Tag: ufc payouts

Lawsuit Documents Reveal Payouts for UFC’s biggest stars, including Conor McGregor

UFC Conor McGregorThere has been some significant movement in the class-action suit brought against the UFC. In December 2014, a group…

UFC Conor McGregor

There has been some significant movement in the class-action suit brought against the UFC.

In December 2014, a group of MMA fighters joined together to file a class-action lawsuit against the UFC and its parent company Zuffa LLC. These representatives, like Cung Le, Nate Quarry, Jon Fitch, and others, believe that the UFC used “improper strategies” to control the market for MMA fighter services.

Nearly a decade later, Judge Boulware certified the Le vs Zuffa (UFC) antitrust lawsuit as a class action, a ruling that the UFC appealed shortly after.

That appeal has since been denied setting the stage for a potential trial in 2024.

Judge Boulware also indicated that he wanted all records pertaining to the UFC antitrust lawsuit to be unsealed with very limited redactions for health and contact information. Per a report from Bloody Elbow, one of these unsealed documents, Roger D. Blair’s re-filed expert report, included payouts made to fighters between 2011 and 2016.

The “Internal Zuffa Bout Compensation” included the show and win bonuses along with performance bonuses disclosed to athletic commissions and the public. It also detailed non-disclosed payments like pay-per-view bonuses, side letters, and discretionary bonuses. Essentially, all the payments to a fighter related to their bout.

Though fighter names were not listed in the report, it was relatively easy for the outlet to determine who had received some of the top payouts of the year. For example, a total payment of $1,042,736 was made to professional wrestling star CM Punk for his appearance inside the Octagon in 2016.

Conor McGregor’s UFC Payouts

With the assistance of business expert John Nash, Bloody Elbow was able to surmise which payments went to Irish megastar Conor McGregor.

$2,642,204 (includes $2.11M discretionary bonus) vs. Chad Mendes

$4,476,662 or $4,536,932 vs. Jose Aldo — Aldo received $2,377,699

$5,576,315 vs. Nate Diaz 1 — Diaz received $2,838,158, and the PPV event generated $61 million.

$5,615,490 vs. Nate Diaz 2 — Diaz received $4,315,490.

$6,812,374 vs. Eddie Alvarez — the PPV event generated $66 million for UFC.

The lawsuit documents also included Professor Robert Topel’s expert report that cites payouts from McGregor during the class period: “Conor McGregor was compensated nearly $20 million for participation in nine UFC bouts of which he won eight.”

That would account for McGregor’s UFC payouts from his debut against Marcus Brimage to his rematch with Nate Diaz. The Irishman is the biggest draw in the promotion’s 30-year history, headlining eight of the UFC’s top-10 highest-grossing pay-per-views. Five of those events came within the period referenced above.

To read the full financial report including payouts for some of the promotion’s other top stars, including Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey, head over to Bloody Elbow’s Substack and subscribe.

MMA Manifesto Releases Total Career Earnings for 772 UFC Fighters

James Toney UFC MMA walkout shirt
(Ladies and gentleman, #69. There is no God.) 

I am going to apologize right from the get-go, Potato Nation, because as I’m writing this, I’m also trying to wrap my brain around the fight I just saw on Super Fight League’s latest installment of Friday Fight Nights and it’s all but completely crippling my ability to focus on my actual task.

While I appreciate the new format that SFL has taken — forgoing freak show fights in mega stadiums in favor of local talent in scaled down arenas — to describe the skill level of some of SFL’s fighters as amateur would be a disservice to amateur MMA fighters around the world. I’m talking specifically, about the heavyweight clash between Virender Singh and Naveen Rao I just witnessed, in which Rao seemingly refused to even attempt to get back to his feet after being taken down, like Butterbean trapped in the YAMMA pit all over again. Singh, on the other hand, was content to dance around and throw one or two GnP shots at a time instead of finishing the fight outright, as if he was unaware of what to do when an opponent literally offers zero defense. Anyway, Rao tapped to strike (yes, it appeared to be just one) and then the camera cut to the crowd engaging in synchronized dance for approximately 3 minutes. BOLLYWOOD IS CRAZY.

What does any of this have to do with the topic at hand? Nothing really, except that even for their completely subpar skill levels, most of the fighters participating on SFL 11 will likely walk away with more money than Tiki Ghosn did from his entire UFC career, at least according to the figures recently released by MMA Manifesto, which tabulated the approximate career earnings of every fighter to fight for the UFC over the past seven years. Of course, the figures only date back to UFC 46, and are void of any sponsorship or locker room bonus money, so perhaps the $2,000 Ghosn was paid should be taken with a grain of salt. Still though, makes you wonder even more how he pulled off this for years.

In either case, join us after the jump to find out how much each of your favorite fighters have made over the course of their UFC careers. And while you might not be shocked at the top few entries on the list, there are definitely more than a few totals that will leave you scratching your head.

James Toney UFC MMA walkout shirt
(Ladies and gentleman, #69. There is no God.) 

I am going to apologize right from the get-go, Potato Nation, because as I’m writing this, I’m also trying to wrap my brain around the fight I just saw on Super Fight League’s latest installment of Friday Fight Nights and it’s all but completely crippling my ability to focus on my actual task.

While I appreciate the new format that SFL has taken — forgoing freak show fights in mega stadiums in favor of local talent in scaled down arenas — to describe the skill level of some of SFL’s fighters as amateur would be a disservice to amateur MMA fighters around the world. I’m talking specifically, about the heavyweight clash between Virender Singh and Naveen Rao I just witnessed, in which Rao seemingly refused to even attempt to get back to his feet after being taken down, like Butterbean trapped in the YAMMA pit all over again. Singh, on the other hand, was content to dance around and throw one or two GnP shots at a time instead of finishing the fight outright, as if he was unaware of what to do when an opponent literally offers zero defense. Anyway, Rao tapped to strike (yes, it appeared to be just one) and then the camera cut to the crowd engaging in synchronized dance for approximately 3 minutes. BOLLYWOOD IS CRAZY.

