(my pockets stay fat)

Saturday was the perfect night for Rashad Evans.  He beat previous undefeated Phil Davis and came out of it unscathed, meaning he will get an immediate shot at Jon Jones's light heavyweight title (to find out who might be next for the rest of last night's main card participants, click here).  He also left with the fattest pockets, taking home $410,000 in salary for the event.  His big payday also propels him into the top 10 of our UFC Career Earnings list, where he joins a fellow combatant from last night, Michael Bisping.

Before we go any further, we should note that the Illinois Athletic Commission doesn't release fighter pay info, so none of the following salary data for the event is official.  However, you can get a fairly accurate picture of a fighter's pay based on official purse info released from past fights.  So, based on that info, here is the estimated pay breakdown for the 20 fighters that traded blows at the event (but please remember - this is only an estimate, not official info, especially for any fighters that made their UFC debuts at the event).  These numbers obviously also don't include any PPV revenue, undisclosed bonuses and/or sponsorship money any of these fighters may have made. 



no comments

Ever wonder how much money your favourite fighter has earned throughout their career?  Us too, so we went about figuring it out.  Here is the total career earnings for every UFC fighter over the past seven years (the only fighter we are missing is Renzo Gracie, who we currently can't get a good pay estimate for).

no comments

 

Jim Miller claims to be the most dangerous lightweight fighter in the world, and last night he looked the part.  He also took home a check fitting for one of the best
155ers in the world - his $115,000 payday was the tops at UFC on FX 1.

Before we go any further, we should note that the Tennessee Athletic Commission doesn't release fighter pay info, so none of the following salary data for the event is official.  However, you can get a fairly accurate picture of a fighter's pay based on official purse info released from past fights.  So, based on that info, here is the estimated pay breakdown for the 20 fighters that traded blows at the event (but please remember - this is only an estimate, not official info, especially for any fighters that made their UFC debuts at the event).  These numbers obviously also don't include any PPV revenue, undisclosed bonuses and/or sponsorship money any of these fighters may have made. 


no comments

It was good to be the hometown hero at UFC 142 - both inside the cage and out.  Not only did Brazilian fighters dominate their opponents in the Octagon at last night's event, they also took away the most money.  Vitor Belfort leads the way, with his earnings moving him into the top 20 on our UFC Career Fighter Earnings list.
  no comments

Another memorable year in mixed martial arts is in the books, so it's time for The MMA Manifesto to look back and reflect.  Next up: UFC Fighter Salaries.

Was 2011 a good year financially to be a fighter?  Well, that depends on what your name is.  If it is Tito Ortiz, then yes, it was a very good year.  On the other hand, if you happen to be Byron Bloodworth, you might want to consider keeping your day job.  While the average UFC fighter made over $91,000 in 2011, 72 fighters (21%) made $10,000 or less.  A few more stats that you might find interesting:

- While Tito Ortiz tops the list for 2011, he probably ended up making less in 2011 than in 2010.  His new UFC contract doesn't give him a cut of the pay-per-view revenue like his previous contracts did. no comments

It pays to be a veteran in mixed martial arts.  Just ask 11-year vet "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler, who not only scored an impressive TKO of Adlan Amagov at Saturday's Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine, but he also walked away with the biggest paycheck.  Here arethe official fighter salaries for Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine, straight from the Nevada Athletic Commission.
 

no comments

 

2011 might still have a few months left in it, but several mixed martial artists bank accounts are much fatter than they were when they rang in the New Year.  But, mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the richest of them all?  We've got the answer, of course.

We've compiled all fighter salaries from the big two (soon to be one?) MMA companies in North America, the UFC and Strikeforce (Bellator's fighters don't make the big bucks), to see which fighter has got the fattest pockets thus far in 2011.  It is worth noting that these are only the reported salaries plus Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses that have been made public.  Many top performing fighters get additional bonuses paid out to them that aren't reported, plus the top guys get a cut of the pay-per-view buys for events that they headline (not to mention every fighter makes sponsorship money).  Also, many athletic commissions don't report fighter's salary info, so for those we've estimated a fighter's purse based on what they have earned in their other recent fights.  Fighters with some estimated purses are marked with a * beside their name.  This data should still be considered very close to accurate, as most fighters' purses remain rather steady from fight to fight (unless they ink a new contract in the meantime).  However, many big name Strikeforce fighters who have traded leather this year (Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem) have salaries that are impossible to estimate because they have never fought for Strikeforce in a region that reports salaries.

no comments

Brock Lesnar was the big winner - and loser - at last night's UFC 141.  In what proved to be the former UFC Heavyweight Champion's swan song in the Octagon, Lesnar fell to Alistair Overeem after a barrage of body shots.  But Lesnar did leave the event with the fattest pockets - he took home $400,000.  Same story with Donald Cerrone - The Cowboy might have fallen to Nate Diaz, but his earnings from Friday night made him one of the ten top earners in the sport in 2011.


In all, it was a lucrative event for the fighters on the card, as the UFC paid out over $1.5 million in salaries.  And this doesn't include any fighter who might also be earning a piece of the pay-per-view revenues (for instance, Overeem's UFC contract pays him $2 per PPV buy). Here arethe total reported purses for all 20 fighters at UFC 141, straight from the Las Vegas Athletic Commission 
no comments

Zuffa promises to not make Strikeforce into a "minor league" MMA promotion, which is probably a good idea considering how much money some of their fighters are making.  The company spent over half a million in fighter salaries alone on Saturday night, with Gilbert Melendez and Gegard Mousasi leading the way.  Here are the complete fighter salaries from Strikeforce: Melendez vs Masvidal, directly from the California Athletic Commission.


no comments

Is it any wonder why Tito Ortiz still wants to have at least one more fight in the UFC?  When you are pulling in a record $450,000 guaranteed every time you step into the Octagon, you don't mind taking a few body shots from the likes of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.  But Ortiz wasn't the only one pulling in the dough on Saturday night - in fact, the event's top five earners (Ortiz, Frank Mir, Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Jon Jones) are all among the top 10 earners in 2011.

Before we go any further, we should note that Ontario's Athletic Commission doesn't release fighter pay info, so none of the following salary data for the event is official.  However, you can get a fairly accurate picture of a fighter's pay based on official purse info released from past fights.  So, based on that info, here is the estimated pay breakdown for the 24 fighters that traded blows at the event (but please remember - this is only an estimate, not official info, especially for any fighters that made their UFC debuts at the event).  These numbers obviously also don't include any PPV revenue, undisclosed bonuses and/or sponsorship money any of these fighters may have made.


no comments