Lesnar’s UFC earnings may be way higher than we thought

Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC champion Brock Lesnar may have been much better paid than what was previously reported.

With the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) locked in a legal battle with a cadre of former fighters, new information regarding the promotion – and parent company ZUFFA LLC – is trickling out of both sides’ legal departments and onto our MMA blogosphere. And some of this once closely guarded, secret information reveals the inner-workings of the Fertitta Brothers’ four-billion dollar enterprise.

The latest info to come out of the UFC Antitrust Lawsuit reveals the pay scheme used to compensate one of the sport’s highest drawing ever athletes: Brock Lesnar.

Those figures come thanks to Jason Cruz of MMAPayout (and Bloody Elbow’s ‘Show Money’ podcast). On his blog, Cruz revealed newly unredacted passages from the Expert Report of Hal J. Singer, an expert witness for the Plaintiffs.

According to the newly revealed court documents Lesnar would receive – when fighting as a non-champion – $750,000 per bout. The document states that Lesnar, through corporation DEATHCLUTCH, would receive half of that fee within 30 days after the fight and the second half within 60 days after the fight. It is not known which fights, or how many fights, this agreement was in effect for.

The exact language used in the documents is presented below:

For each and every Bout, in which Fighter participates where he is not recognized as a UFC Champion, by Zuffa, within thirty (30) days following the completion of each Bout, as contemplated in Section 7.1 (c) of the Promotional Agreement, Zuffa shall pay to DEATHCLUTCH, via bank wire or check, the amount of Three Hundred Seventy Five Thousand Dollars (US $375,000.00), less all permissible or required deductions and withholdings. Within sixty (60) days following the completion of each Bout, as contemplated in Section 7.1 (c) of the Promotional Agreement, Zuffa shall pay to DEATHCLUTCH, via bank wire or check, the additional amount of Three Hundred Seventy Five Thousand Dollars (US $375,000), less all permissible or required deductions and withholdings for a total combined payment of Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars (US $750,000.00).

For Lesnar’s debut at UFC 81, it was previously reported that the former NCAA Division I wrestler netted a $250,000 purse (per MMAMania). That reported purse dwarfed the pay of most fighters on the card (including Gleison Tibau who made $11,000 to show). That purse, along with any other purse Lesnar received with the UFC, would have been in addition to the money outlined in this agreement. If this agreement covered his UFC debut, he would have made a total of $1,000,000.

The documents also shed light on Lesnar’s earnings as a champion in the UFC. Lesnar’s takeaway on fights he entered as a reigning champion was set at $1.65 million dollars. Again, this fee does not include Lesnar’s actual fight purses. Lesnar’s reported purse as a UFC champion at UFC 100 were disclosed at $400,000 (per MMAMania). That would mean, if this agreement was in effect at the time, he would have made over $2,000,000 at that event.

The section below, from the court documents, specifies Lesnar’s champion-level compensation:

…an agreement with Brock Lesnar that specifies lump sums to be paid conditional on champion status (“For each and every Bout, in which Fighter participates where he is recognized as a UFC Champion by Zuffa, within thirty (30) days following the completion of each Bout, as contemplated in Section 7.1 (a) of the Promotional Agreement Zuffa shall pay to DEATHCLUCTH, via bank wire or check, the amount of Eight Hundred Twelve Thousand Five Hundred Dollars (US $812,500.00), less permissible or required deductions and withholdings. Within sixty (60) days following the completion of each Bout, as contemplated in Section 7.1 (a) of the Promotional Agreement, Zuffa shall pay to DEATHCLUTCH, via bank wire or check, the additional amount of Eight Hundred Twelve Thousand Five Hundred Dollars (US $812,500.00), less all permissible or required deductions and withholdings, for a total combined payment of One Million Six Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars (US $1,625,000.000).

If Lesnar was paid by the UFC according to terms outlined above for all of his UFC fights between 2008 and 2011, he would have netted up to $7,875,000 (not including his fight purses, performance bonuses, and any revenue from pay-per-view sales).

Lesnar, who signed with the UFC in late 2007, famously lost his first fight against Frank Mir via first round kneebar. After that setback Lesnar defeating Heath Herring and Randy Couture to win the UFC heavyweight title. He then defeated Mir in a rematch at UFC 100. Lesnar defended his title again, against Shane Carwin, before losing the belt to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in 2010. Lesnar lost to Alistair Overeem the following year in the last fight of his initial UFC tenure.

Lesnar would return to the Octagon in 2016, at UFC 200, where he fought to a controversial no contest with Mark Hunt. Though a bout with Daniel Cormier was teased by the UFC for 2019, it now seems likely that Lesnar’s highly profitable time in MMA may have drawn to a close.