What does any of this have to do with the topic at hand? Nothing really, except that even for their completely subpar skill levels, most of the fighters participating on SFL 11 will likely walk away with more money than Tiki Ghosn did from his entire UFC career, at least according to the figures recently released by MMA Manifesto, which tabulated the approximate career earnings of every fighter to fight for the UFC over the past seven years. Of course, the figures only date back to UFC 46, and are void of any sponsorship or locker room bonus money, so perhaps the $2,000 Ghosn was paid should be taken with a grain of salt. Still though, makes you wonder even more how he pulled off this for years.

In either case, join us after the jump to find out how much each of your favorite fighters have made over the course of their UFC careers. And while you might not be shocked at the top few entries on the list, there are definitely more than a few totals that will leave you scratching your head.

(updated after UFC on Fuel: Franklin vs Le)

1 Chuck Liddell*  $4,320,000
2 Tito Ortiz*  $4,075,000
3 Quinton Jackson*  $3,240,000
4 Michael Bisping*  $3,135,000
5 Georges St-Pierre *  $3,102,000
6 Randy Couture*  $3,045,000
7 Anderson Silva *  $2,871,000
8 Brock Lesnar  $2,825,000
9 Rashad Evans*  $2,697,000
10 B.J. Penn *  $2,650,000
11 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira *  $2,640,000
12 Lyoto Machida*  $2,075,000
13 Matt Hughes*  $2,045,000
14 Mauricio Rua*  $2,040,000
15 Wanderlei Silva*  $2,020,000
16 Forrest Griffin*  $1,907,000
17 Mirko Cro Cop*  $1,885,000
18 Jon Jones*  $1,852,000
19 Vitor Belfort*  $1,844,000
20 Frank Mir *  $1,433,000
21 Dan Henderson*  $1,400,000
22 Rich Franklin*  $1,326,000
23 Josh Koscheck *  $1,302,000
24 Junior dos Santos*  $1,190,000
25 Diego Sanchez*  $1,187,000
26 Cheick Kongo*  $1,183,000
27 Nate Diaz*  $1,113,000
28 Jon Fitch *  $1,068,000
29 Brandon Vera*  $1,051,000
30 Demian Maia *  $   996,000
31 Chris Lytle *  $   960,000
32 Cain Velasquez *  $   918,000
33 Tim Sylvia  $   915,000
34 Fabricio Werdum*  $   910,000
35 Gabriel Gonzaga*  $   907,000
36 Frankie Edgar *  $   891,000
37 Kenny Florian *  $   836,000
38 Nate Marquardt*  $   834,000
39 Chris Leben*  $   828,000
40 Clay Guida*  $   801,000
41 Martin Kampmann*  $   788,000
42 Andrei Arlovski*  $   768,000
43 Joe Stevenson *  $   761,000
44 Cung Le*  $   760,000
45 Donald Cerrone  $   737,600
46 Joe Lauzon*  $   694,000
47 Melvin Guillard*  $   650,800
48 Thiago Alves*  $   643,000
49 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira*  $   625,000
50 Jake Shields*  $   600,000
51 Stefan Struve*  $   596,000
52 Jim Miller*  $   584,000
53 Chael Sonnen*  $   582,000
54 Carlos Condit*  $   574,000
55 Nick Diaz*  $   568,500
56 Dong Hyun Kim*  $   559,000
57 Alan Belcher *  $   558,000
58 Stephan Bonnar*  $   557,000
59 Jason MacDonald *  $   556,200
60 Thiago Silva*  $   555,000
61 Sam Stout*  $   552,000
62 Tyson Griffin*  $   532,500
63 Matt Wiman*  $   528,000
64 Matt Hamill*  $   524,000
65 Gleison Tibau *  $   523,000
66 Matt Serra*  $   515,000
67 Johny Hendricks*  $   504,000
68 Spencer Fisher*  $   504,000
69 James Toney  $   500,000
70 Takanori Gomi*  $   500,000
71 Ken Shamrock*  $   490,000
72 Dennis Siver *  $   485,000
73 Marcus Davis*  $   478,000
74 Yoshihiro Akiyama*  $   475,000
75 Jake Ellenberger*  $   465,000
76 Mark Munoz*  $   463,000
77 Heath Herring*  $   460,000
78 Ed Herman*  $   454,000
79 Jeremy Stephens *  $   445,000
80 Mac Danzig*  $   445,000
81 Sean Sherk*  $   436,000
82 Mike Swick*  $   423,000
83 Terry Etim*  $   417,000
84 Kendall Grove *  $   410,000
85 Ricardo Almeida*  $   410,000
86 Keith Jardine *  $   405,000
87 Brian Stann*  $   404,000
88 Ryan Bader*  $   401,000
89 Royce Gracie  $   400,000
90 Wilson Gouveia*  $   396,800
91 Evan Dunham*  $   393,000
92 Gray Maynard*  $   392,000
93 Edson Barboza*  $   390,000
94 Yushin Okami*  $   386,000
95 Alistair Overeem  $   385,714
96 Anthony Johnson*  $   385,000
97 Cole Miller*  $   381,000
98 Kurt Pellegrino *  $   369,000
99 Ben Rothwell*  $   369,000
100 Mike Pyle*  $   367,000
101 Roy Nelson*  $   366,000
102 Dan Hardy*  $   365,000
103 Thiago Tavares*  $   353,000
104 Rick Story*  $   342,000
105 Charles Oliveira*  $   341,000
106 Urijah Faber*  $   337,000
107 Aaron Simpson*  $   336,000
108 Paulo Thiago*  $   332,000
109 Benson Henderson*  $   318,000
110 DaMarques Johnson *  $   318,000
111 Krzysztof Soszynski *  $   312,000
112 Vladimir Matyushenko*  $   307,000
113 Nik Lentz*  $   307,000
114 Ross Pearson*  $   306,000
115 George Sotiropoulos *  $   304,000
116 Hector Lombard*  $   300,000
117 Alessio Sakara*  $   299,000
118 C.B. Dollaway *  $   293,000
119 Phil Davis*  $   290,000
120 Mark Bocek*  $   289,000
121 Dan Miller*  $   283,000
122 Amir Sadollah*  $   282,000
123 Shane Carwin*  $   281,000
124 Rafael dos Anjos*  $   281,000
125 Nate Quarry*  $   280,000
126 Tom Lawlor*  $   278,000
127 Karo Parisyan*  $   277,000
128 Paul Taylor*  $   275,000
129 Jose Aldo*  $   273,000
130 Jorge Rivera *  $   273,000
131 Chan-Sung Jung  $   264,000
132 Marcus Aurelio*  $   263,000
