(Miguel’s show money might have been better, but amateur financial planner Brian Bowles gave him some compounding interest all upside his head. Photo courtesy of Fight Magazine.)

Disclosed salary numbers are out for last night’s WEC event in Las Vegas, and though it should come as no surprise at this point, the little fellas are still just barely getting by in these lean economic times.  Here’s what the official reported payouts looked like:

Brian Bowles — $18,000 ($9,000, $9,000 to win)
Miguel Torres — $25,000
Dominick Cruz — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Joseph Benavidez — $12,500
Danny Castillo — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Ricardo Lamas — $4,000
Takeya Mizugaki — $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Jeff Curran — $8,000
Leonard Garcia — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Jameel Massouh — $3,000
Cole Province — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Fredson Paixao — $2,000
Shane Roller — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Marcus Hicks — $8,000
Ed Ratcliff — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Phil Cardella — $3,000
Diego Nunes — $8,000 ($4,000 to show, $4,000 to win)
Rafael Dias — $4,000
Rani Yahya — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
John Hosman — $3,000
LC Davis — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Javier Vasquez — $6,000

Some thoughts…

- Not included above are the $10,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night, which went to Cruz and Benavidez, the $10,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night, which went to Bowles, and the $10,000 bonus for Submission of the Night, which went to Rani Yahya.

- With his bonus factored in, Bowles was the big money-maker on the night, pocketing a disclosed $28,000 for pulling off a huge upset to claim the WEC bantamweight title.  He still made only two grand more than Yahya, who was waaay down there on the card, and only four grand more than Leonard Garcia, who didn’t get any end-of-the-night bonus at all.

Underpaid: Aside from pretty much everyone, you could make a case that Miguel Torres, one of the WEC’s biggest draws, especially among the coveted Hispanic market, should be making more than twenty-five grand to show.  Other than that, it’s sad to see guys making three or even two grand in a Zuffa event.  That’s not a wage befitting professionals, even in the WEC.

Overpaid: Not that anyone is raking in the big money in the WEC, but how does 6-2 Shane Roller, who was coming off a loss going into WEC 42, pull down ten grand to show when Bowles, who has more fights in the WEC and was competing in the night’s main event, only get nine?  Might be time for Bowles to do a little renegotiating.