Affliction Payouts Are as Ludicrous as You Expect, in More Than One Way
(Props: Keegan on the UG)
Affliction paid out a little over $3.3 million in disclosed fighter salaries for “Day of Reckoning,” pretty much guaranteeing that they’ll take a financial loss on this event, as we all expected. Naturally, the payouts include several head-scratchers and jaw-droppers, including $1.5 million to Andrei Arlovski for his 3:14 KO loss to Fedor Emelianenko last night. At least when you compare it with Tim Sylvia’s $800,000 loss in 0:36, it’s proportional. Now someone explain to Mark Hunt where his $4 million is.
Here’s how the disclosed salaries broke down:
Fedor Emelianenko $300,000 (no win bonus)
Andre Arlovski $1,500,000 (win bonus would have been $250,000)
Josh Barnett $500,000 (no win bonus)
Gilbert Yvel $30,000 (win bonus would have been $9,300)
Vitor Belfort $200,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus)
Matt Lindland $225,000 (win bonus would have been $75,000)
Renato "Babalu" Sobral $90,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
Thierry Sokoudjou $50,000 (win bonus would have been $50,000)
Paul Buentello $90,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
Kiril Sidelnikov $10,000 (win bonus would have been $25,000)
Dan Lauzon $12,000 (no win bonus)
Bobby Green $4,000 (win bonus would have been $4,000)
Jay Hieron $45,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
Jason High $10,000 (win bonus would have been $5,000)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira $150,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Vladimir Matyushenko $50,000 (win bonus would have been $30,000)
L.C. Davis $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus)
Bao Quach $7,000 (win bonus would have been $6,000)
Albert Rios $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus)
Antonio Duarte $3,000 (win bonus would have been $2,000)
Brett Cooper $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Patrick Speight $2,000 (win bonus would have been $3,000)
Thoughts…
Before we get to under and overpaid:
- Okay, we said it last time but it bears repeating. There’s just no way Fedor only made $300,000 (the exact figure Matt Lindland would have made if he had beaten Vitor Belfort) to fight in an organization that seems to be built almost exclusively around him. He must be getting money from M-1 in the form of guns or hookers or envelopes full of cash that magically appear on the nightstand in his hotel room. A just universe simply wouldn’t allow Fedor to make one-fifth of what Arlovski got for letting his hubris talk him into trying a flying knee in the first round, right? Right?! Must every last goddamn thing about him be shrouded in secrecy?
- On the subject of Arlovski’s flying knee, I have to imagine that when he came to and asked what happened and his corner explained it to him, he responded, “This is crazy talk. Why would Andrei try flying knee against Fedor? Andrei was winning fight with distance and hand speed!” Then they directed his attention to the replay on the big screen and he became very sad.
Now that that’s out of the way…
Overpaid: Paul Buentello. He made $90,000 with a win bonus of twenty grand. That means Affliction guaranteed him $70,000 to fight the 4-2 “Baby Fedor,” which is insane enough even before you remind yourself that not a single living soul paid to watch Paul Buentello fight last night. You’re telling me that if they’d offered him twenty and twenty he would have turned it down? Because I don’t believe you for a second, you lying son of a bitch.
Underpaid: Gilbert Yvel, and it pains me to say that. Affliction spent so much time trying to convince us he was a credible opponent for Barnett, then went ahead and paid him in guaranteed money what they were offering “Babalu” Sobral as a win bonus. Meanwhile, Barnett gets a cool half a mil for (in the words of Assemblyman Bob Reilly) sitting on top of him and punching him in the face and head repeatedly. Making $30,000 for fighting on the pay-per-view portion of an Affliction card is the UFC equivalent of three grand to show and three to win. In other words, it lets you know that they don't give a damn about you.
Login or register to post comments
DIGG THIS 
Comments
vrane Says:
Nice gif. Finally, some angles.
Sheps Says:
Wtf, how did Josh Barnett get paid more then Fedor?! I always thought he fought for way more money then that.
