UFC 84: Full Payout Figures
($225,000: Enough to buy a new pickup truck and a healthy white baby.)
Official salary and bonus numbers for UFC 84's fighters have been released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Here's how the guys stacked up:
B.J. Penn: $250,000 ($125,000 to show, $125,000 to win)
Wanderlei Silva: $225,000 ($150,000 to show*, $75,000 for Knockout of the Night)
Tito Ortiz: $210,000
Lyoto Machida: $100,000 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 to win)
Wilson Gouveia: $93,000 ($18,000 to show, $75,000 for Fight of the Night)
Rousimar Palhares: $85,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win, $75,000 for Submission of the Night)
Goran Reljic: $81,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win, $75,000 for Fight of the Night)
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $80,000 ($40,000 to show, $40,000 to win)
Thiago Silva: $50,000 ($25,000 to show, $25,000 to win)
Rich Clementi: $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Dong Hyun Kim: $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Sean Sherk: $35,000
Kazuhiro Nakamura: $20,000
Ivan Salaverry: $20,000
Shane Carwin: $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Yoshiyuki Yoshida: $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Terry Etim: $10,000
Keith Jardine: $10,000
Christian Wellisch: $10,000
Jon Koppenhaver: $8,000
Antonio Mendes: $4,000
Jason Tan: $3,000
* Wanderlei Silva's guaranteed $150,000 salary doesn't depend on a win bonus.
Overpaid: Wilson Gouveia. Looking back on UFC 84 a year from now, is the two-round almost-war between Gouveia and Goran Reljic going to be remembered by anyone? Yes, Reljic's relentless left head-kicks were pretty, but Gouveia should have eventually figured out that they were coming. (For us, the presence of Mirko Cro Cop in Reljic's corner was the early tip-off.)
Underpaid: A lot of people — particularly Shane Carwin, whose Knockout of the Night bonus was robbed from him by Wanderlei Silva. The way I saw it, Carwin's single-punch, mouthpiece-ejecting KO of Christian Wellisch was more deserving then Wandy's slightly more prolonged ground-and-pound TKO of Jardine, and Carwin could probably use the money more. Other than that, what the fuck is up with the UFC's newcomers making three, four, and six thousand dollars to show? Goddamned slave wages. The UFC made $3.7 million off of "Ill Will"'s gate; they could certainly afford to establish a minimum base salary of $10,000 for their fighters if they wanted to.
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C-Bus Allstar Says:
This is exactly what Ortiz was complaining about. You wanna know who was really underpaid? KEITH FUCKING JARDINE. 10 grand to get into the ring with Wanderlei Silva.. what? I GOTTA FIGHT HIM TOO? FUCK THAT I WANT 100k.
That's what I woulda said.
10k would have barely gotten me into the Octagon, it would have taken 10X that to keep me there.
I'd be pissed if I were Jardine.
Jeff Says:
What these fighters get paid is bullshitt, namely Keith Jardine. I work part time and I make more than him (not including sponsorships and endorsements which he WONT be getting).
Tito was right, this is some bullshit. Not that he has anything to complain about, making twice what Lyoto made for losing to him.
John Says:
Wow... This really makes you think about what Tito's ranting about, even though he got a nice paycheck for a few laps around the octagon.
norremo Says:
Jardine is a herky jerky idiot. He deserves a free ride on the short bus. He makes money from sponsors etc and that is only because he's in the UFC.
I have also heard that UFC covers medical bills
Taktiikka Says:
Thats disgusting, UFC should be ashamed for these figures.
10k for Jardine? To take on Silva? Ridiculous.
TheFeniX Says:
First off: on the Jardine issue. Isn't he still in his "indentured servitude" from his TUF contract? Or am I way off because I just don't keep up?
Second: I know the UFC is supposed to be the "Superbowl of MMA" or whatever, but looking at pay scales from other venues, it doesn't look that bad at all. Some guys got a whopping $500 from EliteXC for their debuts. Don't get me wrong, the pay scale for MMA fighters across the board (unless you're a big name in MMA or have a giant cock tattooed on your chest) is pretty low and should go up by an order of magnitude, but how is the UFC so much shittier than everyone else?
It just seems to me there's a lot of hate on the UFC for paying out jack shit to the fighters, when from what I've read: everyone else is on the wagon as well.
dudeman Says:
Wow..Tito got overpaid by $200,000!!
tito's mom Says:
Tito got $210k win or lose. Technically that is the highest paid because if BJ and Wanderlei hadn't won, theirs would have been MUCH lower. Does Tito really think he is going to make that much more out in the "real world"? The rumor is Tim Sylvia will getting 800k to fight FEDOR, who will Tito fight and who is going to pay someone who hasn't been a champion all that recently? I think if anyone is a puppet it's Tito. Who is in his ear (Jenna) making him think he is the big shit he thinks he is? To me Tito is all talk and brings just enough game to stay credible but come on Machida was THROWING him off like a rag doll. Go sell clothes run your mouth and get in US weekly with your washed up porn star girlfriend.
Will Says:
it's my understanding that the UFC does not cover medical bills
tim sylvia's pussy Says:
fucking ridiculous this is exactly what tito is talking about. how in the hell can u pay someone $10k to fight wanderlei? these fighters should be making more money and the ufc can certainly afford to pay them what they need. it's a fuckin joke
Trippin Ninja Says:
WOW.....Jardine only got 10 grand. Thats pathetic! I know he isn't a HUGE superstar but I thought he had more value than that. War Machine got 8 grand and he is about the newest kid on the block right now. Sean getting 35k seems like a more reasonable amount but even that seems kind of low considering it was for the belt. I dont know, Im no business major so maybe Im missing something but it definitely looks like some fighters aren't getting paid nearly enough.
mma18 Says:
damn! you would think Sherk having the title and all would be worth more that 35K per fight thats pretty pathetic considering his record and all, unless that it some sort of roid penalty/sanction. geez
Will Says:
its a long link but here’s Jardine discussing his then one-month old win over Liddell and his own contract. The portion dealing with his pay and related issues starts at about the 8 minute mark.
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:PAp036okVMkJ:mrsunshinevegas.wordpr...
micah Says:
THEY DIDNT MAKE 3.7 MILLION IN PROFIT AT THE GATE! why do people not understand basic math? i mean really. take that 3.7 and subract the immediate fighter payroll which off the top of my head looks around 1.2-1.3 million. then subtract whatever the hell the venue costs for the days prior to setup, and the days after to tear down, i'm sure you're touching atleast 500,000 - 1 million. now all the workers who took tickets cleaned up, the announcers, the camera men, ...
unless it was all a "tito is retarded" reference... then in that case, its funny
Shane Says:
For the MILLIONTH time, these payouts DO NOT INCLUDE locker room bonuses. You'd have to be a fool to think Jardine walked out the arena with only 10K.
Also I thought Dana said at the post-fight press conference that BOTH Silva and Carwin received a bonus for KO of the night?
Shane Says:
Good point Micah. Also production and transmission costs for a 3 hour PPV cost around $1 million as well.
Toner Breath Says:
Overall, UFC pays fighters the most money... period.
Tito is a whiny bitch and should retire after his last performance.
ben Says:
@ Shane:
To my knowledge, Dana said that Carwin had the bonus locked up *until* Wanderlei's knockout. Yeah, I should have mentioned "some of these fighters got locker room bonuses," but who knows to whom and how much. Carwin was probably taken care of to some extent.
@ Micah:
Clearly, but are you adding the ten million or so they made from the PPV?
@ C-Bus, etc:
Tito complains about Tito making $500,000-$1 million per fight (including sponsorships and PPV points) instead of $4 million. I don't think I've ever heard him mention the guys that are getting $3,000 to show.
@ TheFeniX: The UFC is the only promotion that is generating enough income to pay all their fighters a living wage, but they often choose not to, which is what upsets me. Yeah, EliteXC has paid guys $500 for their debuts, but they're also still hemorrhaging money at this point.
Boneman Says:
DANA IS A SUCK-ASS BITCH.....
Can't anyone see how screwed he is for our sport...?
Maybe a MMA commision to help set/regulate purses isn't a bad idea....?....Trust me, it's coming in the near future!
B-Rad Says:
Check out the haircut on Chuck..I mean Wandy in that picture.
mayhem420 Says:
If they dont like the amount they are paid than why sign the contract?
If you dont like the job your in then find a new one, why should these guys be any diffrent than us out in the real world who only make $40,000 a year?
If you were a better fighter you would be paid more. You want more money than win more fights..... WTF is so hard to understand here?
People seem to forget that all of these guys have sponsers that pay them as too, that would not be around if it was not for the UFC.
Stop crying about your f-ng $$$ and go fight!
sol Says:
people are saying Jardine is underpaid at 10K, the guy got 14k for beating Chuck, his pay went up didnt it? :P
Toner Breath Says:
@Boneman
You've gotta be Tito... you whine just like him
IMHO:
Dana is putting in order into the chaos that is MMA currently and he is doing a damn good job of it. This sport is growing rapidly and can easily go astray. Someone laying down the law like Dana White is what is needed. Giving into the whims of fighters that say they need more money when the UFC is doing well is the road to disaster (business-wise). He is a good businessman and even though he comes across like an asshole sometimes, he is doing a hell of a job... plus I think he genuinely loves the sport.
Again, this is just an opinion, but if someone thinks he is screwed for our sport, I'd like to hear the alternative. There isn't another show out there that pays it's fighters more (overall) and I think the salaries are just going to increase.
tito's sister Says:
But Toner Breath Affliction makes these rad $50 t-shirts and they are like totally gonna take over MMA! They are gonna pay fighters the salaries they deserve like Randy Couture. He should be making like $3,000,000 per fight. That's what his wife told me anyway. Dana White is a jerk because he pays fighters what is agreed in writing when they sign their contracts and doesn't break his word to give in to fighter's wives and girlfriends that are money grubbing whores.
Bob Says:
Have you ever seen a black comedian make fun of the way that white people talk? After reading Boner Breaths message here im pretty sure that is how he sounds. All high and whiney. Sitting there at his desk, eating his cheese sandwhich, trying to think of the next whitty comment to make.
I do agree that Tito is a whiny bitch and should retire though...
tully Says:
im glad i got to see this. i think a couple hundred grand for a fight is good. jardine should definitely get a lot more. hes done a lot of fights in the ufc and been fighting top level competition for a while. sherk shouldve made more. id say even under 20,000 for anyone on an event like this is pretty shitty.
cpanger Says:
i agree that Shane Carwin should have won KO of the night, but when Wandy held Keith down by the throat and fed him his fist, it made it a KO by rape punching, which is awesome.
sol Says:
lol KO by rape punching, best.
On a serious note though, while the pay should be upped, if they start giving in to random fighters it's going to spiral out of control and pretty soon a guy who is totally unknown is gonna be making big bucks for nothing.
The pay should go up in proportion to the increased exposure of the UFC, no point upping the salaries if the intake isn't increasing, it's a business, the fighters sign the contracts and get sponsors, this is all.
Anonymous Says:
wandy was never on steroids. he just eats babies
ksgbobo Says:
I agree with Mayhem420. You sign a contract with what you will be getting and you go from there. You may re-negotiate your contract at a later date, but you agreed to the terms and have to live with it. Simple.
Anonymous Says:
hope jardine's ok after that punch
Boneman Says:
Toner-Breath = "Dana White's Dick Breath"
Hey Toner...Get out from under Dana's desk...
Unfortunately the only reference to MMA is the UFC in the common viewers eyes...That is why I am happy to see these other factions starting to come together. When EliteXC starts to make money, and they will, fighters will start to jump ship as soon as they see there are better alternatives to the UFC. Currently there isn't....
As soon as Dana sees his fighters leaving, he will have no choice but to share the rightfully deserved wealth with his fighters if he wants them stay.
Dana is a savy businessman....but he looks out for #1 and not the fighters or the future of the sport!
Pillage Says:
So, anyone know how much UFC pull in from the PPV side?
I mean, there's got to be a couple million of us dutifully dropping $45 for PPV - in some cases multiple times a month - and considering the infrastructure is all in place shouldn't a large % of this be pure profit..?
You're potentially talking hundreds of millions per event, where the fuck is all that going..?
De La Hoya v Mayweather pulled in $120M on PPV alone - albeit a totally different audience but that's where UFC is heading.. When will mma fighters start making millions instead of thousands?
Like many professional athletes, they've only got a few years at the top of their game until it's time to go back to being Doormen at the local nightclub..
Didn't I hear Frank Shamrock v Cung Le split 50% of the Gate for that event - around 800K between them..? If Tito's smart (which he's not) he'll go and promote his own shit like Frank Shamrock is and make a ton more $ fighting far less fights. Don't get me wrong, I hate Tito with the best of em..
Still, I hate Tito
Travesty Says:
CAN SOME PLEASE TELL ME HOW IN THE HELL THEY JUSTIFY PAYING SOKOUDJOU A 4-2 FIGHTER 40K AND A HEADLINER LIKE SEAN SHERK 35K SOKOUDJOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN LUCKY TO EVEN MAKE THE CARD