UFC 331 purses in rupees: Pantoja Rs 18 crore, Van Rs 13.9 crore and a torn shoulder

The California State Athletic Commission released the disclosed purses for UFC 331, and for once the headline number belongs to the man who lost. Alexandre Pantoja was paid $650,000 to challenge for the flyweight title. Joshua Van, who kept the belt on a unanimous decision, was paid $500,000.

At Monday's interbank rate of Rs 277.22 to the dollar, that is roughly Rs 18.02 crore for Pantoja and Rs 13.86 crore for Van. Our dollar rate page carries the daily number if you want to redo the maths on a different day.

The disclosed card, in rupees

One caveat that matters: these are only the base purses filed with the commission. Performance bonuses, sponsorship money and pay-per-view points are not in them, and the UFC does not publish those. Neither Pantoja nor Van had a win bonus in the disclosed figure. Vera, Freire, Menifield and Shahbazyan were on split show and win deals, so half of each of those numbers depended on the result.

Van fought with a torn shoulder

Van has now said he tore the AC joint in his right shoulder in August, after the pre-fight press conference in Philadelphia, and that it wrecked the camp.

"I tore my AC joint in my right shoulder and I couldn't even spar," he said at the post-fight press conference. "So, the last two weeks was my first time sparring, and this camp we did nothing but cardio."

He said he needs MRIs before anything is booked, and a third title defence this year now looks unlikely.

What happened on the night

Van beat Pantoja by unanimous decision at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on 19 September, a rematch of their first fight. The main card started at 6am Pakistan time on Sunday. Gable Steveson was knocked out in 12 seconds on the same card.

Our full report is here: UFC 331: Joshua Van keeps the belt, Gable Steveson KO'd in 12 seconds.

Why the pay numbers are worth reading

Pakistani fans who follow the UFC through streams and highlight clips rarely see what the sport actually pays below the very top. A main-event title challenger cleared roughly Rs 18 crore before tax and management cuts. The eighth name on this list, a ranked fighter on a split deal, took home about Rs 6.93 crore if he won and half of it if he did not. Everyone below the disclosed list is on considerably less, which is the argument fighters keep having with the promotion in public.