Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the hurt business last Saturday night (April 7, 2018) for UFC 223, which took place inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and now it’s time to see who walked away with the biggest piece of the Reebok sponsorship pie.
Rose Namajunas — who defended her women’s Strawweight title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a close battle (see it) — walked away with the biggest sponsorship check to the tune of $40,000. For her troubles, “JJ” scored $30,000 from Reebok.
In the headlining act, both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Al Iaquinta made out with $30,000 apiece in a five-round championship bout that saw “The Eagle” claim the undisputed Lightweight title.
But that’s not all, so let’s take a look at the rest of the Reebok payouts courtesy of MMA Junkie.
Khabib Nurmagomedov: $30,000 def. Al Iaquinta: $30,000
Rose Namajunas: $40,000 def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk: $30,000
Renato Moicano: $5,000 def. Calvin Kattar: $3,500
Zabit Magomedsharipov: $3,500 def. Kyle Bochniak: $5,000
Chris Gruetzemacher: $5,000 def. Joe Lauzon: $20,000
Karolina Kowalkiewicz: $5,000 def. Felice Herrig: $5,000
Olivier Aubin-Mercier: $5,000 def. Evan Dunham: $15,000
Ashlee Evans-Smith: $5,000 def. Bec Rawlings: $5,000
Devin Clark: $5,000 def. Mike Rodriguez: $3,500
Total; $220,500
According to the payout structure (see it), the more fights you have combined with UFC and the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Strikeforce promotions, the more coin you have for your combat sports piggy bank.
And the less fights you have under the ZUFFA banner… well, the less you get. If you have a problem with the structure, take it up with UFC, not Reebok.
According to the report, fighters will also receive royalty and payments up to 20-30 percent of any UFC-related merchandise sold that bears his or her likeness. That’s a great way for the Internet “morons” to help the cause.