JBNTX
11-18-2008, 09:07 AM
Headliners Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture were, as expected, the top-paid competitors from the Nov. 15 UFC 91 fight card, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
MMAjunkie.com today requested and received the official disclosed fight purses from the NSAC.
The total payroll for the event, which took place in front of 14,272 spectators at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, was a hefty $1,118,000. Nearly two-thirds of it, 63 percent, was paid to Lesnar and Couture.
Lesnar, who defeated Couture for the UFC heavyweight championship, took home $450,000, of which $200,000 was a win bonus. Couture earned $250,000 and would have received an additional $250,000 had he won. (Both fighters are also likely to earn a portion of the event's pay-per-view revenue, though the figures aren't disclosed to the NSAC).
The full paydays from UFC 91 included:
Brock Lesnar: $450,000 (includes $200,000 win bonus)
def. Randy Couture: $250,000
Kenny Florian: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus)
def. Joe Stevenson: $35,000
Dustin Hazelett: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
def. Tamdan McCrory: $10,000
Gabriel Gonzaga: $110,000 ($55,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Hendricks: $8,000
Demian Maia: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Quarry: $25,000
Aaron Riley: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
def. Jorge Gurgel: $10,000
Jeremy Stephens: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
def. Rafael dos Anjos: $4,000
Mark Bocek: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Alvin Robinson: $7,000
Matt Brown $16,000 ($8,00O win bonus)
def. Ryan Thomas: $3,000
As always, the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income. They also do not include any other "locker-room" or special bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.
They also do not include UFC "fight night" awards issued after each event. For UFC 91, those awards amounted to $60,000 each. Jeremy Stephens earned the Knockout of the Night bonus, Hazelett picked up the Submission of the Night award, and a lightweight bout between Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel netted each competitor a Fight of the Night bonus.
MMAjunkie.com today requested and received the official disclosed fight purses from the NSAC.
The total payroll for the event, which took place in front of 14,272 spectators at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, was a hefty $1,118,000. Nearly two-thirds of it, 63 percent, was paid to Lesnar and Couture.
Lesnar, who defeated Couture for the UFC heavyweight championship, took home $450,000, of which $200,000 was a win bonus. Couture earned $250,000 and would have received an additional $250,000 had he won. (Both fighters are also likely to earn a portion of the event's pay-per-view revenue, though the figures aren't disclosed to the NSAC).
The full paydays from UFC 91 included:
Brock Lesnar: $450,000 (includes $200,000 win bonus)
def. Randy Couture: $250,000
Kenny Florian: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus)
def. Joe Stevenson: $35,000
Dustin Hazelett: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
def. Tamdan McCrory: $10,000
Gabriel Gonzaga: $110,000 ($55,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Hendricks: $8,000
Demian Maia: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Quarry: $25,000
Aaron Riley: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
def. Jorge Gurgel: $10,000
Jeremy Stephens: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
def. Rafael dos Anjos: $4,000
Mark Bocek: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Alvin Robinson: $7,000
Matt Brown $16,000 ($8,00O win bonus)
def. Ryan Thomas: $3,000
As always, the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income. They also do not include any other "locker-room" or special bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.
They also do not include UFC "fight night" awards issued after each event. For UFC 91, those awards amounted to $60,000 each. Jeremy Stephens earned the Knockout of the Night bonus, Hazelett picked up the Submission of the Night award, and a lightweight bout between Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel netted each competitor a Fight of the Night bonus.