The UFC spent a whole lot of money to get Cung Le into the Octagon.
Le, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion who made his UFC debut at UFC 139, made at least $420,000 for the fight, according to the promotion and the California State Athletic Commission. That payment includes a purse of $350,000 (disclosed by the commission) and a bonus of $70,000 (which UFC President Dana White announced that Le received for winning a Fight of the Night award for his loss to Wanderlei Silva).
That made Le the highest-paid fighter at UFC 139, at least based on what has been publicly disclosed. Pay-per-view bonuses are not disclosed, and fighters also make separate endorsement income.
The $420,000 payment is a substantial raise for Le, who made $100,000 for his last fight, a win over Scott Smith in June of 2010. The UFC’s decision to pay Le so much was likely motivated by a desire to see his exciting style inside the Octagon, and motivated by the knowledge that Le makes enough money in movies that he wouldn’t agree to take a fight unless he was going to be well compensated.
The full list of UFC 139 salaries:
Dan Henderson: $320,000 (includes $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Mauricio Rua: $235,000 (includes $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Wanderlei Silva: $270,000 (includes $70,000 FIght of the Night bonus)
Cung Le: $420,000 (includes $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Urijah Faber: $134,000 (includes $70,000 Submission of the Night bonus and $32,000 win bonus)
Brian Bowles: $19,000
Martin Kampmann: $58,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus)
Rick Story: $19,000
Stephan Bonnar: $68,000 (includes $34,000 win bonus)
Kyle Kingsbury: $10,000
Ryan Bader: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
Jason Brilz: $13,000
Michael McDonald: $84,000 (includes $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus and $7,000 win bonus)
Alex Soto: $6,000
Chris Weidman: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
Tom Lawlor: $12,000
Gleison Tibau: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)
Rafael dos Anjos: $16,000
Miguel Torres: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
Nick Pace: $4,000
Seth Baczynski: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Matt Brown: $12,000
Danny Castillo: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)
Shamar Bailey: $8,000