There are certain similarities between Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and CM Punk as they have been top superstars in the WWE as well as UFC before these two brands came under the one TKO banner. Apart from Punk, the rest of the twos have been champions in both the promotions and many consider them to be path-breaking athletes in the history of combat sports.
At this time, UFC is dealing with a class action lawsuit with a trial potentially on its way in 2024. A number of documents were filed as the court inquired about the fighters’ payouts from 2011 to 2016. MMA outlet Bloody Elbow has gone through those records and published a comprehensive report on the earnings of former UFC stars who also had careers in the WWE.
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Thus, details have emerged in regard to the paydays of Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and CM Punk in the formerly Dana White-owned promotion. Regarding Lesnar, he was under contract between 2011 and 2016 for two matches. He lost against Alistair Overeem in 2011, for which he reportedly earned $3 million while his fight against Mark Hunt in 2016 at UFC 200 earned him $8 million.
Brock Lesnar won the bout initially, but it was later turned into a no-contest after he tested positive for performance enhancers. Back in 2016, a lot of chatters were heard over his WWE status after this. But this set of incidents had no impact on his WWE career where he continued to be a protected WWE TV character.
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Brock Lesnar’s $8 million payday was the highest for a WWE Superstar to have earned from an Octagon bout while his Summerslam 2013 opponent CM Punk was also mentioned in the report who earned himself $1,042,736 for his UFC debut loss to Mickey Gall in 2016.
While Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE in 2012, Ronda Rousey was exclusively active in UFC between 2011 and 2016. Eight of her fights during that time period were mentioned in the report. The UFC Bantamweight Champion received $574,720 for her debut against Liz Carmouche, and $1,817,907 for her first title defense against Miesha Tate. In her last six bouts, she reportedly earned: $870,969 vs. Sara McMann, $1,063,688 vs. Alexis Davis, $1,458,282 vs. Cat Zingano, $2,642,204 vs. Bethe Correia, $4,476,662 or $4,536,932 vs. Holly Holm, and $4,879,766 vs. Amanda Nunes.
