter purse.
Makhachev also earned a $50,000 performance bonus in each of his last three bouts. He won Performance of the Night honours for beating Oliveira and Volkanovski in their second fight. The fight bout with Volk was the Fight if the Night winner. He also netted $42,000 in fighter compliance pay.
The UFC lightweight king also has endorsement deals with Wahed Invest, Gorilla Energy Drink, and Al Hadaya. It’s unclear however how much Islam Makhachev makes from his corporate sponsors.