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Bellator paid their headliners some decent coin, but it was relatively slim pickings for everyone else.
Bellator’s first event of the year featured the debut of Cris Cyborg, and she delivered with a later-round TKO victory over Julia Budd to add another title to her collection. Cyborg was never a really good fit in the UFC, so it made sense why she would want to leave. The grass is sometimes greener on the other side, and there’s frequently more money to be made as well.
In Cyborg’s case, somewhat surprisingly, she didn’t end up making as much as the opponent she stopped.
Bellator 238 salaries were topped by Julia Budd, who took home a cool $350,000 for her fight with Cyborg. Ms. Justino earned $250,000 for her efforts, with no win bonus. These purses dwarfed everything else on the card, with Sergio Pettis picking up the next biggest check at $60,000 (30k to show, 30k to win) for his successful Bellator debut.
Here’s a look at the full list of salaries for the event, courtesy of the California State Athletic Commission (via MMA Fighting):
Main card
Cris Cyborg ($250,000 + no win bonus = $250,000) def. Julia Budd ($350,000)
Darrion Caldwell ($25,000 + no win bonus = $25,000) def. Adam Borics ($28,000)
Juan Archuleta ($50,000 + no win bonus = $50,000) def. Henry Corrales ($38,000)
Sergio Pettis ($30,000 + $30,000 win bonus = $60,000) def. Alfred Khashakyan ($10,000)
Raymond Daniels ($20,000 + no win bonus = $20,000) def. Jason King ($3,000)
Emilee King ($3,000 + $3,000 win bonus = $6,000) def. Ava Knight ($5,000)
Preliminary Card
Tony Bartovich ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Jarrett Connor ($1,200)
Ricardo Seixas ($2,000 + $2,000 = $4,000) def. Dominic Clark ($2,000)
Joshua Jones ($2,250 + $2,250 = $4,500) def. Brandon Bender ($2,000)
Aaron Pico ($22,500 + $22,500 win bonus = $45,000) def. Daniel Carey ($10,000)
AJ Agazarm ($20,000 + $20,000 = $40,000) def. Adel Altamimi ($14,000)
Jay Jay Wilson ($5,000 + $5,000 win bonus = $10,000) def. Mario Navarro ($2,000)
Curtis Millender ($8,000 + $8,000 win bonus = $16,000) def. Moses Murietta ($4,000)
Anthony Taylor ($3,000 + $3,000 win bonus = $6,000) def. Chris Avila ($3,000)
Miguel Jacob ($1,500 + $1,500 win bonus = $3,000) def. David Pacheco ($1,500