Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to action yesterday (Sat., July 22, 2017) for UFC on FOX 25: “Weidman vs. Gastelum,” which went down inside Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York and now it’s time to see who went home with the biggest slice of Reebok sponsorship pie.
For complete UFC on FOX 25 coverage, including play-by-play, click here.
Event headliners Chris Weidman and Kelvin Gastelum each took home $10,00 from the sports apparel giant for their headlining bout (see it). But, the biggest earner of the night was Darren Elkins, who managed to score a $15,000 sponsorship check from Reebok.
Let’s see how all of the payouts break down courtesy of MMA Junkie:
Chris Weidman: $10,000 def. Kelvin Gastelum: $10,000
Darren Elkins: $15,000 def. Dennis Bermudez: $10,000
Patrick Cummins: $5,000 def. Gian Villante: $10,000
Jimmie Rivera: $2,500 def. Thomas Almeida: $5,000
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos: $2,500 def. Lyman Good: $2,500
Eryk Anders: $2,500 def. Rafael Natal: $15,000
Alex Oliveira: $5,000 def. Ryan LaFlare: $5,000
Damian Grabowski: $2,500 def. Chase Sherman: $2,500
Jeremy Kennedy: $2,500 def. Kyle Bochniak: $2,500
Marlon Vera: $5,000 def. Brian Kelleher: $2,500
Junior Albini: $2,500 def. Timothy Johnson: $5,000
Shane Burgos: $2,500 def. Godofredo Pepey: $5,000
Chris Wade: $5,000 def. Frankie Perez: $2,500
TOTAL: $140,000
According to the revamped 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.