Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
UFC 244 went down this past weekend (Sat., Nov. 2, 2019) from inside Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., with Jorge Masvidal defeating Nate Diaz in the headlining bout in a thrilling affair to win the “BMF” (highlights). In the co-headlining act, Darren Till snapped his two-fight skid by edging out Kelvin Gastelum via split-decision in what was “Gorilla’s” Middleweight debut (recap).
As event headliners, both Diaz and Masvidal walked away with the biggest sponsorship checks, each going home $20,000 richer. Meanwhile, Andrei Arlovski — another long-time UFC veteran — also banked a cool $20,000 despite his first-round knockout loss to Jair Rozenstruik, who was only issued a $3,500 check from the sports apparel outfitter.
But, that’s not all! Take a look at UFC 244’s entire Reebok payouts (courtesy of MMA Junkie).
Jorge Masvidal: $20,000 def. Nate Diaz: $20,000
Darren Till: $5,000 def. Kelvin Gastelum: $15,000
Stephen Thompson: $10,000 def. Vicente Luque: $10,000
Derrick Lewis: $15,000 def. Blagoy Ivanov: $4,000
Kevin Lee: $15,000 def. Gregor Gillespie: $5,000
Corey Anderson: $10,000 def. Johnny Walker: $4,000
Shane Burgos: $5,000 def. Makwan Amirkhani: $5,000
Edmen Shahbazyan: $4,000 def. Brad Tavares: $15,000
Jair Rozenstruik: $3,500 def. Andrei Arlovski: $20,000
Katlyn Chookagian: $5,000 def. Jennifer Maia: $4,000
Lyman Good: $4,000 def. Chance Rencountre: $4,000
Hakeem Dawodu: $4,000 def. Julio Arce: $4,000
According to the payout structure (see it), the more fights a fighter has accumulated — combined with UFC and the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Strikeforce promotions — the more coin he or she gets to fill his or her combat sports piggy bank. And the less fights a fighter has under the Endeavor umbrella … well, the less he or she gets.
If you have a problem with the structure, take it up with UFC … not Reebok.
According to the report, fighters will also receive royalty and payments up to 20 to 30 percent of any UFC-related merchandise sold that bears his or her likeness. That’s a great way for the Internet “morons” to help the cause.
For complete UFC 244: “Masvidal vs. Diaz” results and post-fight coverage, including videos, recaps, reactions, and more, head over to our comprehensive event archive by clicking here.