The money that UFC fighters make varies, as there’s a huge gap between the highest and the lowest earners. Payouts range from thousands to millions of dollars, but in case you’re wondering how much backup fighters make, you’re in luck because Arman Tsarukyan had some interesting things to say about that matter. Surprisingly, his comments appeared to contradict what Tom Aspinall had to say just a few months ago.

Tom Aspinall never got to fight Jon Jones, but he did come close once. At UFC 309, ‘Bones’ took on arguably the greatest heavyweight fighter ever, Stipe Miocic, where the English star, then-interim champion, was picked as the backup. While he didn’t get to fight that night, Aspinall would later reveal that he got paid $200,000 for that gig. Well, that doesn’t seem too bad for not fighting because if he did, the payout would have been more. But for Arman Tsarukyan, things were the opposite.

Having upset Dana White after pulling out of UFC 311, Arman Tsarukyan is already walking on eggshells. Another wrong move, and he may never get his title shot. So, the CEO decided to see if he could make weight this time around and gave him the backup role for UFC 317’s main event. He did not fight that night, just like Tom Aspinall, but he claims to have gotten paid way less than the heavyweight star.

Claiming that the UFC 317 backup payout was just enough to cover his training camp expenses, Arman Tsarukyan said, “I went, made weight. I was just a backup… Of course, they thanked me for doing it. They know that this money, which comes as a replacement, they will not get me anything.” As he revealed more during an interview in Russian, he added, “This is money that will simply cover my training process.”

Well, there has to be some reason behind the two contrasting claims from Arman Tsarukyan. Maybe the Jon Jones headliner garnered more eyes than Ilia Topuria’s title-winning fight. After all, UFC 309 earned more in live gate than UFC 317, as the number stands at $16.6 million. We can only speculate about it for now, but Tsarukyan doesn’t need to worry about that because he could be getting a title shot once again, according to a UFC legend.

Chael Sonnen believes Arman Tsarukyan vs Ilia Topuria is likely next

Chael Sonnen was pretty assertive when he spoke about Ilia Topuria‘s next title defense. Calling a “fact” rather than just a hunch, ‘The American Gangster’ claimed that ‘El Matador’ will put his lightweight title on the line for the first time against Arman Tsaukyan. Maybe he’s in Dana White’s good books after his UFC 317 gig, but Sonnen claims that Topuria has shown signs and used a strategy to insinuate that the fight is happening next.

“Outside of illness or injury, even if I’m breaking news to you, I’m not sharing my opinion. I’m sharing a fact with you: It’s Arman vs. Ilia. That is 100 percent the plan,” Chael Sonnen stated on YouTube. “Ilia’s first move when he’s going to fight a guy, aside from Paddy, is to say to, ‘I’m not going to fight the guy… Matchup-wise, the hardest matchup for Ilia is Arman Tsarukyan.”

Nobody really wants to be a backup fighter because it’s all about the title and the big bucks. If what Chael Sonnen claims is true, that he’s fighting Ilia Topuria next, ‘Ahalkalakets’ would be making more than Tom Aspinall’s $200K. Regardless, let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.