Bellator MMA
Bellator 226: “Bader vs. Kongo” took place this past weekend (Sat., Sept. 7, 2019) at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., with “champ-champ” Ryan Bader putting his Heavyweight title on the line for the first time against aging veteran Cheick Kongo and his eight-fight win streak. Unfortunately, an unintentional foul resulted in a “No Contest” in the main event (recap here), but at least both men still get paid for showing up and putting in their best effort. In fact, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) disclosure reveals they each pocketed $100,000 each.
The other main card fighters did pretty well for themselves, too. Derek Campos got $60,000 flat (no win bonus) for beating Daniel Straus ($55,000). Adam Borics earned $50,000 ($25,000 show / $25,000 win) fighting Pat Curran ($60,000). Emmanuel Sanchez cleaned up with $110,000 ($55,000 show / $55,000 win) against Tywan Claxton ($60,000), Pedro Carvalho got $40,000 ($20,000 show / $20,000 win) over Sam Sicilia ($30,000), and to open the live broadcast Daniel Carey got $17,000 ($8,500 show / $8,500 win) beating Gaston Bolanos ($10,000). Not bad pay for one night’s work if you can get it.
And Prelims purses. pic.twitter.com/6cD2ut47Al
— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) September 10, 2019
Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include discretionary fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. The figures also do not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc..
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