(He can now afford to buy ten more of these hats.)

Hey, remember that EliteXC event last Saturday known as “Street Certified”? Well, dudes got paid for that – especially the main eventers. Kimbo earned $4,069 and change for every second of his fight, while Tank Abbott took home almost $3,000 for every second he was making like Kimbo’s punching bag. Not sure how he wrangled that sort of payday for going 1-8 since 1998, but guys like Jimmy Ambriz should be calling Tank’s manager. Also, being a getting KTFO specialist paid off for James Thompson — he grabbed $25,000 for going to sleep, while Brett Rogers earned just $4,000 for making that happen.

Antonio Silva did okay for himself, but had to go the distance to earn his $80k. However, if you’re not in the top 2-3 fights for an EliteXC show, it gets kinda shitty. Just ask Jirka Hlavaty. He got a sweet $500 for his losing effort. Don’t think that even covered his hotel room. (UPDATE: And Moyses Gabin earned just $1, not $1,000 as we reported earlier. We don’t know if that’s because Gary Shaw found out Gabin was banging Shaw’s wife or his daughter, but we’ll update you when we know for sure.)

The payday rundown:

Kimbo Slice – $175,000 ($125,000 to show, $50,000 to win)
Tank Abbott – $126,000

Antonio Silva – $80,000
Ricco Rodriguez – $20,000

Scott Smith – $12,000
Kyle Noke – $3,000

Yves Edwards – $6,000
Edson Berto – $6,000

Brett Rogers – $4,000
James Thompson – $25,000

Rafael Fiejao – $6,000
John Doyle – $2,500

Yosmany Cabazes – $2,000
Jon Kirk – $2,500

Dave Herman – $1,500
Mario Rinaldi – $2,000

Eric Bradley – $1,000
Mikey Gomez – $1,500

Mike Bernhard – $1,500
Lorenzo Borgameo – $1,000

Moyses Gabin — $1!
Jirka Hlavaty — $500

So obviously if you can sell tickets, you’re going to get paid by EliteXC. You’ll notice that Kimbo was just a couple grand away from earning more than every fighter combined – save for Tank. Fighters fleeing the UFC should take note. Guys like Tito Ortiz could easily headline an EliteXC event and earn enough to buy his Nanna a house in the process. These salaries do not account for bonuses, the fighters’ sponsors, percentages, etc, so the cabbage was certainly even healthier for Kimbo.

(Props to MMA Mania; numbers from the Florida State Boxing Commission.)