
(“My suit? No, it’s not Mr. Big and Tall, it’s Brooks Brothers. I got a Zuffa corporate card now.”)
The California State Athletic Commission today revealed the salaries from last weekend’s Diaz vs. Daley event in Stockton, and for the most part the fighters from the card were pretty well compensated.
The top money-earner of the night was welterweight champ Nick Diaz who netted $175,000 for his beatdown of Paul Daley. For his effort, Daley took home $65,000. Tied for second place in the night’s salary rankings are Strikeforce lightweight kingpin Gilbert Melendez and former light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi who both took home $150,000 for their efforts. The disparity between the take-home pay of Melendez and Mousasi’s opponents was interesting. Tatsuya Kawajiri picked up $97,612.50 for eating a handful of Melendez’s “hellbows” while Keith Jardine made just $25,000 for taking Mousasi the distance.
Considering the fact that Keith Jardine stepped in on less than a week’s notice to take on “The Dreamcatcher,” and he fought the Armenian to a stalemate, you would think that he might take home more than $25,000, but it’s been that kind of a year for the former UFC fighter who was stiffed by Nemesis Fighting after his win over Francisco France in November. He made $55,000 for his last UFC appearance in June of last year.
Lyle Beerbohm is likely looking for a new manager today after he read that he made $63,000 less than his opponent Shinya Aoki and less than half as much as Jardine.
The biggest loser of the night was Paul Song who got paid $750 for his loss to Casey Ryan. The fight was Song’s third of his pro career and will likely be his last for a while as he also sustained an elbow injury in the bout, which he lost by triangle. If he doesn’t have insurance and the injury requires surgery, the experience of fighting for Strikeforce could end up costing him money.
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Strikeforce Diaz vs Daley Salaries
Main Card
Nick Diaz: $175,000 (no win bonus) def. Paul Daley: $65,000
Gilbert Melendez: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Tatsuya Kawajiri: $97,612.50
Gegard Mousasi: $150,000 (no bonus) fought to a draw with Keith Jardine: $25,000
Shinya Aoki: $73,637.50 (no win bonus) def. Lyle Beerbohm: $10,000
Preliminary Card
Robert Peralta: $4,000 (including a $2,000 win bonus) def. Hiroyuki Takaya: $2,740
Virgil Zwicker: $3,000 (including a $1,000 win bonus) def. Brett Albee: $1,000
Joe Duarte: $2,000 (including a $1,000 win bonus) def. Saad Awad: $1,500
Herman Terrado: $1,500 (including $500 win bonus) def. AJ Matthews: $1,000
Rolando Perez: $3,000 (including a $1,000 win bonus) def. Edgar Cardenas: $1,000
Casey Ryan: $2,000 (including a $1,000 win bonus) def. Paul Song: $750


Hey Diaz, a brand new Honda is only about 25K. Quit fucking complaining. You get paid to do something you supposedly love and spit in everyones face saying you don’t get paid enough and your a slave to everyone around you. Get real, have fun getting KTFO in boxing. Is the ass whooping really worth getting “paid?”