It was widely reported on Sunday that the UFC’s anointed women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, could make up to $150,000 for her fight against Liz Carmouche in February—an unprecedented sum for someone fighting for the first ti…
It was widely reported on Sunday that the UFC’s anointed women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, could make up to $150,000 for her fight against Liz Carmouche in February—an unprecedented sum for someone fighting for the first time for the promotion.
On Monday, an authority no less than UFC president Dana White went on the Underground forum to dismiss the rumour.
MMAinterviews quoted an unnamed source close to the Carmouche camp who said Rousey would earn $75,000 to show and $75,000 to win, plus a cut of pay-per-view, for her UFC 156 title defence. Carmouche’s pay, by contrast, would be a meagre $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win.
White had one sentence for MMAinterviews.
“[M]ma interviews whoever the hell they are is full of s***,” he posted under his username, dfwjr, on Underground.
A paycheck of $150,000, or more, is nothing compared to what most UFC champions make. Junior dos Santos, for example, made $400,000 for his heavyweight title defence against Cain Velasquez, who made $200,000 at UFC 155 last month himself. Similarly, welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, on his return to the Octagon at UFC 154 in November, is said to have made $470,000 to beat Carlos Condit, who only made $125,000—including the Fight of the Night bonus.
However, despite being a UFC champion, Rousey’s purported pay of $75,000 to show and $75,000 to win is unheard-of for someone making her debut in the Octagon.
This would be especially true for Rousey considering she never had to beat anyone to become champion but was given the belt based on her dominant performances in Strikeforce.
Jose Aldo is another UFC champion who was given the belt on signing with the promotion. In his first title defence against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, which also happened to be his promotion debut, he was given just $24,000 to show and $24,000 to win.
But, with the Fight of the Night bonus on top of that, Aldo did end up walking away with a cool $177,000. Which means, depending on the kind of fight Carmouche puts up, Rousey’s pay could still top $150,000.
Update: UFC president Dana White has responded to the rumor on the Underground forum, stating that Rousey’s reported pay for UFC 157 is false.According to White, “mma interviews whoever the hell they are is full of s—.” White’s me…
Update: UFC president Dana White has responded to the rumor on the Underground forum, stating that Rousey’s reported pay for UFC 157 is false.
According to White, “mma interviews whoever the hell they are is full of s—.” White’s message was posted on the popular MMA forum under his username “dfw jr” at 9:30 a.m. ET on Monday.
Original Story: Even if Ronda Rousey doesn’t win her first title defense at UFC 157, she could still make more money than Ben Henderson and Dominick Cruz.
According to a rumor from MMA Interviews, Rousey is lined up for a $75,000/$75,000 salary via her upcoming main-event bout in Anaheim.
That’s $75,000 to show up and $75,000 extra if she wins, for an assumed total of $150,000 in one night. As MMA Interviews points out, that’s not even all of it—and challenger Liz Carmouche is reportedly making far less in comparison to the women’s champion:
MMAinterviews was told from a source close to Liz Carmouche’s camp that Ronda Rousey will be earning $75,000 to show and $75,000 to win, plus a cut of pay per view when she defends her UFC title against Carmouche at UFC 157. Carmouche will only be earning $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win according to the source.
Rousey’s manager Darin Harvey refuted the rumor, but wouldn’t give any details about the terms of his fighter’s contract with the UFC.
Harvey only stated that “Dana White takes very good care of his stars” and “you cannot go by commission numbers.”
Historically, the UFC only releases a very conservative reported salary for fighters, which doesn’t include sizable perks like post-fight bonus money, PPV percentages and in some cases, “locker room bonuses” for good performances in the Octagon.
If the rumor is indeed true, that automatically puts Rousey in the middle of the pack amongst current UFC champions.
