If nothing else, UFC legend B.J. Penn took home a nice chunk of change for his Sunday night swan song, as the former lightweight champion earned $150,000 in a losing effort at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale, according to figures released to MMAFighting.com by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
An extremely emotional Penn announced his retirement from mixed martial arts following the main event bout, which saw the 35-year-old Hawaiian get outclassed by Frankie Edgar en route to an uncomfortable third-round TKO stoppage. Edgar, meanwhile, was the night’s biggest earner, as he took home $260,000 for his third career victory over Penn.
Aside from the event’s two headliners, no other fighter on the TUF 19 Finale card topped the $30,000 purse earned by lightweight veteran Adriano Martins, who knocked out Juan Manuel Puig ($8,000) on the night’s televised prelims. Top-15 ranked flyweight Dustin Ortiz led the rest of the way, pocketing $28,000 for his rousing split decision win over Justin Scoggins ($12,000) that opened the main card.
Both TUF 19 tournament winners, light heavyweight Corey Anderson and middleweight Eddie Gordon, earned $16,000 for their respective season wins.
TUF 19 Finale took place July 6, 2014 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV.
As always, the entire TUF 19 Finale payroll can be seen below, although these figures do not represent a fighter’s total earnings, as sponsorship money and discretionary post-fight bonuses are not publicly disclosed. Additionally, Martins, Jumabieke Tuerxun and Leandro Issa (x2) each earned $50,000 post-fight bonuses for their work.
Main card (FOX Sports 1)
Frankie Edgar ($130,000 + $130,000 = $260,000) def. B.J. Penn ($150,000)
Corey Anderson ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Matt Van Buren ($8,000)
Eddie Gordon ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Dhiego Lima ($8,000)
Derrick Lewis ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Guto Inocente ($8,000)
Dustin Ortiz ($14,000 + $14,000 = $28,000) def. Justin Scoggins ($12,000)
Preliminary card (FOX Sports 1)
Kevin Lee ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Jesse Ronson ($8,000)
Leandro Issa ($7,500 + $7,500 = $15,000) def. Jumabieke Tuerxun ($8,000)
Adriano Martins ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Juan Manuel Puig ($8,000)
Patrick Walsh ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Daniel Spohn ($8,000)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Sarah Moras ($10,000* + $8,000 = $18,000) def. Alexis Dufresne ($6,000*)
Robert Drysdale ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Keith Berish ($8,000)
*Fighter forfeited 25-percent of purse to opponent due to missed weight