Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we take a look at UFC 314 at The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
New Champ
Magomed Ankalaev wrested the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship away from Alex Pereira. It was a lackluster performance by Pereira on a night when many believed he would easily take care of Ankalaev. But Ankalaev used his grappling to earn this decision. He was able to hold Pereira against the fence and likely tired the former champ during the 5 round fight.
Unlike some matchups, Dana White indicated that there would be an immediate rematch. One would think that with all of the hype they had built behind Pereira, this setback is minor. Pereira’s fight style can be more crowd pleasing but he was unable to get his striking off on the Russian.
Gaethje defeats late replacement Fiziev
Despite a late replacement to the co-main event, it earned The Fight of the Night. Rafael Fiziev took the fight after Dan Hooker was injured and was a game opponent for Justin Gaethje. However, it was Gaethje that was in control of this fight knockding Fiziev down with a well-timed uppercut and thoroughly winning exchanges.
It was noteworthy that Gaethje’s gloves did not have the UFC logo as Jon Anik explained that they had rubbed off and Gaethje did not want to replace them.
Attendance, gate and bonuses
UFC 313 drew 18,869 for a total gate of $10,100,308 per MMA Junkie.
Bonuses with to Mauricio Ruffy and Ignacio Bahomondes for their stoppages. Ruffy via spin kick and Bahomondes via submission. The Fight of the Night went to Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev.
Promotional Guidelines Compliance Pay
| UFC 313 | |||
| Fighter | Pay | Fighter | Pay |
| Alex Pereira (10) | $40,000 | Magomed Ankalaev (15) | $35,000 |
| Rafael Fiziev (9) | $6,000 | Justin Gaethje (13) | $6,000 |
| Ignacio Bahomondes * (7) | $6,000 | Jalin Turner * (12) | $11,000 |
| Amanda Lemos (12) | $11,000 | Iasmin Lucindo (5) | $4,500 |
| King Green (26) | $21,000 | Mauricio Ruffy * (2) | $4,000 |
| $16,000 | $4,000 | ||
| Rei Tsururya (1) | $4,000 | Joshua Van (6) | $6,000 |
| Brunno Ferreira (5) | $4,500 | Armen Petrosyan * (6) | $6,000 |
| Carlos Leal (1) | $4,000 | Alex Morono (22) | $21,000 |
| Francis Marshall *(4) | $4,500 | Marion Santos (1) | $4,000 |
| Ozzy Diaz* (1) | $4,000 | Djorden Santos* (1) | $4,000 |
| $6,000 | $11,000 |
The * indicates the fighter is a Dana White Contender Series veteran. The number of fights in the UFC in parentheses.
Sponsorships
The movie Novacaine was featured on the mat as this month’s movie promoted during the PPV. New entrants in the The usual suspects in the Octagon included Toyo Tires, Budweiser, Bud Light, Prime, Stake, DraftKings, and Monster Energy in the middle. Maverick took the spot just below the Monster logo in the center. Look for Maverick’s spot to change with each event per Monster’s new pass-through rights.
Also in the Octagon were Dave’s Hot Chicken, Total Wireless, Black Rifle Coffee Company, Aviator, Jeremy’s Razors, Crypto.com, VeBetter.com, Cuervo Tequila, True Classic, Buffalo Wild Wings Icon Meals, New Amsterdam Vodka, and CPIStemCells.com.
New to the Octagon was Jackpocket, a subsidiary of DraftKings.com. The company operates as a lottery courier as users can order lottery tickets through its app but they are purchased by the app. It earns revenue through service fees.
Also of note ,Nomatic was a new sponsor shown during the Amanda Lemos fight. They sell luggage and bags. Currently its web site
Throughout the broadcast they had Assassin’s Creed promoted inset during the fights. It also included a commercial prior to the main event.
A lot of integration with Total Wireless, including Octagon signage, sponsoring the Fighter Prep Point and a new sponsor which included Megan Olivi doing a standup next to the Octagon cage with the catchphrase “We call in Megan Olivi.”
UFC Aires, Monaco Cocktails and Thorne also sponsored highlights during the contest. Thorne sponsored this set of Embeddeds.
Monster Energy sponsored several athletes including Gaethje who did the usual hold the can when you win sponsorship.
Odds and ends
The UFC announced that Robbie Lawler would be inducted into the Hall of Fame Modern Wing. Lawler was present and wept when he watched his highlight package. Certainly, “Ruthless” was someone that personified the 2000s and 2010s as a member of Strikeforce and then the UFC. His fight with Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 is already in the Hall of Fame.
The Prelims aired on ESPN (after the Duke-UNC game) and on ESPNNews and ESPN+ and Disney+.
Joshua Van and Rei Tsuruya became the first UFC fight in which both fighters were born in the 2000s. Van is 23 years old and Tsuruya 22. It’s odd that despite it being 2025, this has not happened yet.
Ms. America, Taylor Sheridan, Jahmyr Gibbs, Odell Beckham, Jr., Taylor Lewan and Maxx Crosby, Also of note, Mel Gibson was with Kash Patel for some reason the Devil was not shown on camera.
Conclusion
This event was centered around Alex Pereira who was being pushed as an indestructible superstar. Since his loss to Israel Adesanya, he’s reeled off 5 straight wins in the Light Heavyweight division. He’ll have to start a new winning streak and hope that fans don’t forget he can KO people with devastation. We will see if the rematch will draw more interest. As far as the event goes, it would likely be in the range of 200,000 which is based on all of the hardcore fans buying it as this card didn’t have any other key fights outside of the top of the card.
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