133 Patrick Cote*  $   263,000
134 Chris Weidman*  $   262,000
135 Rousimar Palhares*  $   255,000
136 Josh Neer*  $   251,000
137 Mark Coleman*  $   250,000
138 Matt Riddle*  $   248,000
139 TJ Grant*  $   245,000
140 Mark Hominick*  $   241,000
141 Dustin Hazelett*  $   240,800
142 Matt Brown*  $   240,000
143 Hermes Franca*  $   238,000
144 Tim Boetsch*  $   238,000
145 Mike Pierce*  $   237,000
146 Evan Tanner*  $   232,000
147 Travis Browne*  $   229,000
148 Pat Barry*  $   224,000
149 Eddie Sanchez*  $   222,000
150 Lavar Johnson*  $   220,000
151 Cub Swanson*  $   220,000
152 Joey Beltran *  $   218,000
153 Shane Roller*  $   218,000
154 Rich Clementi*  $   217,000
155 Leonard Garcia*  $   217,000
156 Brock Larson*  $   207,000
157 Paul Kelly*  $   204,000
158 Joseph Benavidez*  $   200,500
159 Danny Castillo*  $   199,600
160 Luiz Cane*  $   199,000
161 Demetrious Johnson*  $   198,000
162 Brian Ebersole*  $   195,000
163 Kyle Kingsbury*  $   194,000
164 Pablo Garza*  $   191,000
165 Jeremy Horn*  $   185,000
166 Antoni Hardonk*  $   184,000
167 Paul Sass*  $   184,000
168 Brendan Schaub*  $   182,000
169 Dustin Poirier  $   181,000
170 Nam Phan*  $   181,000
171 Mike Russow  $   179,000
172 Miguel Torres  $   178,800
173 Rory MacDonald*  $   178,000
174 Michael McDonald  $   177,000
175 John Hathaway*  $   177,000
176 Roger Huerta*  $   176,000
177 Jared Hamman*  $   171,000
178 Jorge Gurgel*  $   170,000
179 Yves Edwards*  $   170,000
180 Dave Herman*  $   169,000
181 Matt Mitrione*  $   168,000
182 Jacob Volkmann *  $   168,000
183 Bart Palaszweski*  $   167,500
184 Akihiro Gono*  $   167,000
185 Gerald Harris *  $   167,000
186 Drew McFedries*  $   165,000
187 Daniel Roberts  $   164,000
188 Erick Silva*  $   162,000
189 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou  $   160,000
190 Thales Leites*  $   157,000
191 Rob Emerson*  $   156,000
192 Michael Johnson*  $   156,000
193 Dominick Cruz*  $   155,000
194 Kyle Noke*  $   155,000
195 Brian Foster *  $   153,000
196 Alexander Gustafsson*  $   152,000
197 Renato Sobral*  $   151,000
198 Manny Gamburyan*  $   150,000
199 Din Thomas*  $   148,000
200 Stipe Miocic*  $   148,000
201 Josh Burkman*  $   146,000
202 Mike Brown*  $   146,000
203 Luke Cummo*  $   144,000
204 Diego Nunes*  $   144,000
205 Riki Fukuda*  $   144,000
206 James Irvin*  $   143,000
207 Scott Jorgensen  $   143,000
208 Duane Ludwig*  $   142,000
209 Jason Brilz*  $   141,000
210 Diego Brandao*  $   141,000
211 Antonio Silva  $   140,000
212 Dennis Bermudez*  $   140,000
213 Jonathan Goulet*  $   138,500
214 Paul Daley*  $   138,200
215 Charlie Brenneman*  $   136,000
216 Carlos Eduardo Rocha*  $   152,000
217 Chris Wilson*  $   133,000
218 Anthony Njokuani*  $   132,400
219 Tony Ferguson*  $   131,000
220 Court McGee*  $   131,000
221 Frank Trigg*  $   128,000
222 Dennis Hallman*  $   128,000
223 Ryan Jensen  $   127,000
224 Brian Bowles*  $   127,000
225 James Te-Huna*  $   126,000
226 Aaron Riley*  $   125,000
227 Ricardo Lamas*  $   125,000
228 Igor Pokrajac*  $   125,000
229 Brad Pickett*  $   124,000
230 Paul Buentello*  $   122,000
231 Cody McKenzie*  $   122,000
232 Kevin Burns*  $   120,000
233 Alex Caceres*  $   120,000
234 Mark Hunt*  $   117,000
235 John Dodson  $   116,000
236 Anthony Pettis*  $   115,000
237 Jake Rosholt  $   114,000
238 John Howard*  $   114,000
239 Karlos Vemola*  $   114,000
240 Kuniyoshi Hironaka*  $   113,000
241 Joe Riggs*  $   111,000
242 Ivan Menjivar*  $   111,000
243 Takeya Mizugaki*  $   108,000
244 Rony Mariano Bezerra*  $   106,000
245 Efrain Escudero*  $   104,000
246 Justin Lawrence*  $   104,000
247 TJ Waldburger*  $   103,000
248 Ben Saunders *  $   102,000
249 Luigi Fioravanti*  $   102,000
250 Che Mills*  $   102,000
251 Rob Kimmons*  $   100,000
252 John-Olav Einemo*  $   100,000
253 Steve Cantwell*  $   100,000
254 Tim Credeur*  $     98,000
255 Bryan Carraway  $     97,000
256 Goran Reljic *  $     96,000
257 Mike Massenzio*  $     96,000
258 Chris Camozzi*  $     96,000
259 Dean Lister*  $     95,000
260 Erik Koch*  $     94,000
261 Jason Miller  $     92,000
262 Chad Mendes*  $     92,000
263 Justin Edwards*  $     92,000
264 Jamie Varner  $     91,000
265 Tomasz Drwal*  $     90,600
266 Louis Gaudinot  $     90,200
267 Gilbert Yvel  $     90,000
268 Houston Alexander*  $     90,000
269 Eric Schafer*  $     90,000
270 Edwin Figueroa*  $     89,000
271 Travis Lutter*  $     88,000
272 Raphael Assuncao*  $     88,000
273 Jake O’Brien  $     87,000
274 Stephen Thompson  $     85,000
275 Rodrigo Damm*  $     85,000
276 Marcos Vinicius*  $     85,000
277 Ryo Chonan*  $     84,000
278 Jorge Santiago*  $     84,000
279 Fabio Maldonado*  $     84,000
280 Rodney Wallace*  $     83,000
281 Eliot Marshall*  $     83,000
282 Constantinos Philippou*  $     83,000
283 Mitch Gagnon*  $     83,000
284 Jason Lambert*  $     82,000
285 Pascal Krauss*  $     82,000
286 Matt Grice*  $     82,000
287 Brad Tavares*  $     82,000
288 John Lineker*  $     81,800
289 Eddie Yagin*  $     81,000
290 Vaughan Lee*  $     81,000
291 Caol Uno *  $     80,000
292 Phil Baroni  $     80,000
