The UFC is one of the fastest-growing sports franchises in the world currently. People love to watch two men or two women in a cage brawling. It takes us back to the days when Romans used to fight to the death in the grand colosseums. Thankfully, with the addition of strict rules and brilliant referees (well, not always brilliant) it is now a regulated, much safer sport.
Although the safety of MMA has come a tremendously long way, injuries are always and will always be a part of combat sports. These injuries come at a price, and in some cases, very big prices. The UFC is forced to spend copious amounts a year between their fight night events and PPV events in medical bills for its fighters. We at Diaspora Insurance along with medical experts have put together a list of the top 5 medically expensive PPV events of 2021 and the top 3 medically expensive fighters of 2021.
5 Most Medically Expensive PPV Events of 2021
1- UFC 261 – Usman Vs Masvidal 2 – $114,000 (£83,500)
This event will forever be etched in the memory of UFC fans watching around the world. Not for the sensational knockout of Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal by the Nigerian Nightmare Kamaru Usman, but the horrific snapping of former middleweight champion, Chris Weidman’s leg. Weidman suffered a complete break to the tibia and fibula in his right leg just 17 seconds into the fight with middleweight contender, Uriah Hall.
The reconstruction surgery was set to cost upwards of $50,000 (£36,400). On the same night, light heavyweight Jimmy Crute suffered damage to the perennial nerve in his left knee. The surgery to fix nerve damage of the knee can cost upwards of $36,000 (£24,000). Other injuries included numerous concussions and MRI scans, which again are not cheap. It’s safe to say this was an expensive night for the UFC.
2 – UFC 264 – Poirier Vs McGregor 3 – $82,000 (£60,000)
The trilogy fight between Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier and the Notorious Conor Mcgregor was, without question, the most anticipated fight card of the year. But the brilliant spectacle ended in disaster, as Conor McGregor snapped his ankle forcing a doctors stoppage, and the contest to be ended prematurely.
Similarly to the previously described Chris Weidman injury, the Irish superstar snapped both the tibia and fibular in his left ankle leading to a surgery costing upwards of $50,000 (£36,400). While this was a huge expense for the UFC, the fight cards astronomical PPV sales surely helped to soften the blow. Also on the card, Russian female bantamweight Yana Kunitskaya suffered a grotesque broken nose, resulting in an $8,000 (£5,859) surgery to correct it.
3 – UFC 266 – Alexander Volkanovski Vs Brian Ortega $69,500 (£50,900)
This September 25th card had the largest PPV injury list of the year with 16 fighters needing some form of medical attention. Surprisingly this action-packed card doesn’t top the bill today. While there were many injuries sustained during this event, none were of any crazy magnitude, with the craziest being the right orbital blowout fracture sustained by Brian Ortega during his fight of the year contender with the featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
This injury, if needing surgical correction would cost the UFC $15,000 (£10,987). The other notable injuries included endless concussions costing approximately $26,000 (£19,044) and a broken left thumb for welterweight Martin ‘Spartan’ Sano totalling $7,000 (£5,127).
4 – UFC 258 – Kamaru Usman Vs Gilbert Burns – $64,500 (£47,245)
The battle of the former teammates and friends takes the fourth spot on the list. This card was once again filled with injuries from the top of the card all the way down to the bottom. Three broken bones, multiple lacerations and three MRI scans help this memorable card creep into the top 5.
Welterweight Dhiego Lima and bantamweight Chris Gutierrez suffered brutal nose breaks, both costing the UFC around $8,000 in medical bills. Middleweight Anthony Hernandez also left the octagon with a fractured right hand in his impressive submission win over Rodolfo Vieira costing the organisation $10,000 (£7,369) in medical expenses.
5 – UFC 259 – Jan Blachowicz Vs Israel Adesanya – $60,000 (£43,949)
The night where middleweight champion Israel Adesanya dared to be great, only to fall short to the legendary Polish power. The card also featured the highly controversial crowning of bantamweight champion Aljermain Sterling, after then-champion Petr Yan threw an illegal knee at the end of the fourth round after dominating for the whole fight, causing him to be disqualified and the title change hands. This was another card with a stacked injury list. An unlikely tooth chip, along with numerous costly x-ray and MRI scans helped this card to be another medically costly night for the UFC.
Bantamweight Casey Kenney’s chipped tooth totalled $5,000 (£3,685), women’s featherweight title contender Megan Anderson cost the UFC a whopping $5,500 (£4,054) for the right elbow MRI and the nose x-ray she had after her dominant loss to then-untouchable champion Amanda Nunes.
Top 3 Most Medically Expensive UFC Fighters of 2021
Joint 1st – Conor McGregor – $50,000 (£36,400)
Conor McGregor has a knack for being at the top of UFC lists for the year, normally for the most money made by a UFC fighter or the most PPVs sold throughout the year. This is a new one that the Notorious can add to his list, though I’m sure it’s not one he will tell the grandkids about. The snapping of both the tibia and fibula around his left ankle in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 helped him to top this list with a bone-shattering (pardon the pun) $50,000 for his correction surgery.
Joint 1st – Chris Weidman – $50,000 (£36,400)
The bone break heard around the world helped Weidman to top this list comfortably along with McGregor. A bone break like this is extremely rare in mixed martial arts, but for two very similar instances to happen in one calendar year is unheard of. To many fans, this gut-wrenching bone break was all too ironic, as earlier in his career in a title bout at UFC 168 his opponent and UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva suffered the same fate as he threw a leg kick at Weidman that resulted in a clean break of his leg. Like Conor’s, Weidman’s surgery was said to cost upwards of $50,000 and he could well have topped this list as he had to undergo a second surgery later on in the year, but it’s unsure whether the UFC had to cover this bill or not.
2nd – Jimmy Crute – $36,000 (£26,535)
UFC 261 was full of crazy injuries. In the fight directly before the horrific Chris Weidman injury, light heavyweight Jimmy Crute suffered a strange knee injury as veteran Anthony Smith threw a hard leg kick that resulted in damage to Crutes’ perennial nerve in his left knee. This was a bizarre injury to many fans as he struggled to put any weight on the left leg without it wobbling and forcing him to lose balance. This is not however the first time we have seen such an injury. Rising bantamweight star Sean O’Malley suffered the same fate in his first professional loss to Chito Vera at UFC 252 on the 16th of August 2020. The correctional surgery for the perennial nerve would have cost the UFC $36,000 (£26,535) making it the second-largest surgery they would have had to cover in 2021.
Extreme Injuries and Medical Insurance
While these figures may all look very daunting, the one thing that is most important to us in life is good health. At Diaspora, we offer amazing Private Medical Insurance for the best possible prices. That means you get peace of mind for your family, guaranteed prompt medical attention with no NHS waits and most importantly, the best possible medical care and facilities that there is. So send us a message today and cover your family, for life.
