(“Cormier has been fighting how long and he made how much?!” -Photo courtesy of Ric Fogel/ESPN.com)
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Josh Barnett’s $150,000 salary accounted for 16 percent of the $942,150 payroll of Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov event in Cincinnati. The man Barnett defeated, Sergei Kharitonov and his fellow HWGP finalist Daniel Cormier both tied for the second best paid fighters of the night with $100,000 a piece for their efforts, followed closely by Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal who received a flat fee of $85,000 for his win over Roger Gracie, who got $80,000.
Newly-crowned Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold netted $50,000 for his win over Ronaldo Souza, who took home $70,000 and no belt.
If not for Tito Ortiz’s $450,000 payday for his win over Ryan Bader, this card’s payroll would have eclipsed UFC 132′s, which is the last UFC event with a mandatory disclosed salary ledger.
Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov
Saturday, September 10, 2011
U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio
Main Card
Josh Barnett: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Sergei Kharitonov: $100,000
Daniel Cormier: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Silva: $100,000
Luke Rockhold: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Ronaldo Souza: $70,000
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal: $85,000 (no win bonus) def. Roger Gracie: $80,000
Pat Healy: $17,500 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Maximo Blanco: $13,000
Preliminary Card
Mike Kyle: $44,000 (includes $22,000 win bonus) def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima: $5,000
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Yoel Romero: $10,000
Jordan Mein: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos: $20,000
Alexis Davis: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Amanda Nunes: $7,500
Dominique Steele: $5,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Chris Mierzwiak: $3,000
Disclosed fighter payroll: $942,150
———-
UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber
Saturday, July 2, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Main Card
Dominick Cruz: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Urijah Faber: $32,000
Chris Leben: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus) def. Wanderlei Silva $200,000 (flat rate)
Dennis Siver: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Matt Wiman: $18,000
Tito Ortiz: $450,000 (flat rate; no win bonus) def. Ryan Bader: $20,000
Carlos Condit: $68,000 (includes $34,000 win bonus) def. Dong Hyun Kim: $41,000
Preliminary Card
Melvin Guillard: $64,000 (includes $32,000 win bonus) def. Shane Roller: $21,000
Rafael dos Anjos: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus) def. George Sotiropoulos: $15,000
Brian Bowles: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus) def. Takeya Mizugaki: $12,000
Aaron Simpson: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus) def. Brad Tavares: $10,000
Anthony Njokuani: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Andre Winner: $14,000
Jeff Hougland: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Donny Walker: $6,000
Disclosed fighter payroll: $1,277,000 58,045.45