(I had to downgrade from my platinum toothpick for this shit?!)
The UFC recently released the figures for UFC on FOX 5, and suffice it to say, it pays much better to be a fading legend than it does a rising star, or a lightweight champion for that matter (Author’s note: I guess Bisping was right after all *dials revolver*). Check out the full list of figures below, then get our thoughts on the matter after the jump.
Benson Henderson: $78,000 (includes $39,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Diaz: $50,000
Alexander Gustafsson: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Mauricio Rua: $175,000
Rory MacDonald: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus)
def. B.J. Penn: $150,000
Matt Brown: $54,000 (includes $27,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Swick: $48,000
Yves Edwards: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
def. Jeremy Stephens: $24,000
Raphael Assuncao: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Easton: $14,000
Ramsey Nijem: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Joe Proctor: $8,000
Daron Cruickshank: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Henry Martinez: $8,000
Abel Trujillo: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Marcus LeVesseur: $8,000
Dennis Siver: $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus)
def. Nam Phan: $10,000
Scott Jorgensen: $41,000 (includes $20,500 win bonus)
def. John Albert: $10,000
Thoughts…
Overpaid: Is Nate Diaz really so hot of a commodity that he deserves a higher show rate than the champion of the division? Methinks not, homie. We’re also kind of shocked that Mike Swick, who has fought just twice in the past ever, is still making damn near 50k to show. And that takes us to our next item on the agenda…
Underpaid: Look, we know these figures are void of any locker room bonuses, end of the night bonuses and yada yada, and we know that Ben Henderson doesn’t exactly deserve the kind of money a legend like Shogun makes per fight, but come on. Forty thousand to show for a champion is absolute rubbish. Nick Diaz throws more dough at freakishly deformed homeless people on his way to the airport for fuck’s sake. But like we said, we’re pretty sure Bendo got a stack of undisclosed cash so high that not even Rain Man could count all the toothpicks he plans on purchasing.