For comparison’ sake, this is a breakdown of each champion’s most recently disclosed base pay or show/win salary from various commissions, not counting any bonuses or PPV deals:
• Cain Velasquez: $100,000/$100,000 (UFC 155) • Junior dos Santos: $400,000 (UFC 155, Former Champion) • Jon Jones: $400,000 (UFC 145) • Anderson Silva: $200,000 (UFC 148) • Georges St-Pierre: $200,000/$200,000 (UFC 100) • Benson Henderson: $39,000/$39,000 (UFC on Fox 5) • Frankie Edgar: $51,000/$51,000 (UFC 125, Former Champion) • Jose Aldo: N/A • Dominick Cruz: $20,000/$20,000 (UFC 132) • Ronda Rousey: $75,000/$75,000 (Rumored, UFC 157) • Renan Barao: N/A • Demetrious Johnson: N/A
Interestingly, Aldo, Barao and Johnson have yet to fight in states and territories where the local athletic commission reports fighter salaries.
However, given the huge discrepancy between the heavier weight classes and the lighter weight divisions, it’s fair to guess Rousey may walk out of UFC 157 as the promotion’s fifth most well-paid champion. All “Rowdy” needs to do for that to happen is defeat challenger Liz Carmouche on Feb. 23 at the Anaheim Honda Center.
There is no one in Hollywood like Quentin Tarantino. Known for his famous, character-driven mash up films, Tarantino is known for revitalizing old movie genres. Although films such as Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds and more recently Djang…
There is no one in Hollywood like Quentin Tarantino.
Known for his famous, character-driven mash up films, Tarantino is known for revitalizing old movie genres.
Although films such as Pulp Fiction, InglouriousBasterds and more recently Django Unchained are great works of cinema, it is the characters in his films that people remember the most.
Just like Tarantino likes to mash up genres of film, here is a mash-up of MMA fighters as some of his greatest characters.
As the MMA community progresses towards UFC 157, we will continue to learn more about the camps of both Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche. While both fighters are now well-known, only time will tell if they have any staying power within the sport. One man…
As the MMA community progresses towards UFC 157, we will continue to learn more about the camps of both Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche. While both fighters are now well-known, only time will tell if they have any staying power within the sport.
One man who knows Rousey just about as well as anybody is “Judo” Gene LeBell. LeBell has been around the world of martial arts for most of his life and has crossed paths with some of the most decorated people in the sport.
LeBell shed some light on his relationship with Rousey in a recent interview with Fighters.com.
“I’ve known Ronda long before she knew who I was. I knew her mother, who was a very good judo person.”
LeBell also touched on how tough Rousey actually is, even when she goes up against male opponents.
“Ronda beats a good percentage of the men who are bigger than her — and good ones, too.
“She doesn’t fool around. There’s no sitting down and signing autographs. It’s all business to her.”
It’s no secret that Rousey‘s game plan is to weather an initial storm by Carmouche and look for an opportunity to take her down. One has to wonder if Rousey relies too heavily upon one technique and how long the armbar will allow her to remain the UFC champion.
While LeBell believes Carmouche is a formidable opponent, he also says the challenger “should give a good fight for about 30 seconds.”
Rousey has shot up the popularity charts due in large part to her demeanor in front of the media. You all know by now that she says what’s on her mind and continues to act as if she is one notch above everyone else.
LeBell believes this is exactly why she’s going to continue winning her fights.
“Nothing bothers her. She’s got icewater running in her veins. She doesn’t give a damn about pressure. She’s a sadistic wench.”
Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche headline UFC 157 on February 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Joe Chacon is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
Dave Meltzer released a report yesterday on MMAfighting.com that seems to have the MMA community up in arms. According to Meltzer, UFC 157 pre-sale ticket numbers aren’t exactly mystifying: thus far less than 5,000 tickets have been sold. Natural…
Dave Meltzer released a report yesterday on MMAfighting.com that seems to have the MMA community up in arms. According to Meltzer, UFC 157pre-sale ticket numbers aren’t exactly mystifying: thus far less than 5,000 tickets have been sold. Naturally sports analysts are leaping to brand the UFC’s inclusion of female combatants as a complete and utter failure.
