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WEC 47 Payouts: Joseph Benavidez Leads the Pack, Pulver Takes a Major Pay Cut


(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?

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ghostboner- March 9, 2010 at 3:15 pm
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?
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cecils_pupils- March 9, 2010 at 10:18 am
@As Good As... This is just my opinion, but I think that the disparity in fighter pay for this card is a factor of when/for how many fights these guys have in their contracts. Torres probably negotiated a better contract when he was on top and is still enjoying the benefits of it.

I have to agree with you all that something needs to be done to raise to pay scale for these guys and I also wanna know why WEC was not rolled into UFC when it was purchased - maybe the ratings were not what Zuffa wanted? Or maybe it was part of the deal - keep the brand alive? anyone... anyone... Bueller... Bueller...
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imakeutap- March 9, 2010 at 10:00 am
miguel torres dios mio!!! ayyyeeeeeeeeeee, PORQUE!?!?!?! PORQUE?!?!?!?!? ahora quiero morir

me mata!!
0 0 Reply
steampunk22- March 9, 2010 at 9:15 am
Agreed that Bowles was severly underpaid.
0 0 Reply
robthom- March 9, 2010 at 9:14 am
7+7 next I guess.

Only a few to go before he'll paying Zuffa to lose more fights.
0 0 Reply
jimbonics- March 9, 2010 at 9:02 am
TUF 12: Midgets on Strike.
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As Good As Anyone- March 9, 2010 at 8:42 am
How the fuck are both the guys in the main event getting paid LESS than the guys NOT fighting for a belt? What a load of bullshit! I'd strike.

Bowles gets $12,000 for defending a belt while Cruz gets $9,000 to fight for the belt... that's just to show.

Meanwhile Torres gets $26,000 to show and Benavidez gets $14,500 to show.

Although the bigger name goes to Torres, Benavidez lost to Cruz decisively and still makes much more than him. Am I missing something here?
0 0 Reply
ReX13- March 9, 2010 at 8:37 am
Can anyone explain to me WHY they don't roll the two into one? I'm not sure i understand the rationale. With that many fighters, Zuffa should be able to put on a weekly or bi-weekly free fight night, plus monthly PPV, pay the fighters decently, AND grow the sport. What am i missing?
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skeletor- March 9, 2010 at 8:32 am
I doubt these guys have any kind of PPV clause in the contracts. Any extra revenue will go strait into Zuffa's pockets. My friends and I rent every UFC PPV and discussed this one on Saturday. Our conclusion was to not rent it because we don't want to encourage this kind of behavior. The small guys need to be absorbed into the UFC, it would make the UFC cards more stacked and ensure better money for these fighters, thats the only way I see this working.
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Frank Mur- March 9, 2010 at 8:24 am
Mexicans are the worlds best "Little Fighters", even in boxing, the latinos rule from 100 lbs up to about 154 lbs. If I were small, and had like a hairlip or something like that, and folks were always teasing me and shit, I'd want to be a Mexican so I could fuck em up. But if I was like 170 lbs and Gay, and the fellas were always calling me Nancy or "Rope Sucker", I'd want to be French Canadian.
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SweetAfflictionShirt- March 9, 2010 at 8:03 am
What about Bowles. He was the defending champion and he got 12 g's.
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G Funk- March 9, 2010 at 8:00 am
He's lucky he got $14,000 and not a kick in the ass on the way out! Seriously? You think Coleman, Liddel or Couture would still be around in the UFC if they lost four straight? Please...
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ReX13- March 9, 2010 at 7:55 am
rampey>> Agreed. It seems like the WEC events are guaranteed entertainment, and seeing these payouts makes me want to curb stomp Brandon Vera. If i knew that PPV success meant that all the new dough would go straight to the fighters, i'd order the damn thing.
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aarondramp- March 9, 2010 at 7:46 am
These guys can't get rolled into the UFC quickly enough for me. They need to be getting paid.

So here's the dilemma: should we get the PPV since these little guys need money or should we hope it fails in hopes that the WEC will be absorbed into the UFC?
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Old_Bald_and_Irish- March 9, 2010 at 7:45 am
After dropping 4 straight bouts, I can kinda see why the Pulver pay-cut happened.

I'm not sayin' it's right; I'm just sayin'....
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