Even though Israel Adesanya suffered his fourth straight loss against Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle, he was ultimately the star the crowd came to watch. Despite not being a numbered event, the UFC is expected to have paid millions of dollars for ‘The Last Stylebender’ to headline the card. However, while Adesanya would likely be the highest-paid athlete at the Seattle event, the same cannot be said when it comes to compliance pay.

According to MMA Junkie’s report, the former two-time middleweight champion earned $16000, and his opponent Joe Pyfer earned $6000 as part of the UFC’s compliance pay. On the other hand, two veterans who have since retired, Michael Chiesa and Niko Price, earned $21,000 each following their fight in Seattle.

After taking a look at the numbers, the natural question becomes: why did Adesanya get paid less than some UFC veterans? The answer lies in how the UFC distributes compliance pay. As per the structure, the compliance program, which pays fighters for brand promotional work such as shooting photos for the UFC’s official gear partner Venum, is largely distributed based on overall tenure with the company, not on who headlines the event.

In that case, Israel Adesanya currently has 19 fights in the UFC, while Michael Chiesa and Niko Price retired with 22 fights each. So, based purely on total fight count, both retired welterweights edge past the former champ and many others on the roster, which explains why they earned more in compliance pay. However, there is definitely a catch.

Sometimes, a champion fighting at a marquee event may end up earning slightly more compliance money, even with fewer fights. For instance, at UFC 326, Max Holloway, who has 32 UFC fights, earned $42,000, while challenger Charles Oliveira earned $32,000 despite having 36 fights, which is more. The reason? ‘Blessed’ was defending the BMF title at a numbered event, which allowed him to earn more compliance pay.

The other fighters who received compliance pay on the main card are:

• Alexa Grasso: $11,000 def. Maycee Barber: $11,000
• Terrance McKinney: $11,000 def. Kyle Nelson: $11,000
• Lerryan Douglas: $4,000 def. Julian Erosa: $16,000
• Yousri Belgaroui: $4,000 def. Mansur Abdul-Malik: $4,500

Now, as the UFC veterans earned more compliance money than Israel Adesanya, it turns out that UFC Seattle became one of the top events where fighters got the sponsorship money this year.

UFC Seattle entered the top three events in terms of compliance pay

 Dana White’s promotion has paid $2,202,000 in compliance pay so far this year across nine completed events and over $39  million in total. At first glance, that definitely looks like an impressive figure, but the top spot is claimed by the promotion’s inaugural Paramount+ CBS event, UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett, where fighters earned a total of $269,500. The leading earner? None other than Justin Gaethje, who defeated Paddy Pimblett to become the first two-time interim UFC champion.

Next is the UFC’s first simulcast on CBS, UFC 326, where Charles Oliveira defeated Max Holloway, 11 years after their first fight, to become the new BMF champion. Even though the Brazilian secured a dominant victory, ‘Blessed’ earned the highest compliance payout, taking home $42,000.

Taking the third spot, UFC Seattle ranks No. 3 on the list, with the promotion paying fighters $239,000 in compliance pay. As already noted, Niko Price and Michael Chiesa emerged as the top earners at the event, surpassing Israel Adesanya.

The following is the total payout for other events:

• UFC 325: Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 ($234,000)
• UFC Fight Night 266: Bautista vs. Oliveira ($206,500)
• UFC Houston: Strickland vs. Hernandez ($207,500)
• UFC Mexico: Moreno vs. Kavanagh ($175,000)
• UFC Fight Night 269: Emmett vs. Vallejos ($238,500)
• UFC London: Evloev vs. Murphy ($137,000)

That said, what do you think about the UFC’s compliance program overall? Let us know in the comments section below.