UFC on FOX 18 main eventer’s Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader earn $15k each from the Athlete Outfitting program while veterans Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett make just $5,000.
The salaries are in for the UFC Athlete Outfitting pay for Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 18 event, and Anthony Johnson, Ryan Bader and Jake Ellenberger were the top earners.
The outfitting policy launched in July, 2015, as part of the UFC’s new sponsorship deal with Reebok and the sporting apparel company paid out a total of $137,500 for last night’s event.
“Rumble”, Bader and Ellenberger took home $15,000 each while MMA veterans Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett earned just $5k (h/t MMA Junkie).
Anthony Johnson: $15,000
def. Ryan Bader: $15,000
Ben Rothwell: $5,000
def. Josh Barnett: $5,000
Jimmie Rivera: $2,500
def. Iuri Alcantara: $10,000
Bryan Barberena: $2,500
def. Sage Northcutt: $2,500
Tarec Saffiedine: $5,000
def. Jake Ellenberger: $15,000
Diego Ferreira: $2,500
def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier: $2,500
Rafael Natal: $10,000
def. Kevin Casey: $2,500
Wilson Reis: $5,000
def. Dustin Ortiz: $5,000
Alexander Yakovlev: $2,500
def. George Sullivan: $2,500
Alex Caceres: $10,000
def. Masio Fullen: $2,500
Randy Brown: $2,500
def. Matt Dwyer: $2,500
Damon Jackson: $2,500
vs. Levan Makashvili: $2,500
Tony Martin: $2,500
def. Felipe Olivieri: $2,500
Johnson brutalised Ryan Bader in the main event to earn a first round TKO stoppage while “Big Ben” became the first fighter in MMA to ever submit Barnett in the co-main event. Ellenberger, a veteran of 16 UFC fights, lost to Tarec Saffiedine on the preliminary card.
The Athlete Outfitting program pays fighters based on their total number of fights in the UFC, Zuffa-owned WEC, and Strikeforce from when the promotion merged with Zuffa. The payout tier system is listed below:
Fighters with 1-5 bouts: $2,500
Fighters with 6-10 bouts: $5,000
Fighters with 11-15 bouts: $10,000
Fighters with 16-20 bouts: $15,000
Fighters with 21 bouts or more: $20,000
Champions: $40,000
Title challengers: $30,000