Renato Moicano lived up to his famous ‘money’ nickname as he pocketed a bigger base purse than Islam Makhachev on Saturday night.
The brash Brazilian saved the day as he stepped up on just a day’s notice to headline UFC 311 against the pound-for-pound number one when Arman Tsarukyan pulled out. And while he didn’t get the job done, he appears to have been well paid for his efforts.
Moicano was due to face Beneil Dariush on the undercard, but was bumped up to main event when the original top contender was forced out with back pains. He will now restart his push towards the top of the division, having helped out the UFC considerably when needed.
The California State Athletic Commission have released the official base purses for UFC 311, which took place at the Intuit Dome on Saturday night. These purses do not included sponsorships, bonuses beyond standard win/show deals and any back-end pay-per-view deals.
However, at just the base level, Renato Moicano came out on top financially as a result of saving the main event. He was paid $250,000 while Islam Makhachev was given just $200,000, although the true numbers are likely to be very different.
Indeed, Makhachev was far from the highest paid fighter on the card. Multiple undercard competitors were given more in their base salaries, as well as bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili who pocketed $500,000 as a flat rate as well as a $50,000 performance bonus.
Kevin Holland, who was submitted within a round and is now 1-4 in his last five fights, out-earned Makhachev by $50,000. And despite fighting unranked on the prelims, Grant Dawson was also given $212,000 as part of a $106,000/$106,000 winning deal.
Despite the finances, which are likely much different than what is reported, Islam Makhachev achieved something money can’t buy on Saturday night. Despite having to settle for a new main event, he was unfazed and put on a quick show for the California fans.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
After planning for months to face wrestling-heavy Tsarukyan, he was faced with a completely different type of challenge against Moicano on the night instead. But he looked barely bothered as he headed to the octagon and landed a big finish.
He may have been hit with one shot that concerned him in the early stages of the fight, but at the first attempt landed a quick takedown. From there, he managed to lock in a Darce choke and land a win that cements him as the lightweight with the most title defences in UFC history.
Dana WhiteIslam MakhachevLightweightRenato MoicanoUFCUFC 311