Andrei got a taste of his own medicine for when he caught Paul buentello with a blind shot back in the UFC.
Contraband Says:
Fedor is a over hyped lucky puncher. I wish they'd a double ko'ed each other.
We all know that Sam Hoger is the best HW now that he movedup.
Indestruktible Says:
Andrei definitely got paid lots but I think this is to some extent, out of Affliction's control. I know due to Andrei's past contract with UFC, UFC had some kind of legal right over him which then forced Affliction to increase the pay. I remember reading this here on CP too.
This is UFC's way of bankrupting other organizations by having oppressive contracts...
Contraband Says:
my son just said that guy in that vieo was sleep flying
OneHump Says:
Fedor is certainly paid more than anyone there. He gets back-end money that isn't disclosed. Don't think for a second that Fedor is foolish enough to take 1/5 of Andre's salary. It just isn't so.
vrane Says:
Yes indeed, Contraband. He got lucky 29 times.
Anonymous Says:
they over pay fools like Paul and yet still give out 2k n 3k to the lower fighters, sad.
Anonymous Says:
yeah sure, he lucky punched his way to 29 victories
Biohazardone Says:
Arlovski....what a fucking performance. He was doing well standing and trading punches.....the dumbass got overzealous with that fucking knee. He is one stupid peace of shit. I dont know if this fight hurt his value or not but we sure know he does not have a good chin. Now, this chin is what everyone will be gunning for. Props to Fedor.....He leaves no doubt in anyone's mind that he is probably one of the greatest heavy weights mixed martial artists that ever lived. He is building a legacy that any mma fan will never forget. I always believed "The Natural" would have been the one to beat him but after Affliction 2, I dont believe Randy could ever beat him. Well that does not matter because that fight will never take place.....that is why we will never know. Again, Props to Fedor....I will never doubt him again.....expecially after loosing $500.
Biohazardone Says:
Anonymous...."lucky punch his way to 29 victories" Fedor must then be the luckiest motherfucker in this planet.....either that or he is jesus or one of our future world prophets. I dont think it is luck at all....especially after his long victory list. The guys has a good skill of reading fighters well.
Mark Says:
Fedor is not simply just a "lucky puncher." He is a great fighter, however, there is no doubt that Arlovski was winning that fight - dominating it on the feet. If he stayed smart and opted to fight a possibley "boring" fight containing only quick exchanges he knew he could win, he would have easily ground out a decision against Fedor. He got over confident and made a foolish mistake. I for one am pissed, I was really hoping that Arlovski could be the one to usurp power from The Last Emperor, but I guess that task is now in the hands of Barnett...
Wandering Wade Says:
That's pretty bogus. Over 3 mil in payouts, with probably 2 mil in earned revenue. Time to sell more tie-dyed shirts.
Anonymous Says:
sam who `?
player from the south Says:
Barnett is dead. who else could they match fedor up with that is out side the ufc?
Dr. Says:
Lindland FTW of being overpaid in the past two Aff bouts.
Like the talk of lucky punches. Was he throwing a punch and aiming for the guy's head? Yeah? Well, it's not like he was throwing a kick and caught him with a fist instead. Or if he was aiming for the body and hit the head instead. THAT is lucky.
A punch that has intention to land on the desired target and does is not a lucky punch.
Anonymous Bosch Says:
They said on HBO that ODLH got an enormous payday for showing up there as well, as in millions.
UFC fan Says:
1.5 mill to a dumbass loser Like AA? wow....smell the fail.
a show full of hasbeens fighting nobodys.
I hope assfliction dies a painful flopping death.
Anonymous Says:
WTF?! FTW!!!
The Eye Says:
Arlovski was doing well,but its not as tho he was killing Fedor, in fact when you watch the fight a couple times you will see that he only had a very slight edge on Fedor. Fedor started off a little slower than his last fight against Silvia and admittedly the reason for that was Arlovski's punching ability, but then he got sloppy and Fedor ( like he has done numerous times before ) took advantage of his opponents mistake and capitalized on it.
realNick Says:
Never realized Arlovski 360 actually stood for the spin Arlovski makes when he gets knocked out.
