UFC 333 brought the fireworks to Yas Island, and Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan walked away with big wins to cap off a wild night at Etihad Arena. But the action wasn’t the only thing making headlines, as the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts are now out, with fighters taking home a combined $314,500 through the program.

‘The Great’ bagged $42,000 for successfully defending his featherweight throne against Movsar Evloev, who still pocketed $32,000 despite getting stopped by TKO in the second round.

Petr Yan also had a big payday after taking care of business against Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event. Yan walked away with $42,000, while ‘The Machine’ picked up $32,000 despite coming up short.

The massive difference comes down to the UFC’s payout structure, which puts champions and title challengers in separate payment brackets.

Beyond the headliners, Alexander Volkov and Grant Dawson each earned $16,000, while Dominick Reyes also collected $16,000. Nikita Krylov received $21,000 despite losing to Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev ($4,500).

Among the other winners, Lone’er Kavanagh, Abus Magomedov, Daniel Santos, Bolaji Oki, and Iasmin Lucindo each received $6,000, while Ramazan Temirov, Rizvan Kuniev, Azamat Murzakanov, Cam Rowston, Nurullo Aliev, Colby Thicknesse, and Nicolle Caliari collected between $4,500 and $6,000.

Aaron Pico, Losene Keita, Asaf Chopurov, Abubakar Vagaev, Jacob Malkoun, Kody Steele, and Noah Gugnon rounded out the remaining payouts, ranging from $4,000 to $6,000.

For those wondering how these payouts work, the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program replaced the old UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy and covers everything from fighter gear to media obligations and other code-of-conduct requirements. The money comes through the UFC’s multi-year sponsorship deal with Venum, so there’s more to it than just showing up and throwing hands.

How much a fighter gets depends on how many qualifying bouts they’ve racked up in the UFC, along with eligible fights from the Zuffa-era WEC and Strikeforce days. Basically, the more experience you’ve got under the relevant promotions, the bigger the paycheck gets.

Fighters with one to three qualifying bouts earn $4,000 per appearance, while those with four or five get $4,500. The payout jumps to $6,000 for six to 10 bouts, $11,000 for 11 to 15, and $16,000 for 16 to 20. Those with 21 or more qualifying appearances take home $21,000. Champions earn $42,000, while title challengers receive $32,000.

And that’s not all. UFC officials have also stated that fighters receive ongoing royalty payments worth 20-30% of merchandise sales featuring their likeness, giving them another potential source of income beyond fight night.

UFC 333 ranks third in 2026 Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts

UFC 333 didn’t just deliver inside the Octagon; it also brought one of the biggest compliance payouts of the year. The event racked up $314,500 in UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payments, good enough for third place among UFC events in 2026. Not bad for an event that featured just 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 32 seconds of total fight time.

Only two events have paid out more this year. UFC 328: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland tops the list at $371,000, followed by UFC 330: Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry at $327,000. UFC 333 comes in a close third place.

So far, the UFC has paid out a combined $8,105,500 through the program in 2026. With five events left on the calendar after UFC 333, that number still has plenty of room to grow, and the year has a real shot at finishing among the three biggest in the program’s history.

For context, 2025 currently leads the all-time rankings with $8,441,500, followed by 2022 at $8,351,500 and 2024 at $8,280,500. The 2026 total is already within striking distance of all three, meaning those final five events could make all the difference. The race for a spot in the history books is still very much alive.

UFC 333 was also a big night for Alexander Volkanovski, and not just because he walked away with his hand raised. By beating Movsar Evloev, ‘The Great’ picked up his ninth win in UFC featherweight title fights, officially moving past Jose Aldo, who previously shared the divisional record. Aldo’s last win in a featherweight title fight came all the way back at UFC 200 in July 2016.

Volkanovski also moved up the division’s all-time wins leaderboard, reaching 14 victories in the UFC featherweight competition and tying for fourth place. Max Holloway leads the pack with 20 wins, followed by Darren Elkins with 18 and Cub Swanson with 16. Not bad for a guy who keeps adding new milestones to his résumé.

But while the Aussie was making history, Evloev was dealing with a first in his career that he’d rather have avoided. His incredible 20-fight winning streak came to an end, handing him his first professional defeat. Before UFC 333, Evloev held the longest active winning streak among fighters on the UFC roster.

So, yeah, UFC 333 had plenty going on beyond the final scorecards. Alexander Volkanovski added another record to his legacy, the event’s compliance payouts climbed into the year’s top three, and one of the UFC roster’s most impressive unbeaten runs finally came to an end.