Sean O’Malley has opened up about his current UFC earnings in the wake of his recent knockout victory over Aimann Zahabi at the UFC White House event.
O’Malley, a former UFC bantamweight champion, is coming off his second win since dropping back-to-back title fights to Merab Dvalishvili. Despite the emphatic finish over Zahabi, he confirmed he did not receive a $450,000 bonus and said he is now making non-champion money, adding that a reported $600,000 purse for the Zahabi fight was “close-ish.”
“I didn’t get the bonus, which considering what happened in the co-main and main, it’s fine,” O’Malley said. “But that big of a moment, knocking out a Canadian in front of Trump, in front of the White House, hitting a salute before he even falls. I’m like, that’s just wild that wasn’t a bonus moment.”
O’Malley explained that his paydays have dipped since his championship run. “Title fights for sure. It definitely sucks. [The Aljamain Sterling] fight, I was the challenger, I wasn’t defending the belt, so it was decent. The Chito [Vera] one was more. Then the Merab one was more, and then the [second] Merab one was less. And then the Song [Yadong] one was, like, way less. And then this one was around the same.”
He also weighed in on UFC light heavyweight star Alex Pereira’s earnings, saying of a reported $10 million figure, “I mean, I think he should be,” before adding, “Do I think he made ten million? No shot in hell.”
O’Malley has recently headlined an event at The Sphere, appeared on a debut Paramount+ event, and fought on a White House card.
