Makhachev says UFC could cost Usman Nurmagomedov half his PFL purse, suggests waiting

Usman celebrates defending his lightweight Bellator title with his cousin and corner, UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov (source: PFL)

Islam Makhachev has free-agency advice for his cousin and it isn’t a clean push toward the Octagon. The UFC welterweight champion told interviewer Adam Zubayraev this week that Usman Nurmagomedov should sign with the UFC when his PFL deal expires, but only if the offer is competitive enough to absorb what Makhachev estimates would be roughly a 50 percent pay cut.

“Looking at the opponents, I’d say Usman should make the move,” Makhachev said. “To fully realize his potential, he needs tougher opponents. They push you to grow. I think Usman still has room to improve.”

Then came the qualifier.

“In PFL, they pay much more. The UFC doesn’t like paying that much. If Usman signs, I think he gets half the purse he gets in PFL. The UFC won’t pay that. If he works out one more PFL contract, three more fights, he won’t be late for anything. Let the UFC make him an offer he can’t refuse. But if they offer a small purse, what’s the point?”

The math behind the framing is part of the story. Per NY Fights and other outlets, Usman’s PFL base purse sits at $500,000 per fight, with the promotion’s non-season championship structure layering on a $100,000 milestone bonus and a $100,000 win bonus for title bouts. UFC entry-level contracts, by comparison, have historically opened at $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win, with even ranked contenders rarely reaching the seven-figure mark outside of pay-per-view main events. Makhachev’s 50 percent estimate is directional rather than audited, but the structural gap between the promotions is real.

The timing is not incidental. PFL CEO John Martin confirmed earlier this month that Usman’s July 31 title defense against Archie Colgan at PFL New York will be the final bout on his current contract. No extension has been signed. Martin has publicly said the promotion would like to keep him but won’t try to stand in his way if he decides to leave.

Usman, 28, holds a 21-0 record with one no-contest and is the reigning PFL lightweight world champion. The Colgan fight will be his second PFL title defense, after he submitted Alfie Davis in February. He has been careful with his own words on the contract conversation. In a separate MMA Fighting interview this week, he said both money and legacy matter, including the line, “Of course, money is important.” His manager, Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, has publicly indicated he is not willing to entertain a deal that materially undercuts the PFL number.

Earlier this month, Usman also pushed back publicly on UFC fighter Ilia Topuria’s lightweight No. 1 case, arguing that one UFC lightweight fight did not erase the resume he has built outside the Octagon. The free-agency speculation has been building for months and the public exchanges in both directions have only sharpened it.

Makhachev knows the math from both sides. He vacated the UFC lightweight title in May 2025 after four defenses (Alexander Volkanovski twice, Dustin Poirier, and Arman Tsarukyan) and now sits at 28-1 as the welterweight champion. His argument, in short: the UFC roster is where a lightweight gets measured, and the financial gap is the price of that measurement, but only worth it if the cheque is large enough to make the move make sense.

There is a family dimension that’s hard to ignore. Khabib Nurmagomedov has coached Usman throughout his PFL run, and Islam came up through the same Dagestani camp under coach Javier Mendez at AKA. A public nudge from the most decorated fighter in that group, delivered through media rather than a private call, reads as either a sincere push or a negotiating tell. Possibly both.

For PFL, losing an undefeated champion mid-prime would be a meaningful roster question. The promotion has built a significant portion of its lightweight identity around Usman’s run, and Colgan, ranked and credible at 13-0, is being positioned as the next test rather than a coronation opponent. A loss on July 31 would change the conversation entirely. A win, and Usman walks into free agency as a 22-0 champion with leverage on both sides of the table.

The UFC lightweight division, meanwhile, is in transition. Justin Gaethje captured the undisputed lightweight title at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 by upsetting Ilia Topuria via fourth-round TKO. Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, and Topuria himself remain active at or near 155 pounds, with Topuria having already named welterweight champion Islam Makhachev as his next target depending on whether his lightweight title pursuit continues. Adding Usman to that mix would create an awkward in-camp dynamic with Makhachev that the Dagestani team has so far been able to avoid by keeping the cousins in separate promotions.

Usman’s focus, by his own statements, is on July 31. The contract conversation, and the pay-cut question Makhachev just put on the record, waits until after the Colgan fight.