UFC Fight Night 80 may be an all-Fight Pass card, but it’s quietly become one of the most stacked MMA events of the year with plenty of great prospects in competitive, high-stakes bouts. It’s worth watching for Rose Namajunas vs. Paige VanZant alone, but the whole main card (and a chunk of the preliminaries) is filled with pay-per-view caliber fights.
There’s many hype trains and winning streaks that could be derailed here, and depending on who’s victorious, a lot of contractual value is being put at risk for many fighters. Let’s look deeper into the details as we dive into the previous UFC fighter salaries and last Reebok sponsorship payouts for the main card talent.
Note: Divisional rankings via Fight Matrix. UFC salaries and Reebok figures via MMA Payout and MMA Junkie.
Rose Namajunas [#7 W115]
$25,000** [TUF 20 Finale]
Paige VanZant [#21 W115]
$26,500 = $12,000/$12,000 + $2,500* [UFC 191]
Analysis: Paige VanZant may be young, over-ranked in the UFC system, and benefiting from favorable match-making, but the buck stops here. While there’s not too much difference rankings-wise between Rose Namajunas and Joanne Calderwood [#8 W115] — PVZ’s original opponent — VanZant is running a much higher risk of a damaging stoppage loss in this short-notice switch.
Given that VanZant is one of the few fighters with an exclusive Reebok deal, a loss here (especially a one-sided beating) could hurt PVZ’s long term earning potential, too. At the very least, both women are on a similar level in disclosed pay, with the potential for a big jump in Reebok sponsorship money via title contention.