But let’s be honest: we’re jumping the gun.
As Meltzer himself indicates, Southern California venues don’t typically serve as a premiere hotbed for mixed martial arts fanatics. I’m not indicating an impossibility to draw outside of Nevada, I’m simply pointing out a fact: if the UFC aims to yank down massive attendance numbers, there are limited markets capable of meeting tremendous expectations.
That said, come February 23rd, the Honda Center in Anaheim, California will likely house a solid 12,000 plus spectators. How many of those seats will have been comp’d remains to be seen, but we’re still nearly two full months detached from UFC 157, and you can bet that as the event inches closer, media will swarm. And they’ll swarm for one major reason: Ronda Rousey, the UFC’s first female fighter will headline a stacked card.
Rousey has earned a wealth of publicity in the last year. Her stunning looks and terrifying signature armbarhave turned too many heads to count, and the media hasn’t ignored this fact. ESPN has taken notice, and a slew of other noteworthy sports outlets have followed suit. The result is the sudden birth of a legitimate star.
Unlike many who are cast into the spotlight unexpectedly, Rousey likely has the talent to maintain her position as Queen of WMMA (that’s women’s mixed martial arts if you’re out of the loop). This is a woman with a competitive nature that few possess, and a knack for fighting that few rival. Ronda loves to fight, plain and simple. She’s not a pretty gimmick; she’s an outspoken warrior who appears hungry enough to devour all competition.
On February 23rd she’ll make history, and news outlets around the world will help to make her debut a success, as just about everyone in this business is eager to be associated with the revolutionizing of the sport, no matter how minor that part may be.
Everyone is itching to see how the woman performs on the biggest stage available in North America. The fact that she’s a stunningly beautiful specimen doesn’t hurt the situation, and you can rest assured as the calendar days slide by, and February inches closer, UFC 157 coverage will only intensify.
The box office may not be on fire right now, but Rousey’s debut will entice many, and the little engine that could will morph into a full-fledged high-speed freight train by fight time.
When it comes down to pure numbers, which at this point don’t look mind blowing, I admit, UFC 157 will likely draw fine Pay-Per-View marks, even if attendance falls short of expectancy. In addition to the mystery of Ronda Rousey, the card is weighted by a handful of compelling matchups, a few of which bear massive divisional relevancy.
Fan favorite wrestler turned slugger Dan Henderson will meet another beloved figure of the sport, former champion and artistic technician LyotoMachida. The victor more than likely ensures a shot at the winner of the forthcoming Jon Jones versus ChaelSonnen fight, and both bring aesthetically pleasing styles to the cage. There’s a reason people adore both “Hendo” and “The Dragon”: they put on stellar fights.
Another crowd pleaser in Urijah Faber will take to the cage next month, and he’ll meet the always exciting Ivan Menjivar in what promises to be a fast-paced, thrilling rematch. The two met seven years ago at TKO 24, where Faber picked up a disqualification win. Odds are, Ivan is eager to claim revenge. Odds are just as high that fans are chomping at the bit to see it happen.
Toss in a few captivating matchups that will see Josh Koscheck and Robbie Lawler toe the line, as well as a collision between top featherweight talents Chad Mendes and Manny Gamburyan, and you’ve got yourself a damn fine card with plenty of appeal.
The men will help to sell UFC 157, and they’ll do a fine job of it, but at the end of the day, the public is attracted to the odd and unorthodox. Rousey’s debut will provide that fix. The horse may have emerged from the gate a bit slow in this instance, but she’ll warm right up with each stride.
It was widely reported on Sunday that the UFC’s anointed women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, could make up to $150,000 for her fight against Liz Carmouche in February—an unprecedented sum for someone fighting for the first time for the promotion.