If it wasn’t already clear, it looks like the UFC has a lot more money than normal invested in Greg Hardy’s MMA career.
The UFC clearly seems to see Greg Hardy as a future star in the organization. The disgraced former Caroina Panthers defensive end played most of five seasons in the NFL before domestic violence and drug charges – along with declining play and a reputation as a bad clubhouse influence – saw him drummed out of the league.
Two years after his exit from football, Hardy took his first amateur fight. Seven months after that, he made his pro debut on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender series. Just last week, he picked up his first UFC win, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, in the co-main event under a middleweight top contender’s bout between Jack Hermansson and Jacare Souza. Despite taking a DQ loss in his debut – a sloppy back-and-forth bout with Allen Crowder – Hardy was once again near the top of the card. And, as the Florida State Boxing Commission revealed to MMA Fighting, he was among the night’s highest paid fighters; taking in $150,000 for beating Dmitry Smoliakov.
The night’s top earner was former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski, who made $300,000 in a loss to Augusto Sakai. Jacare Souza brought in $210,000 for his main event loss to Jack Hermansson. As did Glover Teixeira in his win over Ion Cutelaba.
Here’s a look at all the salary numbers* from the UFC’s latest Fight Night card:
Jack Hermansson – $82,000 ($42,000/$42,000 | win/show)
Jacare Souza – $210,000
Greg Hardy – $150,000 ($75,000/$75,000 | win/show)
Dmitry Smoliakov – $10,000
Mike Perry – $110,000 ($55,000/$55,000 | win/show)
Alex Oliveira – $64,000
Glover Teixeira – $210,000 ($105,000/$105,000 | win/show)
Cory Sandhagen – $66,000 ($33,000/$33,000 | win/show)
Roosevelt Roberts – $24,000 ($12,000/$12,000 | win/show)
Thomas Gifford – $10,000
Takashi Sato – $24,000 ($12,000/$12,000 | win/show)
Ben Saunders – $35,000
Augusto Sakai – $24,000 ($12,000/$12,000 | win/show)
Andrei Arlovski – $300,000
Carla Esparza – $90,000 ($45,000/$45,000 | win/show)
Virna Jandiroba – $12,000
Gilbert Burns – $88,000 ($44,000/$44,000 | win/show)
Mike Davis – $12,000
Jim Miller – $180,000 ($90,000/$90,000 | win/show)
Jason Gonzalez – $12,000
Angela Hill – $48,000 ($24,000/$24,000 | win/show)
Jodie Esquibel – $10,000
Dhiego Lima – $34,000 ($17,000/$17,000 | win/show)
Court McGee – $48,000
Additionally, Mike Perry, Alex Oliveira, Glover Teixeira, and Jim Miller all took home an additional $50,000 in bonus money for their performances.
*As always, these numbers do not include any potential locker room bonuses, sponsorship payouts, fines, taxes, training fees, or other potential costs and/or additions. These are simply the base fight purse numbers paid by the UFC to the athletes competing on the fight card.