Some fight fans say UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is one of the most overlooked fighters in the promotion, but his check from UFC 178 says otherwise.
Mighty Mouse walked home with a cool $183,000 after his second-round submission victory over Chris Cariaso in UFC 178’s headliner Saturday night, as Sherdog reported.
Johnson earned $129,000 to show up and was awarded an additional $54,000 for the win.
Meanwhile, featherweight contender Conor McGregor wasn’t far behind, taking home a hefty $150,000, receiving $75,000 to show up and $75,000 more to win.
McGregor, whom UFC President Dana White called a bigger star than Brock Lesnar or Georges St-Pierre (h/t MMA Fighting), defeated perennial contender Dustin Poirier via first-round knockout at the pay-per-view event.
Donald Cerrone, a 15-fight UFC veteran, took home a handsome $126,000 ($63,000 to show and $63,000 to win) for his impressive decision win over ex-Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez.
The full salaries of the card once again come courtesy of Sherdog. Bear in mind that the salaries do not include any “Performance of the Night,” “Fight of the Night” or “locker room” bonuses.
Money from sponsors, as well as deductions from insurance or taxes, are not included, either.
Demetrious Johnson: $183,000 (includes $54,000 win bonus)
Chris Cariaso: $24,000Donald Cerrone: $126,000 (includes $63,000 win bonus)
Eddie Alvarez: $100,000Conor McGregor: $150,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus)
Dustin Poirier: $34,000Yoel Romero: $58,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus)
Tim Kennedy: $70,000Cat Zingano: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
Amanda Nunes: $15,000Dominick Cruz: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)
Takeya Mizugaki: $32,000Jorge Masvidal: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
James Krause: $15,000Stephen Thompson: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
Patrick Cote: $33,000Brian Ebersole: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus)
John Howard: $21,000Kevin Lee: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Jon Tuck: $10,000Manny Gamburyan: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
Cody Gibson: $10,000
Also making a pretty penny from UFC 178 is former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who obliterated contender Takeya Mizugaki in the final contest on the preliminary card—good enough for $100,000.
That’s not including his “Performance of the Night” bonus, which gives Cruz the same payout as McGregor.
Alvarez also joins the six-figure club, making an even $100,000, despite losing a hard-fought decision to the always-tough Cerrone in his long-awaited UFC debut.
Lightweight Jon Tuck and bantamweight Cody Gibson were on the opposite ends of the payroll spectrum this time around, taking home a measly $10,000 for losing efforts against Kevin Lee and Manny Gamburyan, respectively.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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