Despite losing in a devastating, and unique, fashion at UFC 168 on Saturday, longtime middleweight champ Anderson Silva topped the payroll of the pay-per-view event.
According to the complete salary list from MMA Mania, “The Spider” earned a cool $600,000 to show against current titleholder Chris Weidman.
“The All-American” certainly did not go home with empty pockets for his successful title defense, netting $400,000 ($200,000 to show, with an additional $200,000 to win) against Silva.
Ronda Rousey, the UFC women’s bantamweight champ, notched her third successful title defense between Strikeforce and the UFC, going home with a solid $250,000.
“Rowdy” was given a $50,000 show purse and a $50,000 win bonus. She also netted “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors—good for $75,000 each.
At least a little surprisingly, the women’s title challenger, Miesha Tate, earned just $28,000 to show for the long-awaited rematch.
However, bear in mind Tate was also a recipient of a $75,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus.
Here is MMA Mania’s full list of salaries from the event, but bear in mind sponsorship monies, “Fight Night” bonuses and the UFC’s infamous locker room bonuses are not accounted for in these figures.
Chris Weidman: $400,000 ($200,000 to show, $200,000 to win)
Anderson Silva: $600,000
Weidman def. Silva via technical knockout (injury)Ronda Rousey: $100,000 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 to win)
Miesha Tate: $28,000
Rousey def. Tate via submission (armbar)Travis Browne: $56,000 ($28,000 to show, $28,000 to win)
Josh Barnett: $170,000
Browne def. Barnett via knockout (elbows)Jim Miller: $92,000 ($46,000 to show, $46,000 to win)
Fabricio Camoes: $8,000
Miller def. Camoes via submission (armbar)Dustin Poirier: $46,000 ($23,000 to show, $23,000 to win)
Diego Brandao: $20,000
Poirier def. Brandao via knockout (punches)Uriah Hall: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Chris Leben: $51,000
Hall def. Leben via technical knockout (retirement)Michael Johnson: $36,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 to win)
Gleison Tibau: $39,000
Johnson def. Tibau via knockout (punches)Dennis Siver: $66,000 ($33,000 to show, $33,000 to win)
Manny Gamburyan: $25,000
Siver def. Gamburyan via unanimous deisionJohn Howard: $32,000 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 to win)
Siyar Bahadurzada: $17,000
Howard def. Bahadurzada via unanimous deisionWilliam Macario Patolino: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Bobby Voelker: $12,000
Patolino def. Voelker via unanimous decisionRobbie Peralta: $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Estevan Payan: $10,000
Peralta def. Payan via technical knockout (punches)
For the record, the total payroll for all 22 competitors at UFC 168, which took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., is $1,872,000.
Did everyone get what they deserved for their efforts inside the Octagon this past weekend, or do some numbers jump out more than others?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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