293 Darren Elkins*  $     80,000
294 Eddie Wineland*  $     80,000
295 Seth Baczynski*  $     80,000
296 Kalib Starnes*  $     79,000
297 Lance Benoist*  $     79,000
298 Andre Winner *  $     78,000
299 Ian McCall*  $     77,000
300 Ryan Jimmo*  $     77,000
301 John Maguire*  $     76,000
302 Christian Morecraft*  $     75,000
303 Hatsu Hioki*  $     75,000
304 Jon Madsen *  $     74,000
305 Damacio Page*  $     74,000
306 Pete Sell*  $     72,000
307 Tamdan McCrory*  $     72,000
308 Matt Lindland  $     70,000
309 Rafaello Oliveira*  $     70,000
310 James Wilks*  $     69,000
311 Jonathan Brookins*  $     69,000
312 Brad Blackburn *  $     68,000
313 Mark Scanlon*  $     68,000
314 Sean Pierson*  $     68,000
315 Michihiro Omigawa*  $     67,000
316 George Roop*  $     66,000
317 Rich Attonito*  $     64,000
318 Nick Denis*  $     63,000
319 Nick Osipczak*  $     62,000
320 Siyar Bahadurzada*  $     62,000
321 Jens Pulver*  $     60,000
322 Seth Petruzelli*  $     60,000
323 Daniel Pineda*  $     60,000
324 Glover Teixeira*  $     60,000
325 Drew Fickett*  $     58,000
326 Reuben Duran*  $     58,000
327 Yves Jabouin*  $     58,000
328 Ivan Salaverry  $     57,500
329 Dennis Kang*  $     56,000
330 Michael Chiesa  $     56,000
331 Nick Ring*  $     56,000
332 David Loiseau*  $     55,000
333 Jason Dent  $     55,000
334 Kimo Leopoldo  $     55,000
335 Marvin Eastman*  $     55,000
336 Chris Tuchscherer*  $     54,000
337 Jason Black  $     54,000
338 Waylon Lowe*  $     54,000
339 Yoshiyuki Yoshida*  $     54,000
340 Anthony Perosh*  $     54,000
341 Renan Barao  $     54,000
342 Matthew Riddle*  $     52,000
343 Pete Spratt*  $     52,000
344 Francis Carmont*  $     52,000
345 Jeff Monson  $     51,000
346 Scott Smith*  $     51,000
347 Rani Yahya*  $     51,000
348 Elvis Sinosic*  $     50,000
349 Kimbo Slice *  $     50,000
350 Ramsey Nijem*  $     49,200
351 Diego Saraiva  $     49,000
352 Junie Browing*  $     49,000
353 Nick Catone*  $     49,000
354 Mike Easton*  $     48,800
355 Phillipe Nover  $     48,000
356 Shane Nelson*  $     48,000
357 Terry Martin  $     48,000
358 Cyrille Diabate*  $     48,000
359 John Cofer  $     48,000
360 Steven Siler*  $     48,000
361 T.J. Dillashaw*  $     48,000
362 Marcus Brimage*  $     48,000
363 Christian Wellisch  $     45,000
364 Norifumi Yamamoto*  $     45,000
365 Josh Grispi  $     45,000
366 Rafael Natal*  $     44,000
367 Fabricio Camoes *  $     44,000
368 Claude Patrick*  $     42,000
369 Dave Kaplan  $     41,000
370 Matt Veach*  $     41,000
371 Mike Van Arsdale  $     41,000
372 Dave Branch*  $     40,000
373 Kazuhiro Nakamura  $     40,000
374 Khabib Nurmagomedov*  $     40,000
375 Roland Delorme*  $     40,000
376 Dustin Pague*  $     40,000
377 Carlo Prater*  $     40,000
378 Robert Peralta*  $     40,000
379 John Makdessi*  $     39,600
380 Roan Carneiro*  $     39,000
381 Sam Hoger*  $     39,000
382 Junior Assuncao*  $     39,000
383 Forrest Petz*  $     38,000
384 Joe Doerksen*  $     38,000
385 Tim Hague*  $     38,000
386 Josh Haynes*  $     36,000
387 Justin Bucholz*  $     36,000
388 Justin McCully  $     36,000
389 Mario Miranda  $     36,000
390 Ricardo Romero  $     36,000
391 Jimy Hettes*  $     36,000
392 Mike Guymon  $     34,000
393 Dan Lauzon  $     33,000
394 Shannon Gugerty*  $     33,000
395 Corey Hill*  $     32,000
396 David Bielkheden*  $     32,000
397 James McSweeney*  $     32,000
398 Matt Arroyo*  $     32,000
399 Roli Delgado*  $     32,000
400 Dongyi Yang*  $     32,000
401 Clay Harvison*  $     32,000
402 Chris Cariaso*  $     32,000
403 Ronny Markes*  $     32,000
404 John Albert*  $     32,000
405 Tim Means*  $     32,000
406 Vinny Malgahaes*  $     32,000
407 Wagner Prado*  $     32,000
408 Rob MacDonald*  $     31,000
409 Shamar Bailey*  $     30,400
410 Ken Stone*  $     30,000
411 Carolos Newton  $     30,000
412 David Heath  $     30,000
413 John Salter *  $     30,000
414 Reese Andy  $     30,000
415 Rory Singer*  $     30,000
416 Felipe Arantes*  $     30,000
417 James Head*  $     30,000
418 Yuri Alcantara*  $     30,000
419 Max Hollaway*  $     30,000
420 Jason Young*  $     30,000
421 John Gunderson*  $     29,000
422 Kamal Shalorus  $     29,000
423 Jesse Lennox*  $     28,000
424 Sean McCorkle*  $     28,000
425 Steve Bruno*  $     28,000
426 Tony DeSouza*  $     28,000
427 Mackens Semerzier*  $     28,000
428 Francisco Rivera*  $     28,000
429 Darren Uyenoyama*  $     28,000
430 Chad Griggs  $     27,000
431 Assueiro Silva  $     26,000
432 David Terrell  $     26,000
433 Greg Soto  $     26,000
434 Kris McCray*  $     26,000
435 Marcio Cruz*  $     26,000
436 Javier Vazquez*  $     26,000
437 John Alessio*  $     26,000
438 Sergio Moraes*  $     26,000
439 Jeff Hougland*  $     26,000
440 Renato Verissimo*  $     25,000
441 Dan Cramer*  $     24,000
442 Jon Koppenhaver  $     24,000
443 Kyle Bradley  $     24,000
444 Kyle Watson*  $     24,000
445 Roman Mitichyan*  $     24,000
446 Troy Mandaloniz*  $     24,000
447 Rob Broughton*  $     24,000
448 Vagner Rocha*  $     24,000
449 Aaron Rosa*  $     24,000
450 Chris Cope  $     24,000
451 Jake Hecht*  $     24,000
