No surprise here, but if you’re fighting on The Ultimate Fighter, it’s better on your wallet to make the finals. UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza handily out-earned the rest of her fellow TUF 20 castmates at Friday’s The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale, pocketing $50,000 for her main event win according to figures released to MMAFighting.com by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Despite being the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and reigning Invicta FC champion, Esparza entered her finals bout against 22-year-old Rose Namajunas as a betting underdog. It didn’t matter though, as Esparza dominated Namajunas with her wrestling before securing a third-round submission finish to be crowned the UFC’s inaugural 115-pound champion.
Namajunas earned $25,000 in defeat, which is still well above the $8,000/$8,000 entry salary earned by the rest of the TUF 20 cast.
Regardless of any title implications, the card’s top earner ended up being featherweight Charles Oliveira. Oliveira edged out a unanimous decision over Jeremy Stephens in the night’s co-main event to earn $54,000. Stephens pocketed $40,000 for the loss.
TUF 20 Finale took place Dec. 12 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV. Esparza, Yancy Medeiros, Jessica Penne and Randa Markos also took home additional $50,000 fight night bonuses for their work.
As always, the entire TUF 20 Finale payroll can be seen below, although these figures do not represent a fighter’s total earnings, as sponsorship money and discretionary post-fight bonuses are not publicly disclosed.
Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Carla Esparza ($25,000 + $25,000 = $50,000) def. Rose Namajunas ($25,000)
Charles Oliveira ($27,000 + $27,000 = $54,000) def. Jeremy Stephens ($40,000)
K.J. Noons ($31,000) vs. Daron Cruickshank ($17,000) ruled a no contest
Yancy Medeiros ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Joe Proctor ($10,000)
Jessica Penne ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Randa Markos ($8,000)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1)
Felice Herrig ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Lisa Ellis ($8,000)
Heather Clark ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Bec Rawlings ($8,000)
Joanne Calderwood ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Seo Hee Ham ($8,000)
Tecia Torres ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Angela Magana ($8,000)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Aisling Daly ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Alex Chambers ($8,000)
Angela Hill ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Emily Kagan ($8,000)