Fighter Pay – Page 2 – Fight Matrix

TUF 22 Finale: Edgar vs. Mendes – Who’s Getting Paid?

Posted on December 8, 2015 by McKinley Noble

UFC 194 and Fight Night 80 may be the highlight shows this weekend, but even The Ultimate Fighter Season 22 Finale is bringing something to the table with a solid headliner on top of a not-that-terrible Friday fight card. In fact, the main event will likely determine the next challenger for the UFC Featherweight Championship.

Under normal circumstances, Frankie Edgar vs. Chad Mendes is the kind of fight you’d expect on pay-per-view, but we’re not complaining too much. But with the TUF 22 Finale bout order undecided at current editing time, let’s pick through previous UFC fighter salaries and most-recent Reebok sponsorship payouts of the top-ranked talent on the main card.

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

Frankie Edgar [#2 FW]
$260,000 = $130,000/$130,000 [TUF 19 Finale]

Chad Mendes [#6 FW]
$530,000** = $500,000 + $30,000* [UFC 189]

Analysis: UFC 189 was an anomaly amongst anomalies for Chad Mendes in more ways than one. Not only did he suffer a loss to someone not named Jose Aldo, but he was also paid a princely $530,000 to fight for an interim title on ridiculously short notice.

With that business done, we’ll see how much Mendes makes in “show” and “win” money now, especially in comparison to a divisional equal and former champion in Frankie Edgar. Don’t forget, Mendes also signed a new eight-fight deal last May, so his regular disclosed pay should be much higher than the $96,000 he pulled down by beating Ricardo Lamas at UFC Fight Night 63.

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UFC Fight Night 80: Namajunas vs. VanZant – Who’s Getting Paid?

Posted on December 7, 2015 by McKinley Noble

UFC Fight Night 80 may be an all-Fight Pass card, but it’s quietly become one of the most stacked MMA events of the year with plenty of great prospects in competitive, high-stakes bouts. It’s worth watching for Rose Namajunas vs. Paige VanZant alone, but the whole main card (and a chunk of the preliminaries) is filled with pay-per-view caliber fights.

There’s many hype trains and winning streaks that could be derailed here, and depending on who’s victorious, a lot of contractual value is being put at risk for many fighters. Let’s look deeper into the details as we dive into the previous UFC fighter salaries and last Reebok sponsorship payouts for the main card talent.

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

Rose Namajunas [#7 W115]
$25,000** [TUF 20 Finale]

Paige VanZant [#21 W115]
$26,500 = $12,000/$12,000 + $2,500* [UFC 191]

Analysis: Paige VanZant may be young, over-ranked in the UFC system, and benefiting from favorable match-making, but the buck stops here. While there’s not too much difference rankings-wise between Rose Namajunas and Joanne Calderwood [#8 W115] — PVZ’s original opponent — VanZant is running a much higher risk of a damaging stoppage loss in this short-notice switch.

Given that VanZant is one of the few fighters with an exclusive Reebok deal, a loss here (especially a one-sided beating) could hurt PVZ’s long term earning potential, too. At the very least, both women are on a similar level in disclosed pay, with the potential for a big jump in Reebok sponsorship money via title contention.

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UFC Fight Night 79: Henderson vs. Masvidal – Who’s Getting Paid?

Posted on November 25, 2015 by McKinley Noble

UFC Fight Night 79 may look like a smaller MMA card at a glance, but the main event is a blockbuster affair with some high stakes. Former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson returns in a violence-assured contest against dangerous fellow-veteran Jorge Masvidal, as both men look to put together the start of a winning streak in the welterweight division.

Things aren’t quite that simple for Henderson, though. Sure, he’s racking up money and climbing that UFC/Reebok tenure ladder. But “Bendo” is also intent on wrapping up his UFC contract for a run at the MMA free agency market. That’s unusual for an elite guy like Henderson, but let’s look deeper into the details as we dive into the previous UFC fighter salaries and last Reebok sponsorship payouts for the main card talent.

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

Benson Henderson [#16 WW]
$48,000** [UFC Fight Night 59]

Jorge Masvidal [#21 WW]
$102,000 = $51,000/$51,000 + $10,000* [TUF 21 Finale]

Analysis: If the numbers look skewed here, it’s worth noting that Bendo was making $110,000 in “show money” at his peak as UFC Lightweight Champion. Since disclosed pay is all we have to judge by, it seems Henderson’s suffered through a heck of a pay cut, and that’s along with whatever damage the Reebok deal has already done.

If that’s the case, it’s no wonder Henderson is thinking of taking his talents to Bellator, or perhaps ONE Championship. Even past his prime, it’s fair to guess the former UFC/WEC titleholder would be a decent draw and betting favorite against non-UFC 155-ers or 170-pounders.

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