452 Justin Salas*  $     24,000
453 Erik Perez*  $     24,000
454 Walel Watson*  $     24,000
455 Sam Sicilia*  $     24,000
456 Cristiano Marcello*  $     24,000
457 Zhang Tiequan*  $     24,000
458 Alvin Robinson  $     23,000
459 Trevor Prangley  $     23,000
460 Mike Ciesnolevicz*  $     22,400
461 Nate Mohr*  $     22,000
462 Ricardo Funch*  $     22,000
463 Hugo Viana*  $     22,000
464 Carmelo Marrero*  $     21,000
465 Jess Liaudin*  $     21,000
466 Justin Eilers*  $     21,000
467 Mustafa Al Turk*  $     21,000
468 Ian Loveland  $     21,000
469 Chase Gormley  $     20,000
470 Jason Day*  $     20,000
471 Jason Von Flue  $     20,000
472 Clifford Starks  $     20,000
473 Shane del Rosario  $     20,000
474 Cezar Ferreira*  $     20,000
475 Francisco Drinaldo*  $     20,000
476 Thiago Perpetuo*  $     20,000
477 Reza Madadi*  $     20,000
478 Jeff Curran  $     18,500
479 Brad Imes*  $     18,000
480 Todd Duffee  $     18,000
481 Curt Warburton*  $     18,000
482 Cole Escovedo*  $     18,000
483 Johnny Eduardo*  $     18,000
484 Henry Martinez  $     18,000
485 Shawn Jordan*  $     18,000
486 Chris Clements*  $     18,000
487 Antonio Carvalho*  $     18,000
488 Anton Kuivanen*  $     18,000
489 John Moraga  $     18,000
490 Buddy Roberts*  $     18,000
491 Michael Kuiper*  $     18,000
492 Simeon Thoresen*  $     18,000
493 Marcus LeVesseur*  $     18,000
494 Jay Hieron*  $     18,000
495 Stanislav Nedkov*  $     18,000
496 Alex Karalexis*  $     17,000
497 Oli Thompson*  $     16,000
498 Dokonjonosuke Mishima  $     16,000
499 Genki Sudo  $     16,000
500 Mike Kyle  $     16,000
501 Robbie Lawler*  $     16,000
502 Tommy Speer*  $     16,000
503 Paul Bradley*  $     16,000
504 Johnny Bedford  $     16,000
505 Daron Cruickshank  $     16,000
506 Myles Jury  $     16,000
507 Joe Proctor  $     16,000
508 Keith Wisniewski  $     16,000
509 Antonio McKee  $     15,000
510 Jesse Forbes*  $     15,000
511 Mike Nickels*  $     15,000
512 Rolles Gracie  $     15,000
513 Josh Thomson  $     14,000
514 Philip De Fries*  $     14,000
515 John Cholish*  $     14,000
516 Keita Nakamura  $     13,000
517 Shonie Carter*  $     13,000
518 Jason Reinhart*  $     13,000
519 Maximo Blanco  $     13,000
520 Nick Pace*  $     12,600
521 Amilcar Alves*  $     12,000
522 Anthony Waldburger*  $     12,000
523 Branden Lee Hinkle*  $     12,000
524 Charles McCarthy*  $     12,000
525 Dale Hartt*  $     12,000
526 Jay Silva  $     12,000
527 Julio Paulino*  $     12,000
528 Lucio Linhares*  $     12,000
529 Maiquel Falcao*  $     12,000
530 Mark Holst*  $     12,000
531 Nate Loughran*  $     12,000
532 Pat Audinwood*  $     12,000
533 Per Eklund*  $     12,000
534 Rory Markham*  $     12,000
535 Steve Steinbeiss  $     12,000
536 Todd Brown  $     12,000
537 Wes Correira  $     12,000
538 Xavier Foupa-Pokam*  $     12,000
539 Jesse Bongfelt*  $     12,000
540 David Mitchell*  $     12,000
541 Donny Walker*  $     12,000
542 Yuri Alcantara*  $     12,000
543 Dustin Jacoby  $     12,000
545 Eric Wisely*  $     12,000
546 Issei Tamura*  $     12,000
547 Andrew Craig*  $     12,000
548 Alex Soto  $     12,000
549 Jared Papazian*  $     12,000
550 Pat Schilling*  $     12,000
551 Bernardo Malgalhaes*  $     12,000
552 Yoislandy Izquierdo*  $     12,000
553 Luis Ramos*  $     12,000
554 Hacran Dias*  $     12,000
555 Tommy Hayden*  $     12,000
556 Eiji Mitsuoka*  $     12,000
557 Chico Camos*  $     12,000
558 Joey Gambino*  $     12,000
559 Jimi Manuwa*  $     12,000
560 Akira Corassani*  $     12,000
561 Gunnar Nelson*  $     12,000
562 Yashuhiro Urishitani*  $     12,000
563 Tom DeBlass*  $     12,000
564 Jon Tuck*  $     12,000
565 Dan Christison  $     11,000
566 Gabe Ruediger  $     11,000
567 Nick Thompson  $     11,000
568 Peter Sobotta*  $     11,000
569 Charlie Valencia*  $     10,000
570 Danny Abaddi*  $     10,000
571 Dave Menne*  $     10,000
572 Denis Stojnic*  $     10,000
573 Edgar Garcia*  $     10,000
574 Jordan Radev  $     10,000
575 Justin Levens*  $     10,000
576 Mike Patt  $     10,000
577 Rob Yundt*  $     10,000
578 Ross Pointon*  $     10,000
579 Tom Murphy  $     10,000
580 Wes Sims  $     10,000
581 Mike Lullo*  $     10,000
582 Joseph Sandoval*  $     10,000
583 Papy Abedi*  $     10,000
584 Mitch Clarke*  $     10,000
585 Anistavio Medeiros*  $     10,000
586 Godofredo Pepy*  $     10,000
587 Delson Heleno*  $     10,000
588 Leonardo Mafra*  $     10,000
589 Wagner Campos*  $     10,000
590 Antonio Banuelos  $      9,000
591 Steve Lopez*  $      9,000
592 Tra Telligman  $      9,000
593 T.J. O’Brien*  $      9,000
594 Jussier da Silva  $      9,000
595 Aaron Wilkinson  $      8,000
596 Alberto Crane  $      8,000
597 Alexandre Ferreira*  $      8,000
598 Antonio Mendes*  $      8,000
599 Billy Miles  $      8,000
600 Brad Morris*  $      8,000
601 Brandon Wolff*  $      8,000
602 Cale Yarborough  $      8,000
603 Cameron Dollar  $      8,000
604 Chuck O’Neil  $      8,000
605 Dan Barrera  $      8,000
606 Dan Evenson*  $      8,000
607 Darril Schoonover  $      8,000
608 Dorian Price  $      8,000
609 Ediberto Crocata  $      8,000
610 James Hammortree  $      8,000
