UFC 312 payouts and purses: How much are Dricus du Plessis, Strickland, Zhang Weili, and others making? Reported and estimated salaries

The UFC 312 payouts are now of great interest with the pay-per-view just days away. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the purses each fighter will earn haven't been officially disclosed. Fortunately, there are reports and estimates of previous earnings that serves as potential indicators.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis was reported, by Bet MGM, to have earned an estimated $1.94 million for his submission win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. This was his most recent fight and first title defense, against a more high-profile star than Sean Strickland as well.

So he may pocket a similar amount, over $1 million but less than $2 million, likely less than $1.94 million due to Strickland being a lesser draw than Adesanya. Meanwhile, Bet MGM estimated a $1.221 million purse for Strickland's UFC 302 win over Paulo Costa.

Since his UFC 312 fight against du Plessis will be for the middleweight title, his earnings may very well be higher. Elsewhere, Zhang Weili defends her women's strawweight belt against undefeated wrestler Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event. Zhang most recently fought at UFC 300.

She defeated Yan Xiaonan, earning $2.842 million according to MMA Salaries. However, for beating Amanda Lemos at UFC 292, she pocketed $520,000, which was revealed to MMA Fighting by the Massachusetts Office of Public Safety and Inspections, which regulates the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission.

UFC 300 may have been an exceptional circumstance, given that it was a celebratory event, so Zhang may very well earn a purse closer to $500,000.

Finally, her opponent, Suarez, reportedly earned $50,000, in addition to a $6,000 win bonus according to both NY Fights and the Sports Daily for beating Jéssica Andrade at UFC on ESPN 50.

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UFC 312 features two championship fights

This weekend, UFC 312 takes place with two championship fights in the headliner and co-headliner. Dricus du Plessis defends his middleweight title against Sean Strickland in a highly anticipated rematch, while Zhang Weili defends her women's strawweight title against undefeated phenom Tatiana Suarez.

Unfortunately, the card has not been well-received due to its lack of notable and high-level matchups outside of the main event and co-main event. The rest of the main card consists of the likes of Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira, Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato, and Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado.