Tag Archives: UFC Fighter Salaries

UFC Fight Night 83: Cowboy vs. Cowboy – Who’s Getting Paid?

Feb 19, 2016
McKinley Noble
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UFC Fight Night 83 is the first UFC card in a while to be completely ravaged by injuries and drug testing, and the subsequent result isn’t much to write home about. This Sunday night likely won’t have the most exciting results on paper, but what’s probably worse is how long it’ll take Fox Sports to get though all 13 bouts.

Thankfully, we’re only concerned about the upper half of this weekend’s bill, which still looks too long at six fights. But let’s do this damn thing anyway, as we break down all the previous UFC fighter salaries and recent Reebok payouts for each main carder.

Note: Divisional rankings via Fight Matrix. UFC salaries and Reebok figures via MMA Payout and MMA Junkie.

 

Donald Cerrone [#2 LW]
$109,000 = $79,000** + $30,000* [UFC on Fox 17]

Alex Oliveira [#58 LW]
$24,000 = $12,000/$12,000 [UFC Fight Night 70]

Analysis: Donald Cerrone’s defeat to Rafael dos Anjos was a huge setback, but monetarily, it could’ve been worse. With his UFC/Reebok tenure already maxed out, he’s currently banking $100,000 per fight in just base pay alone (even as a non-contender), which will add up quickly as he maintains his rapid schedule.

In terms of rankings, payscale, and general name value, it doesn’t really make sense for Cerrone to even be fighting Alex Oliveira — but since both are moving up to welterweight, this is likely better than giving them a natural 170-pounder right off the bat. It’s also too bad USADA caught Tim Means with a positive drug test, as he would have been a far more interesting matchup.

 

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UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson – Who’s Getting Paid?

Feb 4, 2016
McKinley Noble
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UFC Fight Night 82 definitely isn’t as attractive as the once-planned UFC 196 card, but it looks like the Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez rematch will have to wait. That’s more than fine, though, since the UFC did the right thing for once and moved the PPV to television.

That brings us to our new headliner, starring Stephen Thompson and former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks, supported by a pretty decent undercard of prospect action. There’s a lot to cover with this one, so let’s cut into our usual breakdown of previous UFC fighter salaries (plus most-recent Reebok payouts) for every main card combatant.

Note: Divisional rankings via Fight Matrix. UFC salaries and Reebok figures via MMA Payout and MMA Junkie.

 

Johny Hendricks [#2 WW]
$150,000** [UFC 181]

Stephen Thompson [#17 WW]
$47,000 = $21,000/$21,000 +$5,000* [TUF 21 Finale]

Analysis: Fan opinion may have soured on Hendricks in recent years, but at least he’s getting paid comparatively well for his troubles. While there’s probably little chance of any title shot as long as Robbie Lawler sits atop the division’s peak, Hendricks will certainly net some big pay bumps if he continues to build on his 17 UFC and WEC bouts with another winning streak.

And although it’s a little old-hat to keep harping on this point, Stephen Thompson should definitely be looking at a pay raise win or lose. After all, despite a stellar 10-1 record with six UFC wins, he barely makes half of the salary that Sage Northcutt commands.

 

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