611 Jamie Yager  $      8,000
612 Jared Rollins  $      8,000
613 Jesse Taylor  $      8,000
614 Joe Brammer  $      8,000
615 John Kolosci  $      8,000
616 John Polakowski  $      8,000
617 Johnny Rees*  $      8,000
618 Josh Bryant  $      8,000
619 Josh Hendricks  $      8,000
620 Jules Bruchez  $      8,000
621 Justin Wren  $      8,000
622 Marcus Jones  $      8,000
623 Paul Georgieff  $      8,000
624 Richie Hightower  $      8,000
625 Ronys Torres*  $      8,000
626 Ryan McGillivray  $      8,000
627 Sam Morgan*  $      8,000
628 Savo Chivitchian  $      8,000
629 Shane Primm  $      8,000
630 TJ O’Brien  $      8,000
631 Danny Downes  $      8,000
632 Edward Faaloloto*  $      8,000
633 Stephen Bass  $      8,000
634 Josh Ferguson  $      8,000
635 Dustin Neace  $      8,000
636 Al Iaquinta  $      8,000
637 Chris Tickle  $      8,000
638 Chris Saunders  $      8,000
639 Jeremy Larsen  $      8,000
640 Caio Malgalhaes  $      8,000
641 John Texeira*  $      8,000
642 Ulysses Gomez  $      8,000
643 Francisco Trinaldo*  $      8,000
644 Phil Harris  $      8,000
645 Will Campuzano*  $      7,300
646 Gideon Ray*  $      7,000
647 Jeff Cox*  $      7,000
648 Brodie Faber*  $      6,000
649 Chad Reiner  $      6,000
650 Chris Price*  $      6,000
651 Colin Robinson*  $      6,000
652 Doug Evans*  $      6,000
653 Edwin DeWess*  $      6,000
654 Fabiano Scherner*  $      6,000
655 Hector Ramirez*  $      6,000
656 Jason Gilliam  $      6,000
657 Jason High*  $      6,000
658 Jason Tan*  $      6,000
659 Joe Vedepo*  $      6,000
660 Joe Veres  $      6,000
661 John Halverson  $      6,000
662 Kenny Robertson  $      6,000
663 Kevin Jordan*  $      6,000
664 Lee Murray  $      6,000
665 Luke Caudillo*  $      6,000
666 Matt Horwich*  $      6,000
667 Naoyuki Kotani*  $      6,000
668 Razak Al-Hassan*  $      6,000
669 Ryan Thomas*  $      6,000
670 Samy Schiavo*  $      6,000
671 Sean Salmon  $      6,000
672 Victor Valimaki  $      6,000
673 Vinicius Queiroz*  $      6,000
674 Willamy Freire*  $      6,000
675 Matt Lucas  $      6,000
676 Josh Clopton  $      6,000
677 Ednaldo Oliveira*  $      6,000
678 Dan Stittgen  $      6,000
679 Nick Penner*  $      6,000
680 Magnus Cedenblad*  $      6,000
681 Besam Yousef*  $      6,000
682 Tim Elliot*  $      6,000
683 Brock Jardine*  $      6,000
684 Milton Vieira*  $      6,000
685 Roger Hollett*  $      6,000
686 Tom Watson*  $      6,000
687 Andy Ogle*  $      6,000
688 Renee Forte*  $      6,000
689 Motonobu Tezuka*  $      6,000
690 Andre Gusmao  $      5,000
691 Anthony Torres*  $      5,000
692 Mike Whitehead  $      5,000
693 Soa Palelei  $      5,000
694 C.J. Keith*  $      4,800
695 Ansar Chalangov  $      4,000
696 David Lee  $      4,000
697 Fredson Paixao  $      4,000
698 Gilber Aldana  $      4,000
699 Joe Jordan  $      4,000
700 Jonathan Wiezorek  $      4,000
701 Logan Clark  $      4,000
702 Maciej Jewtuszko*  $      4,000
703 Mike Wessel*  $      4,000
704 Scott Junk  $      4,000
705 Sherman Pendergarst  $      4,000
706 Tom Blackledge*  $      4,000
707 Tony Fryklund*  $      4,000
708 Travis Wiuff  $      4,000
709 Vernon White  $      4,000
710 Wes Combs*  $      4,000
711 Mike Stumpf*  $      4,000
712 Jorge Lopez*  $      4,000
713 Byron Bloodworth*  $      3,200
714 Alex Schoenaur*  $      3,000
715 Alexandre Barros*  $      3,000
716 Allen Berube*  $      3,000
717 Andy Wang*  $      3,000
718 Bill Mahood*  $      3,000
719 Bobby Southworth*  $      3,000
720 Brandon Melendez*  $      3,000
721 Brian Geraghty*  $      3,000
722 Brian Cobb*  $      3,000
723 Chris Sanford*  $      3,000
724 Crafton Wallace*  $      3,000
725 Curtis Stout  $      3,000
726 Danillo Villefort*  $      3,000
727 Dante Rivera*  $      3,000
728 David Baron*  $      3,000
729 Derek Downey  $      3,000
730 Derrick Noble  $      3,000
731 Floyd Sword*  $      3,000
732 Icho Larenas  $      3,000
733 Ivan Serati*  $      3,000
734 James Giboo  $      3,000
735 James Lee*  $      3,000
736 Jason Thacker*  $      3,000
737 Jeff Joslin  $      3,000
738 Jeremy Jackson*  $      3,000
739 Jesse Sanders*  $      3,000
740 Josh Rafferty*  $      3,000
741 Josh Shockman  $      3,000
742 Justin James  $      3,000
743 Keigo Kunihara*  $      3,000
744 Kerry Schall*  $      3,000
745 Kit Cope*  $      3,000
746 Koji Oishi*  $      3,000
747 Kristian Rothaermel*  $      3,000
748 Lodune Sincaid*  $      3,000
749 Mario Neto  $      3,000
750 Neil Grove*  $      3,000
751 Neil Wann*  $      3,000
752 Nissen Osterneck*  $      3,000
753 Rex Holman  $      3,000
754 Ron Faircloth*  $      3,000
755 Ronald Jhun  $      3,000
756 Ryan Madigan  $      3,000
757 Ryan Roberts*  $      3,000
758 Sean Gannon*  $      3,000
759 Solomon Hutcherson*  $      3,000
760 Steve Byrnes  $      3,000
761 Stevie Lynch*  $      3,000
762 Thomas Egan*  $      3,000
763 Tim McKenzie*  $      3,000
764 Tyler Toner  $      3,000
765 Joe Marsh  $      2,500
766 Brian Gassaway  $      2,000
767 Cory Walmsley  $      2,000
768 Jeff Newton  $      2,000
769 Rick Davis  $      2,000
770 Steve Vigneault  $      2,000
771 Tiki Ghosn  $      2,000
772 Wade Shipp  $      2,000

