(That punch alone has got to be worth $500, easy.)

After a great night of fights in Sacramento, the WEC continues to be the place where even the stars get paid like inner-city high school teachers for absorbing only slightly more physical damage.  Jens Pulver, of all people, topped the disclosed WEC 41 payout list, taking home $31,253 for his thirty-three seconds of work in a losing effort against Josh Grispi.  Guess it pays to be a legend.  The rest of the fighter salaries from last night, not including the $10,000 bonuses given to Faber, Brown, Aldo, and Dikun, look like this:

Mike Brown — $25, 256 (includes $13,000 win bonus)
Urijah Faber — $25,790
Jose Aldo — $17,625 (includes $11,000 win bonus)
Cub Swanson — $8,940
Donald Cerrone — $17,682.54 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
James Krause — $1,692
Josh Grispi — $17,381 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
Jens Pulver — $31,253
Manny Gamburyan — $26,960 (includes $14,000 win bonus)
John Franchi — $3,108
Rafael Rebello $3,650 (includes $2,000 win bonus)
Kyle Dietz — $1,840
Anthony Pettis — $3,302.10 (includes $2,000 win bonus)
Mike Campbell — $2,950
Antonio Banuelos $9,840 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Scott Jorgensen — $5,530
Frank Gomez — $3,962.41 (includes $2,000 win bonus)
Noah Thomas — $2,350
Seth Dikun — $3,940 (includes $2,000 win bonus)
Rolando Perez — $2,890

So who got screwed and who did the screwing?

- Underpaid: Mike Brown.  Not only did the WEC featherweight champ make slightly less than the guy he beat even after his win bonus is factored in, he also made less than Jens Pulver and Manny Gamburyan.  In fact, Manny’s even getting a grand more than Brown in win bonus money.  How is this possible?  You take away the $13,000 win bonus and Brown got $12,256 in guaranteed cash to step in the cage and defend his title.  Yeah, he got an extra $10,000 for Fight of the Night, as did Faber, but still, that ain’t right.  

- Overpaid: Jens Pulver.  It pains us to say it, because we know he’s getting this kind of payday because of the name he built back when there was almost no money in it, and if anyone deserves a little something extra these days it’s Pulver.  But considering the value he brings to a fight card these days, he’s still not worth that kind of money, at least not while the top guy in the division is getting less than half the guaranteed money he is.  Sorry, but it’s the truth, though Gamburyan also deserves to be mentioned here.  While Pulver might have helped sell some tickets, no one came out specifically to see old Manvel.

- Worth Noting: The $10,000 end of the night bonuses might seem trivial when compared with the bonuses the UFC gives out, but think about the impact for a guy like Seth Dikun, who took home the Submission of the Night check.  He went from making just under four grand to just under fourteen.  After taxes and management, that’s the difference between driving home in a Ford Festiva and driving home in a used Toyota 4Runner.  In other words, it could very well be the difference between getting sad and getting laid.