Olie Says:
Sure Arlovski was beating Fedor but we've seen Fedor been supposedly 'punished' before only for him to turn the tables in an instance. He is a warrior and can take a lot of punishment! I'm sure if the fight hadn't ended where it did, they'd have ended up on the ground sooner or later where Fedor is a lot stronger.
Hussein's your daddy Says:
While you homos argue whether fighters are overpayed, this still was a good card with high marks for variety and drama and fine endings.
Fighters should make as much money as they possibly can. I have no problem with Buentello making more money when the other side is the UFC, their shitty contracts and making Jardine money to be a main event.
Watching Yvel get pummelled was an extra bonus which was as enjoyable as seeing Big John back in the ring.
He looked in the best shape Ive seen him in and about 10 years younger.
Great card, great show except for Douchebag Ortiz and his "Hey buddy."
Now go back to blowing each other and talking about who wore what and who did their hair in a cute way. The difference between the mouth breathers in teh comments is not that different from the mouthbreathers who write this crap.
Anonymous Says:
a flyin knee. has he ever thrown this against anyone? Why start with fedor.
dude guy Says:
Andre made 4 times as much as fedor? thats fucked considering affliction is wrapping their entire event around fedor, lets hope we dont see history repeat it self like we saw with pro/elite xc and kimbo slice (who?)
Criminally Negligent Says:
I'm all for fighters making as much money as they can but a majority of the guys on that card were vastly overpaid compared to what they're really worth and as bad as the pay might be for some lower tier UFC fighters they never make less than 3K.... just sayin.
If andrei make 1.5 million you know Fedor probably "found" 3 million "in the back-seat of a taxi" on the way to the hotel.
Anonymous Says:
@ realNick: funniest comment ever.
cp give this guy a free t shirt or something.
Anonymous Says:
please, oh please, dana white, sign fedor and let him fight in those stupid samba matches in russia too. we just want to see the best fight the best, before fedor is too old and we don't give a shit anymore. god damn, i'm tired of this shit.
Phunnybonz Says:
Watch that gif again and tell me Big John isn't the fuckin' man! Lightning relfexes right there. Fedor was about a foot from Andre's crumpled body while John was at least 8 feet away yet he still got between Fedor and a snoring Andre before Fedor barely moved. That's awesome. Seriously though, how is that even possible?
Themistecles Says:
I think it is a fair analysis that affliction is operating in the red. However, as a rule, a business always start in the red as they continually evolve their plan. How long did the UFC stay in the red? Hopefully Atencio and whoever else is helping organize this have planned on having deep enough pockets with enough working capital to sustain this. Competition from major organizations will only help increase MMA's popularity and hopefully equalize the fighters compensation. Affliction needs to reevaluate their marketing plan and pick up a couple more names. However, their product is good. They have the best heavyweight in the world (if he laid off the butter he could easily be the best LHW). They have a crop of fighters that they can rotate from show to show continuing to provide great matchups. WAR MMA.
Ife Hearted Says:
fucking sleep flying!!!! hahaha hilarious!!!!
Anonymous Says:
CP u guys r fuckin haters, Im happy for all those fighters if they woulda been fighting in ufc they wouldve got fucked, anyway the ufc WISH they put a card together like that, they put two fighters that fans wanna see and nobody tuffers on the rest of the card and expect fans to pay $44.99 for it... ufc paid one of their top fighters keith jardine only $10,000... andrei has good management thats why he got more than fedor, so stop hatin and sucin danas dick CP!! "ludicrous" yea the ufc card payout thats what u should be callin ludicrous...
And UFC fan ur dumb.. U dont kno shit about MMA ur a UFC fan u pay $44.99 for a card full of nobodys that never fought anyone.. fuckin reality stars stfu!! all those "has beens" u talk about are real fighters, those guys fought for the ufc/ pride til they over flooded with tuffers..
Hussein's your daddy im with u, except for that part about tito i thought he did a good job last nite...
Bonadouche Says:
Fedor has a side deal with Tom Attencio. He gets to have a threesome with him and his husband.
LukeTheDuke Says:
Ok, check this out: theres this dude in the middle that didn't bet on Fedor winning. He's got like a stache-goatee combo thing and he looks kinda round...and pissed off.
Michael Says:
Making Tim Sylvia look like a bitch...$800,000
Exposing Arlovski's chin of glass...$1,500,000
Watching Lindland get KTFO'd...priceless.
Guess it's back to politics bitch.
Dagnut Says:
Affliction should make Fedor fight a de-clawed grizzly...its the only way we'll get a contest
Señor Tampon Says:
Great fights!!!!!!!!
Dmonicideals Says:
I can't believe Barnett couldn't finish a guy who was supposed to be a pushover for him. 12 of 14 minutes spent in the mount and couldn't do enough damage for the ref to bother stopping the fight? I was waiting for Yvel to KO him from the bottom. If he had any kind of ground game, Barnett would have been in trouble. Now way Barnett lasts as long as Sylvia did against Fedor, but it'll be fine, that should still net him about 3.7 mil, on the "fighting Fedor" sliding scale.
MrFeexit Says:
Where is the Tito bashing?? Man, my dog could commentate better than he did. Is English his second language?
Sheps Says:
Lmao that was possibly the funniest comment i've read, so Fedor, who arguably is the greatest fighter of our time, Josh Barnett, one of the greatest wrestlers in MMA and Andrei Arlovski who was beating Fedor, and is greatly wanted back by UFC bigshot Dana White.
Your a bottle of contradiction.
Armbreaker Says:
I finally got rid of my crappy cable, and had DirecTV installed yesterday so I could purchase Affliction: DOR. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope my small contribution will prevent the UFC from becoming a monopoly. In business (or the ring), competition is good.
god Says:
i don't know how anyone can say arlovski was dominating fedor, a couple punches landed but fedor recovered. he got koed just like kimbo did by petruzelli. fedor's overhand counter was almost nothing yet it was lights out for arlovski. i definately think fedor got paid a shit load under the table, who would accept 30k when the the guy you got koed was getting 1.5mill?
nice to see babalu released the anaconda choke quickly, feel bad for lindland though, good job vitor.
Gonzo Says:
$3.3 million won't bankrupt this organization. They make more than that in sponsorship alone per event. Plus all the exclusive $80 shirts (actual cost to make $4.50 each) for the event they sell. Not selling pay-per-views can kill it though. No bar I could find was showing the Affliction, yet everyone pays the minimum $800 per fight for UFC fights.
Anonymous Says:
exactly. i just dont believe there is such a thing as a lucky punch ( except for the freeak things that u discribed). how is there ANY luck involved when you throw your fist with every intention to hurt someone and then it does EXACTLY that, what you want it to do. How is that luck? Strange
god Says:
loved the arlovski headbounce!!! gif please!!
Gonzo Says:
The top fighters deserve the big pay days. Boxers get a lot more than these numbers. What makes a boxer worth any more than an MMA fighter? Only the PPV it can sell or the value it adds to the HBO/Showtime line-up. Don't forget, most fighters have to pay for a gym to train and for their trainers.
god Says:
anon, not saying fedor's punch was luck at all, just saying it little power to what he is capable of. my statement questions arlovskis chin if anything
Slap Stick Says:
How the fuck does Arlovski get $1.5 mill when Fedor gets $300,000? Especially considering that they are constantly milking Fedor for his name and publicity to promote their damn shows. That feels criminal to me.
wtfunky Says:
Although, not the angles Arlovski would want.
Anonymous Says:
Fedor bated him to counter his reach, made him think he was dominating so he could end up putting his fist through his head