Brock Lesnar earns highest guaranteed payday in UFC history

LAS VEGAS — Brock Lesnar is back and he's getting paid very well.

The former heavyweight champion and WWE superstar returns at UFC 200 on Saturday night and Lesnar is earning a reported $2.5 million for his appearance on the historic card.

That figure is the highest guaranteed paycheck for any fighter in UFC history. Lesnar's salary was first reported by Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole via the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The previous record was held by Conor McGregor, who earned a guaranteed $1 million payday for his UFC 196 fight against Nate Diaz.

Now those figures don't account for pay-per-view sales, which both McGregor and Lesnar earn on the back end after the shows are over.

Lesnar said when he first signed to return at UFC 200 that he was being paid handsomely for his appearance at the biggest fight card of the year.

"I can't disclose. I mean there's lots of zeroes behind it," Lesnar said in June. "I'm here to state that listen, I'm a prize fighter and everybody's making money and at the end of the day this is an exciting show for me; I'm honored to be part of it.

"It's humbling to sit here and actually announce to the world. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders because I've been carrying this around and yeah, it's for real."

Lesnar faces Mark Hunt in the co-main event at UFC 200 from Las Vegas.