(Photo via Getty.)
The year of The Rhino ”Ruthless” continues, as Robbie Lawler walked away from UFC 181 last weekend with not only the belt, but the biggest payday of all 22 competing fighters. Lawler earned just over 200K ($220,000) for his efforts, surpassing Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez ($200,00 each) on the night’s list of top earners.
On the injury side of things, it looks like several fighters who competed at UFC 181 could be facing lengthy layoffs, chief among them being Pettis (Ed note: WHY GOD, WHYY?!!). So join us after the jump to check out the full list of salaries and medical suspensions.
Robbie Lawler: $220,000 (includes $110,000 win bonus)
def. Johny Hendricks: $150,000Anthony Pettis: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
def. Gilbert Melendez: $200,000Travis Browne: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)
def. Brendan Schaub: $32,000Todd Duffee: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Anthony Hamilton: $10,000Tony Ferguson: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
def. Abel Trujillo: $14,000Urijah Faber: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
def. Francisco Rivera: $20,000Josh Samman: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Eddie Gordon: $15,000Corey Anderson: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Justin Jones: $8,000Raquel Pennington: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Ashlee Evans-Smith: $8,000Sergio Pettis: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Matt Hobar: $10,000Clay Collard: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Alex White: $10,000
I’m going to skip the over/underpaid analysis for this card, because I think we all can all reach our own conclusions on fighter pay by this point. Suffice it to say, anyone making less than 20K to show while fighting in an organization that rents out the Smith Center to make a non-announcement is getting screwed over big time. Just one man’s humble opinion.
Instead, I’d like to talk a little more about Joe Rogan’s brutally honest critique of Brendan Schaub’s career and chances of ever becoming a champion earlier today. While I was watching Rogan essentially tell Schaub to retire, I couldn’t help but play the devil’s advocate when thinking of Robbie Lawler.
Less than 3 years ago, “Ruthless” had dropped back-to-back fights to Ronaldo Souza and Tim Kennedy, and three of his past four overall. In both those performances, you could literally see the moment in which Lawler seemed to break, to give up. It seemed as if his best days were behind him, and it was safe to say that no one had him on their list of future UFC champions at that point. The same can be said for Schaub right now.
Am I saying that Schaub could be a future heavyweight champ? Not exactly, I’m just saying that Rogan was perhaps a little dismissive of his friend’s chances, albeit for the right reasons. While “Ruthless” has years of fight experience over Schaub that no doubt played a role in his improbable career revival, let’s not act like there aren’t crazier things that have happened in MMA than the idea of Brendan Schaub: Heavyweight Champion. It’s an argument of faith vs. fact, sure, but guys, Matt Serra beat Georges St. Pierre once. No seriously, it happened.
Food for thought, I guess.
Anyways, on to those medical suspensions…
Anthony Pettis: Requires x-ray of left hand; if positive, requires doctor’s clearance or no contest until June 6
Abel Trujillo: Requires doctor’s clearance on fractured nose or no contest until Jun. 6; minimum suspension until Jan. 6, no contest until Dec. 2
Francisco Rivera: Requires ophthalmologist’s clearance on left eye abrasion or no contest until June 6
Eddie Gordon: Requires post-concussive clearance from neurologist or sports medicine doctor prior to starting contact training; minimum suspension no contest until March 7, no contact until Feb. 5
Brendan Schaub: Suspended until Feb. 5, no contact until Jan. 21 due to upper lip laceration
Anthony Hamilton: Suspended until Jan. 21, no contact until Jan. 6 due to right forehead laceration
Tony Ferguson: Suspended until Jan. 21, no contact until Jan. 6 due to right forehead laceration
Raquel Pennington: Suspended until Jan. 21, no contact until Jan. 6 due to forehead laceration
Johny Hendricks: Suspended until Jan. 6, no contact until Dec. 28 due to tough fight
Todd Duffee: Suspended until Jan. 6, no contact until Dec. 28 due to forehead laceration
Matt Hobar: Suspended until Jan. 6, no contact until Dec. 28 due to left eye hematoma
Sergio Pettis: Suspended until Jan. 6, no contact until Dec. 28
Clay Collard: Requires orthopedic clearance on left forearm or no contest until June 6; minimum suspension no contest until Jan. 6, no contact until Dec. 28
Alex White: Suspended until Jan. 6, no contact until Dec. 28 due to left upper eyebrow laceration
Anthony Pettis…might be out until June…
Ok, calm down. Everyone just CALM DOWN, alright! The results for Anthony’s hand are still pending, and considering he said he felt fine at the post-fight press conference, let’s all just assume that it will be less than 15 months before we see him again. You hear me?! KEEP IT TOGETHER!!