UFC 203 saw three fighters make 500k or more, and one of them was former pro wrestler CM Punk.
CM Punk made a lot of money for a quick loss. The former pro wrestler made his MMA debut at UFC 203, losing in just over two minutes to Mickey Gall in a completely one-sided blowout. But he did bring a lot of attention to the card, so it seems only fair that he be compensated for it. The UFC paid him $500,000 in disclosed salary for the bout, third highest on the card. Only heavyweight title combatants Stipe Miocic (600k) and Alistair Overeem (a whopping 800k) made more.
Three other fighters made over 100k for their efforts – co-main eventers Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne, along with Urijah Faber. For the record, Gall made 30k to beat Punk.
Here are the numbers, courtesy of the Ohio Athletic Commission (via MMA Fighting):
Main Card (Pay-per-view)
Stipe Miocic ($600,000 + no win bonus = $600,000) def. Alistair Overeem ($800,000)
Fabricio Werdum ($250,000 + $125,000 = $375,000) def. Travis Browne ($120,000)
Mickey Gall ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. CM Punk ($500,000)
Jimmie Rivera ($24,000 + $24,000 = $48,000) def. Urijah Faber ($160,000)
Jessica Andrade ($23,000 + $23,000 = $46,000) def. Joanne Calderwood ($25,000)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1)
Bethe Correia ($25,000 + $25,000 = $50,000) def. Jessica Eye ($25,000)
Brad Tavares ($28,000 + $28,000 = $56,000) def. Caio Magalhaes ($20,000)
Nik Lentz ($38,000 + $38,000 = $76,000) def. Michael McBride ($12,000)
Drew Dober ($19,000 + $19,000 = $38,000) def. Jason Gonzalez ($10,000)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Yancy Medeiros ($24,000 + $24,000 = $48,000) def. Sean Spencer ($17,000)