Yoel Romero didn’t get a win at Bellator 266, but he did walk away with the biggest pay check.
Last weekend Yoel Romero failed to make a winning start to his life in Bellator MMA. At Bellator 266 he lost to Phil Davis by split decision (though many thought it should have been a unanimous decision). That loss eliminated ‘The Soldier of God’ from the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament.
It’s not all bad news for Romero, though. The former Olympian did go home with the biggest pay check on the night (per MMA Fighting). According to numbers released by the California State Athletic Commission Romero was paid a flat-rate of $150,000. That’s $50,000 more than the two next highest earning fighters: Davis and Neiman Gracie.
Romero’s last payday in the UFC saw him scoop a reported $380,000 in a losing effort versus Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title. In his last non-title fight in the UFC, Romero also took home $150,000.
These latest figures are only the salaries reported to CSAC and do not reflect any additional bonuses fighters may have been paid by the promotion. They also do not include any independent sponsorships any of these fighters may have secured.
The full list of salaries from Bellator 266 can be viewed below:
Yoel Romero: $150,000
Phil Davis: $100,000
Neiman Gracie: $100,000
DeAnna Bennett: $38,600 — $27,000 to show, $17,000 to win minus $5,400 for missing weight
Alejandra Lara: $27,700 — $25,000 to show plus $2,700 penalty from Bennett missing weight.
Saul Rogers: $80,000 — $40,000 to show, $40,000 to win
Georgi Karakhanyan: $35,000
Ben Parrish: $20,000 — $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win
Christian Edwards: $30,000
Alex Polizzi: $36,000 — $18,000 to show, $18,000 to win
Grant Neal: $16,000
Anthony Adams: $40,000 — $20,000 to show, $20,000 to win
Khalid Murtazaliev: $33,000
Bobby Seronio III: $3,000 — $1,500 to show, $1,500 to win
Socrates Hernandez: $2,000
Abraham Vaesau: $6,000 — $3,000 to show, $3,000 to win
Albert Gonzalez: $3,000
Shane Keefe: $3,000 — $1,500 to show, $1,500 to win
Rhalan Gracie: $5,000
Edwin De Los Santos: $3,000 — $1,500 to show, $1,500 to win
Jonathan Adams: $1,500
Jesse Delgado: $4,000 — $2,000 to show, $2,000 to win
Joshua Dillon: $2,000