Yes it’s a mess and yes it’s long as hell, but it’s a pretty damn comprehensive list on MMAManifesto’s part and it needed to be shared, so DEAL WITH IT.

Like we said, there are definitely some odd placements that need to be discussed amongst you Taters (Bisping over GSP?! Stefan Struve over Stephan Bonnar?!) as well as some whimsically hilarious ones (Terry Etim over Edson Barboza, Carlos Condit at #54, Nick Diaz at #55), but which figure strikes you as the most shocking? Personally, I gotta go with Brandon Vera. His last performance aside, the dude has underwhelmed and underperformed his way to six figures. But I guess that’s why they call it the American dream.

–J. Jones 

UFC 148 Salaries: FoGriff Out-Earns Anderson Silva with a $275K Payday

Anderson Silva Forrest Griffin UFC 101
(He may not have invited him to the BBQ afterward, but Anderson was going to make sure that Griffin squealed like a pig one way or another.)

The salaries for UFC 148’s twenty-two fighters were released earlier today, and it appears that Chael Sonnen earned exactly one dollar for every insult he aimed at the people of Brazil, which is 50% higher than the UFC’s current average compensatory rate for drawing the ire of an entire nation, a.k.a the Josh Koscheck clause, so a tip of the hat is in order for The Orgeonian in that regard. It will surely by him all of the medium rare steak sandwiches he could ever hope to have.

In other news, despite getting rocked on more than one occasion in his fight with the now retired Tito Ortiz and sprinting out of the cage like he was reliving his fight with Anderson Silva before the decision was even read, Forrest Griffin managed to walk away with the W and a cool $275,000 to boot. Actually, when you add in his $75,000 FOTN bonus, the total comes to…a much higher number. It would be impossible for us to crunch those kinds of numbers and still get this article together in just 8 hours, so take it for what it is and shut up.

