“My management paid HOW MANY Pitbull bucks for this song?! Paulo Filho won’t be impressed.”
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has released fighter salaries for the inaugural World Series of Fighting event, held last Saturday night in Las Vegas. Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski made the most money that evening, bringing home $60,000 for crushing Devin Cole in the main event. While we’re all glad to see Arlovski get paid, hopefully he spends some money on better entrance music; having some rapper bark your name is something that an amateur on the undercard of a local show would do to get people to notice him (assuming none of his friends knew how to shave stars into his hair, of course), not something a former UFC champion should do to keep people interested in his career. Just saying, it was pretty cheesy.
Taking home the second-largest purse of the evening was Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, who earned $55,000 for his highlight reel knockout against D.J. Linderman. Since moving up to a weight class that he should reasonably be fighting at, Anthony Johnson has looked pretty impressive. It’s a shame that he sacrificed so much of his career – not to even mention his health – cutting to welterweight, but at twenty-eight years old it’s by no means over for the UFC veteran.
Keep in mind that none of these salaries include any undisclosed bonuses or end of the night bonuses that World Series of Fighting may have given out. Also, even though this promotion is riding a lot of hype and had recognizable talent throughout the card, keep in mind that WSoF is a brand new promotion that just put on its first event. Basically, no one made Anderson Silva money, is what I’m trying to say:
World Series of Fighting 1
Nov 3, 2012
Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Andrei Arlovski: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Devin Cole: $10,000
Anthony Johnson: $55,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. D.J. Linderman: $10,000
Marlon Moraes: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Miguel Torres: $18,000
Tyrone Spong: $27,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus)
def. Travis Bartlett: $4,000
Tyson Steele: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
def. Gregor Gracie: $25,000
Brian Cobb: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Ronys Torres: $12,000
Steve Carl: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Ramico Blackmon: $10,000
Josh Burkman: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Gerald Harris: $15,000
JZ Cavalcante: $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus)
def. T.J. O’Brien: $5,000
David Branch: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Dustin Jacoby: $5,000
Total Payroll: $352,000
Overpaid: In the spirit of the upcoming US presidential election, we’ll start off with the safest answer possible: It’s hard to call anyone anyone on this card overpaid. Now, in the spirit of CagePotato: Twenty-five grand (more than Miguel Torres made, mind you) for a 7-2 fighter who holds no notable victories, has never fought in a major North American promotion and, by the way, fought on the undercard? Damn it must feel good to be a Gracie.
Underpaid: If you ever wondered why guys like Ed Soares get paid as much as they do, it’s because good management is at a premium in this sport. Case in point, Devin Cole fought a former UFC champion in the main event of a nationally televised show on a weekend when there was absolutely no competition. I’m no agent, but if I could only negotiate a fighter in Cole’s position the same amount of show money that Ramico Blackmon’s management earned for him, let’s just say I wouldn’t be drinking coffee for a while.
Likewise, I already had respect for Travis Bartlett for stepping up to fight Tyrone Spong when no one else – including Houston Alexander – was willing to. Then again, perhaps the measly four grand Bartlett made for that beating he took explains why no one wanted the fight. Major props to Travis for being tough enough to fight such a dangerous kickboxer for such a small paycheck, but buddy, your brain damage is worth more than that.