Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
UFC Fight Night 168 went down last Saturday night (Feb. 22) inside Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, and now it’s time to see who went home with the biggest slice of the Reebok sponsorship pie.
Taking home the biggest bucks were event headliners Paul Felder and Dan Hooker, who each scored a $10,000 payout from the sports apparel giant following their 25-minute war, which saw Hooker escape with a split-decision win (see it again here).
Also going home with a similar payout were Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Jake Matthews. The total payout for the event was one of the lowest of the year, as the combined grand total between all 24 combatants was $130,000.
Take a look at the rest of the payouts (via MMA Junkie).
Dan Hooker: $10,000 def. Paul Felder: $10,000
Jimmy Crute: $4,000 def. Michal Oleksiejczuk: $4,000
Yan Xiaonan: $4,000 def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz: $10,000
Marcos Rogerio de Lima: $10,000 def. Ben Sosoli: $3,500
Brad Riddell: $3,500 def. Magomed Mustafaev: $4,000
Zubaira Tukhugov: $5,000 def. Kevin Aguilar: $4,000
Jalin Turner: $4,000 def. Joshua Culibao: $3,500
Jake Matthews: $10,000 def. Emil Meek: $4,000
Song Kenan: $4,000 def. Callan Potter: $3,500
Kai Kara-France: $4,000 def. Tyson Nam: $3,500
Angela Hill: $10,000 def. Loma Lookboonmee: $3,500
Priscila Cachoeira: $4,000 def. Shana Dobson: $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 Fight Night 168: “Felder vs Hooker” results and play-by-play, click here.