Gable Steveson team RELEASES STATEMENT! UFC 331 PURSES REVEALED! Sean Strickland LEAKS DM’s!

The disclosed payouts from this weekend’s card reveal just how lopsided the money can be compared to the drama itself.

The night’s two headliners each pulled in six-figure purses before bonuses, while several undercard performers doubled or even tripled their base pay through fight-of-the-night and performance bonuses.

Perhaps most notable was a massive underdog who scored the shock finish of the night, walking away with an extra $100,000 on top of his contracted purse — plus a surprise personal contribution from the promotion’s own president, who matched a themed bonus dollar-for-dollar after hearing the fighter was reportedly deep in debt.

That knockout became one of the story of the weekend, with the winning fighter openly trading old text messages on social media showing just how humble his circumstances were only weeks before his life-changing win — sleeping on a mattress on the floor of an empty apartment, joking with a friend about finally being able to afford a decent bed frame.

The fallout wasn’t universally celebratory, though. The losing fighter’s own manager released a lengthy, defiant statement following the stunning defeat, acknowledging the criticism and public mockery head-on while listing a string of legendary champions across combat sports who also suffered shocking losses before going on to have historic careers.

The message was clear: this setback, in their eyes, is a chapter, not the ending.

At the postfight press conference, the promotion’s outspoken leader didn’t hold back on several fronts.

He addressed a newly announced heavyweight title fight, admitting candidly that he has serious personal reservations about one of the two men involved potentially becoming champion, going so far as to say he simply doesn’t like anything the fighter says and doesn’t expect that to change unless the fighter himself changes.

He was equally blunt, if lighthearted, about a growing trend of fighters signing with a prominent boxing promoter turned combat-sports manager, calling the whole situation “hilarious” rather than expressing any real frustration.

He also flatly denied allegations from a former title challenger suggesting an opponent had tampered with his gloves before a high-profile fight, insisting the athletic commission’s own inspectors were present throughout the entire process and that nothing improper occurred.

Elsewhere, a newly minted title contender wasted no time making his intentions known, accusing the current champion of deliberately avoiding a matchup with him despite the champion’s own vocal reputation for calling out top opponents.

He predicted a chaotic negotiation ahead, suggesting the champion would either be forced to fight him, demand an outrageous payday to make the fight happen, or ultimately walk away from the belt entirely rather than face him.

Meanwhile, the man who successfully defended his title in the night’s main event was surprisingly candid about his own performance, admitting he absorbed far more damage than he should have and vowing to return to the gym to sharpen his technique — all while revealing he’d fought through a torn shoulder ligament sustained just weeks before the bout, an injury serious enough that it may affect how soon he can return to the cage.

By the end of the night, one thing was clear: the scorecards and paychecks only told part of the story.

The real drama, as usual, was just getting started.