Former UFC talents appear to be making bank in the Professional Fighters League.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Kayla Harrison was on the free agency market looking to cash in on the celebrity status afforded her by two Olympic gold medals, and a nice, shiny unbeaten 12-0 MMA record. It didn’t hurt her negotiating power that she’d already collected two million-dollar paydays from her time in the Professional Fighters League and the pair of tournament titles that came with it.
For a potentially high priced, high profile contender, a jump over to Bellator or even the UFC seemed highly possible. It was a little bit of a surprise then, when she landed right back where she started, fighting under the PFL banner. However, after a string of events in Georgia, and the release of PFL’s salary info, it’s a whole lot easier to see why the chips fell the way they did.
Alongside former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, Harrison appears to be one of several fighters making some serious ends in the ESPN-based promotion. The longtime ATT talent brought home $500,000 for her bout against Kaitlin Young on July 1st. But even that is overshadowed by ‘Showtime’’s PFL deal, Pettis took home a reported $750,000 in his loss to Stevie Ray at PFL 5 on June 24th. MMA Junkie has the details from PFL’s 3-event string over the last two months.
As always, concerning MMA salary reports, the data below does not include any sponsor payments, locker room bonuses, side letter agreements between fighters and the PFL, coaching fees, taxes, or other possible financial transactions. These numbers are purely reflective of fighters’ base contracts with the promotion as released by the Georgia State Athletic Commission.
PFL 4 SALARIES
ALEX MARTINEZ (10-2) – $38,000 ($19k/$19k Show/Win)
CLAY COLLARD (21-10) – $28,000
ANTONIO CARLOS JUNIOR (15-5) – $98,000 ($49k/$49k Show/Win)
BRUCE SOUTO (15-5) – $10,000
OLIVIER AUBIN MERCIER (15-5) – $54,000 ($27k/$27k Show/Win)
RAUSH MANFIO (16-4) – $27,000
JEREMY STEPHENS (29-20) – $200,000 ($100k/$100k Show/Win)
MYLES PRICE (11-9) – $12,000
OMARI AKHMEDOV (23-7) – $206,000 ($103k/$103k Show/Win)
TEODORAS AUKSTUOLIS (11-7) – $15,000
NATAN SCHULTE (22-5) – $150,000 ($75k/$75k Show/Win)
MARCIN HELD (27-9) – $26,000
DELAN MONTE (9-2) – $20,000 ($10k/$10k Show/Win)
EMILIANO SORDI (23-11) – $53,000
ROB WILKINSON (15-2) – $32,000 ($16k/$16k Show/Win)
VIKTOR PESTA (18-8) – $18,000
JOSH SILVEIRA (9-0) – $50,000 ($25k/$25k Show/Win)
MARTHIN HAMLET (9-4) – $16,000
NATE JENNERMAN (16-5) – $16,000 ($8k/$8k Show/Win)
JACOB CHILDERS (9-3) – $8,000
PFL 5 SALARIES
MATHEUS SCHEFFEL (16-8) – $20,000 ($10k/$10k Show/Win)
BRUNO CAPPELOZZA (15-6) – $40,000
STEVIE RAY (24-10) – $80,000 ($40k/$40k Show/Win)
ANTHONY PETTIS (25-13) – $750,000
KLIDSON ABREU (17-5) – $42,000 ($21k/$21k Show/Win)
RENAN FERREIRA (9-3) – $19,000
CHRIS WADE (22-7) – $70,000 ($35k/$35k Show/Win)
KYLE BOCHNIAK (11-7) – $15,000
ANTE DELIJA (21-5) – $66,000 ($33k/$33k Show/Win)
SHELTON GRAVES (9-6) – $10,000
BUBBA JENKINS (18-5) – $98,000 ($49k/$49k Show/Win)
REINALDO EKSON (18-6) – $10,000
DENIS GOLTSOV (29-7) – $70,000 ($35k/$35k Show/Win)
MAURICE GREEN (10-7) – $18,000
LANCE PALMER (23-6) – $170,000 ($85k/$85k Show/Win)
SHEYMON MORAES (14-6) – $29,000
JUAN ADAMS (10-4) – $16,000 ($8k/$8k Show/Win)
SAM KEI (8-6) – $10,000
RYOJI KUDO (11-3) – $26,000 ($13k/$13k Show/Win)
ALEJANDRO FLORES (21-4) – $26,000
BRENDAN LOUGHNANE (23-4) – $170,000 ($85k/$85k Show/Win)
AGO HUSKIC (8-5) – $10,000
PFL 6 SALARIES
KAYLA HARRISON (14-0) – $500,000
KAITLIN YOUNG (12-13) – $20,000
SADIBOU SY (11-6) – $52,000 ($26k/26k Show/Win)
RORY MACDONALD (23-9) – $250,000
RAY COOPER III (25-8) – $200,000 ($150k/$50k Show/Win)
BRETT COOPER (28-17) – $20,000
MAGOMED MAGOMEDKERIMOV (30-6) – $200,000 ($100k/$100k Show/Win)
DILANO TAYLOR (9-2) – $13,000
LARISSA PACHECO (17-4) – $48,000 ($24k/$24k Show/Win)
GENAH FABIAN (5-3) – $20,000
MAGOMED UMALATOV (12-0) – $32,000 ($16k/$16k Show/Win)
JARRAH HUSSEIN AL-SILAWI (18-4) – $56,000
MARINA MOKHNATKINA (7-3) – $32,000 ($16k/$16k Show/Win)
ABIGAIL MONTES (3-2) – $13,000
MARTINA JINDROVA (6-2) – $42,000 ($21k/$21k Show/Win)
ZAMZAGUL FAYZALLANOVA (7-3) – $10,000
OLENA KOLESNYK (7-4) – $22,000 ($11k/$11k Show/Win)
VANESSA MELO (11-10) – $13,000