The full list of salaries, along with our thoughts (read:complaints), is after the jump.

Anderson Silva Forrest Griffin UFC 101
(He may not have invited him to the BBQ afterward, but Anderson was going to make sure that Griffin squealed like a pig one way or another.)

The salaries for UFC 148′s twenty-two fighters were released earlier today, and it appears that Chael Sonnen earned exactly one dollar for every insult he aimed at the people of Brazil, which is 50% higher than the UFC’s current average compensatory rate for drawing the ire of an entire nation, a.k.a the Josh Koscheck clause, so a tip of the hat is in order for The Orgeonian in that regard. It will surely by him all of the medium rare steak sandwiches he could ever hope to have.

In other news, despite getting rocked on more than one occasion in his fight with the now retired Tito Ortiz and sprinting out of the cage like he was reliving his fight with Anderson Silva before the decision was even read, Forrest Griffin managed to walk away with the W and a cool $275,000 to boot. Actually, when you add in his $75,000 FOTN bonus, the total comes to…a much higher number. It would be impossible for us to crunch those kinds of numbers and still get this article together in just 8 hours, so take it for what it is and shut up.

Anderson Silva: $200,000 (no win bonus)
Chael Sonnen: $50,000

Forrest Griffin: $275,000 ($125,000 to show, $150,000 to win)
Tito Ortiz: $250,000

Cung Le: $150,000 (No win bonus)
Patrick Cote: $21,000

Demian Maia: $96,000 ($48,000 to show, $48,000 to win)
Dong Hyun Kim: $44,000

Mike Easton: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Ivan Menjivar: $13,000

Chad Mendes: $36,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 to win)
Cody McKenzie: $10,000

Habib Nurmagomedov: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Gleison Tibau: $31,000

Constantinos Philippou: $32,000 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 to win)
Riki Fukuda: $28,000

Melvin Guillard: $72,000 ($36,000 to show, $36,000 to win)
Fabricio Camoes: $8,000

Rafaello Oliveira: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Yoislandy Izquierdo: $6,000

Shane Roller: $46,000 ($23,000 to show, $23,000 to win)
John Alessio: $10,000

Overpaid: Look, we know Cung Le is a big time movie star (He was the bomb in Phantoms Pandorum, yo.) and all, but is he really popular enough to earn a 150 thousand dollar paycheck? We’ll give him all the credit in the world for his performance against Patrick Cote, which was easily his finest since he permanently impacted five pounds of undigested raw meat into Scott Smith’s small intestine at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, but to think that his base rate is almost as high as Silva’s is pretty unbelievable. Granted, Silva likely took home a significant cut of the astronomical PPV dollars, which likely boosted his salary toward the half mil mark considering those numbers. We imagine that was the case, though to a lesser extent, for Sonnen as well, because 50K doesn’t seem like much compensation for a man who has been tirelessly trolling the MMA world for a good two years now.

Also, Riki Fukuda apparently makes 28K to show. If we could tell you who that is, we would surely have more of an opinion on the matter.

*Checks Sherdog*

Ah, he’s the defending DEEP middleweight champion. Nope, still nothing.

Underpaid: Honestly, there isn’t really any figure that jumps to our immediate attention. We just hope DW threw Cody McKenzie a few extra dollars for essentially jumping on a grenade against Chad Mendes. And while we’re speaking of Mendes, considering that the man is a former title challenger, he isn’t exactly living up to his “Money” moniker. Let’s hope when his contract expires he can at least start making the money he rightfully deserves as the number 2 featherweight in the world.

–J. Jones 

UFC 125 Salaries: Edgar, Guida, Maynard, Silva Top Six Figures

(Sit back there and say Clay Guida’s hair ain’t luxurious, when you know it is, bitch. / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has released the payout list for UFC 125, with the total fighter payroll topping out at $1,11…

Clay Guida Takanori Gomi UFC 125 MMA photos
(Sit back there and say Clay Guida’s hair ain’t luxurious, when you know it is, bitch. / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has released the payout list for UFC 125, with the total fighter payroll topping out at $1,112,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses. MMA Junkie reports that despite the main event ending in a draw, both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were given their win bonus money — which insured that they were two of the night’s top earners, since they also picked up the event’s Fight of the Night bonuses.

Other six-figure earners included Clay Guida ($122,000) and Thiago Silva ($110,000). The complete UFC 125 salary list is below, and continues after the jump. Keep in mind that the figures do not include additional income from sponsorships or undisclosed "locker room bonuses," or deductions for taxes, insurance, and licensing fees.

Frankie Edgar: $162,000 (includes $51,000 win bonus, $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
vs. Gray Maynard: $112,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus, $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Brian Stann: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus)
def. Chris Leben: $46,000

Thiago Silva: $110,000 (includes $55,000 win bonus)
def. Brandon Vera: $60,000

read more

Brock Lesnar, Chris Leben Lead UFC 116 Salary List

(Gerald Harris: One finger for each of ’em. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)
The UFC paid out $1,373,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters at UFC 116, with Brock Lesnar taking home over a third of the total payroll with his $400…

Gerald Harris UFC 116 afterparty
(Gerald Harris: One finger for each of ’em. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

The UFC paid out $1,373,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters at UFC 116, with Brock Lesnar taking home over a third of the total payroll with his $400,000 salary and $75,000 Submission of the Night bump. Chris Leben, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Stephan Bonnar also cracked the six-figure mark after their Fight of the Night bonuses were factored in. The full payout list is below. Keep in mind that these numbers don’t include additional income from sponsorships, undisclosed "locker room" bonuses, or percentages of the pay-per-view gross that some of the UFC’s stars (i.e., Brock Lesnar) are entitled to.

Brock Lesnar: $475,000 (no win bonus; includes $75,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. Shane Carwin: $40,000

Chris Leben: $161,000 (includes $43,000 win bonus, $75,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Yoshihiro Akiyama: $120,000 (includes $75,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Chris Lytle: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
def. Matt Brown: $10,000

read more