ThePainFactory

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 74, which took place on August 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses for the top pay-per-view main event fighters), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

Also, please note that $25,000 is currently being withheld from the purse of Renato "Babalu" Sobral due to his refusal to release the winning submission hold when he defeated David Heath.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.


TITLE MATCH & MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS

-Randy Couture: $250,000 (18th fight in UFC; defeated Gabriel Gonzaga; win bonus was $0)

-Gabriel Gonzaga: $45,000 (5th fight in UFC; lost to Randy Couture; win bonus would have been $45,000)


MAIN CARD FIGHTERS

-Georges St. Pierre: $140,000 (10th fight in UFC; defeated Josh Koscheck; includes $70,000 win bonus)

-Roger Huerta: $34,000 (5th fight in UFC; defeated Alberto Crane; includes $17,000 win bonus)

-Joe Stevenson: $32,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Kurt Pellegrino; includes $16,000 win bonus)

-Patrick Cote: $24,000 (6th fight in UFC, defeated Kendall Grove; includes $12,000 win bonus)

-Kendall Grove: $12,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Patrick Cote; win bonus would have been $12,000)

-Josh Koscheck: $10,000 (9th fight in UFC; lost to Georges St. Pierre; win bonus would have been $10,000)

-Kurt Pellegrino: $8,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Joe Stevenson; win bonus would have been $8,000)

-Alberto Crane: $4,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Roger Huerta; win bonus would have been $4,000)


PRELIMINARY MATCH FIGHTERS

-Frank Mir: $66,000 (11th fight in UFC; defeated Antoni Hardonk; includes win bonus of $30,000)

-Marcus Aurelio: $30,000 (1st fight in UFC after 6 fights in Pride; lost to Clay Guida; win bonus would have been $30,000)

-Renato "Babalu" Sobral: $25,000 (10th fight in UFC; defeated David Heath; Sobral would have also received a $25,000 win bonus, but it is currently being withheld due to his actions pending a hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission)

-Thales Leites: $18,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Ryan Jensen; includes $9,000 win bonus)

-Clay Guida: $14,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Marcus Aurelio; includes $7,000 win bonus)

-Antoni Hardonk: $8,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Frank Mir; win bonus would have been $8,000)

-David Heath: $6,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Renato "Babalu" Sobral; win bonus would have been $6,000)

-Ryan Jensen: $4,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Thales Leites; win bonus would have been $4,000)

DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $730,000


Compared to boxing the purse is still a little light... many of the guys don't talk about money until they get in the run for some bigger bucks. But looks like with the Pay Per View Royalty... they could cough up some better cash for these guys. What about it?

Looks like they could. There is a bad trend starting to develop in some of the smaller shows. I could see it spreading to the major players in the future. With everyone wanting to fight, some guys are seeing the pay scale go down. I recently had a talk with a good pro fighter, his last fight was a straight 17k (no bonus offered). It was the last fight in his contract. Even though he's record has improved, his pay scale has been lowered. In the new contract they are offering the best he could make is 17k with a win bonus.

I had a talk with a promoter a few weeks ago. He explained his situation like this, "If people are not paying to see a guy fight, then he is just a filler." The guy has a point. Why pay someone if they aren't putting enough people in the seat to pay the salary. I see where the guy is coming from but I do not agree. You have to help support the guys that are coming up!! If you don't support them your talent pool will never grow. I could go on about this forever. Bottom line is... with more people willing to fight, the pay scale may be headed down for everyone but the top class.

Sounds like a scummy promoter. He will never have a premium show doing that.

UFC 74 Fighter Bonus Pay Info Revealed
MMANEWS.COM Bookmark Us Contact Us

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that the UFC issued increased bonuses to fighters after the event.

$35,000 on top of their contracted pay went to Randy Couture and Gabriel Gonzaga for "fight of the night" honors. Best knockout went to Patrick Cote over Kendall Grove, and best submission to Thales Leites over Ryan Jensen. All fighters received $35,000 bonuses, whereas usually the bonus is around $20,000.

The bigger orgs give pretty good bonuses, just don't disclose it. The smaller shows are the ones where the promoter is just in it for themselves

I really thing all payout should be disclosed. My mother alway said nothing good comes from dealing under the table...or was that secrets? I feel that not disclosing the bonuses is an underhanded way to keep payouts lower.