(Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
The WEC paid out $276,500 in disclosed salaries and bonuses for their WEC 47 card on Saturday, with bantamweight contender Joseph Benavidez taking home the biggest cut. Benavidez’s $39,000 haul — including his win bonus and submission bonus — made him one of just three fighters to earn over $20,000 from the event. The numbers are below; keep in mind that they don’t include income from sponsorships or undisclosed "locker-room bonuses," or deductions for taxes, insurance, and licensing fees.
Dominick Cruz: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
Brian Bowles: $12,000
Joseph Benavidez: $39,000 (includes $14,500 win bonus, $10,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
Miguel Torres: $26,000
Javier Vazquez: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
Jens Pulver: $14,000*
L.C. Davis: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
Deividas Taurosevicius: $9,000
Bart Palaszewski: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
Karen Darabedyan: $4,000
Scott Jorgensen: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Chad George: $3,000
Chad Mendes: $8,000 (includes $4,000 win bonus)
Erik Koch: $3,000
Anthony Pettis: $16,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus, $10,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
Danny Castillo: $9,500
Leonard Garcia: $24,000 (includes $10,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
George Roop: $13,000 (includes $10,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Fredson Paixao: $4,000 (includes $2,000 win bonus)
Courtney Buck: $3,000
Ricardo Lamas: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Bendy Casimir: $3,000
* In all of his five previous WEC fights, Jens Pulver has earned $30,000 or more to show. Apparently, he took a 55% pay cut from his last fight. We’d expect that to happen if Pulver was just another underperforming fighter — but is that how you treat a beloved ambassador to the sport?
I have to assume that they have not combined the two promotions for purely financial reasons. I once thought that it was resistance on the part of the present UFC fighters, the reason being that more weight classes and more fighters means it’s going to be harder to get your fight on the main card if you are presently trying to break out in the UFC. But then a friend of mine reminded me that Dana doesn’t give a shit what the fighters think or say, he really only cares about money. Can’t blame him. So I have to assume that it just isn’t seen as profitable enough by the UFC brass.
@Rex13 – Why the curb stomp on Vera? Is he anti-cash-monies-for the WEC? Is there info that I should know about him before I root for him to pummel Jon Jones?