PFL 5 took place on Friday night in Atlanta, and the salaries for the fighters have been released. Six fighters topped the list at $100,000, while all other fighters received five-figure or four-figure payouts.

The highest-paid fighters were Larissa Pacheco, Ante Delija, Aspen Ladd, Denis Goltsov, and Julia Budd  all walked away with 6-figure paydays. This is the second time this year that Pacheco has been among the highest-paid fighters, as she also earned $48,000 in July 2022.

Former UFC bantamweight contender Aspen Ladd received the biggest payday of her professional MMA career when she defeated Karolina Sobek via second-round armbar. She walked away with $100,000 and ended her first PFL season with a 1-1 record but missed the playoffs by not earning enough points.

Larissa Pacheco the 2022 Women's Featherweight Tournament winner walked away with a $100,000 payday which was among the top of the night. She went in and dominated her opponent Amber Leibrock and knocked her out in just 45 seconds into the first round which solidified her as the No. 1 seed in the PFL playoffs.

The former 2022 PFL Heavyweight Tournament winner Ante Delija went in there and dominated former UFC heavyweight Maurice Greene and walked away with a big $100,000 payday in the main event. He, unfortunately, didn't make the cut in this year's PFL playoffs due to not having enough points. That would make the two favorites repeat in this year's playoffs Ante Delija and Brendan Loughnane didn't make the cut for this year's playoffs.

Denis Goltsov had one of the fastest knockouts in PFL history when he knocked out former UFC heavyweight Yorgan De Castro in just 18 seconds into the first round. This helped Goltsov walk away with $100,000 and the top spot in the heavyweight division.

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The last fighter to receive a $100,000 payday was former Bellator Featherweight champion Julia Budd after she beat Martina Jandirova via unanimous decision. Much like Aspen Ladd she too lost her chance at making the PFL playoffs by not getting enough points.

The salaries for the fighters at PFL events are always a topic of discussion among MMA fans and journalists. The organization has been praised for its transparency in releasing the salaries of its fighters, which is not always the case in the MMA world. This allows fans to see how much their favorite fighters are making and to compare the payouts to other organizations like the UFC.

We can see now that other organizations are investing in their talent and giving away $100,000 to their top performers shows that there are other ways to make it as a professional mixed martial artist other than just fighting for the UFC. With fighters like Francis Ngannou joining forces with the PFL and the rumors of PFL possibly being in the market for buying out Bellator, they could be a legitimate threat to the UFC in the future.

This gives more options for fighters to make it in this sport which is one of the most underpaid professional sports. The sport is evolving and so have the options to actually make it a full-time career. The sky is certainly the limit for MMA fighters looking to make it for the years to come.

Here is the full list of payouts for PFL 5:

  • Ante Delija: $100,000 — $50,000 to show, $50,000 to win
  • Maurice Greene: $21,000
  • Larissa Pacheco: $100,000 — $50,000 to show, $50,000 to win
  • Amber Leibrock: $11,000
  • Renan Ferreira: $50,000 — $25,000 to show, $25,000 to win
  • Matheus Scheffel: $25,000
  • Olena Kolesnyk: $40,000 — $20,000 to show, $20,000 to win
  • Yoko Higashi: $10,000
  • Denis Goltsov: $100,000 — $50,000 to show, $50,000 to win
  • Yorgan De Castro: $50,000
  • Aspen Ladd: $100,000 — $50,000 to show, $50,000 to win
  • Karolina Sobek: $8,000
  • Marcelo Nunes: $30,000 — $15,000 to show, $15,000 to win
  • Danilo Marques: $11,000
  • Julia Budd: $100,000 — $50,000 to show, $50,000 to win
  • Martina Jindrova: $24,000
  • Marina Mokhnatkina: $44,000 — $22,000 to show, $22,000 to win
  • Evelyn Martins: $13,000
  • Jordan Heiderman: $20,000 — $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win
  • Patrick Brady: $10,000
  • Isaiah Pinson: $13,000 — $6,500 to show, $6,500 to win
  • Denzel Freeman: $6,500