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UFC 82: Fighter paydays and salaries for 'Pride of a Champion' (UPDATE)


The official document that we received right here earlier this morning for the UFC 82: "Pride of a Champion" fighter payroll was INACCURATE.

We emailed and spoke with Ohio Athletic Commission (OAC) Executive Director, Bernie Profato, about our concerns that the document was incorrect. At the time, he was adamant that the figures were correct.

However, he has since RETRACTED that claim:

"To All I apologize. I had my Inspector read me the contract amounts ovewr the phone so I could get the numbers for you as soon as possible and he gave the numbers backwards. ALL FEES SHOULD BE REVERSED. Thanks to you that caught this and again I apologize and will get you the updated copy soon. They ALL just need to be reversed."

Therefore, here are the CORRECT figures:

Anderson Silva -- $140,000 ($70,000 to show, $70,000 to win)
Dan Henderson -- $100,000
Silva defeated Henderson via submission (rear naked choke) in round two

Heath Herring -- $140,000 ($70,000 to show, $70,000 to win)
Cheick Kongo -- $30,000
Herring defeated Kongo via split decision

Chris Leben -- $50,000 ( $25,000 to show, $25,000 to win)
Alessio Sakara -- $17,000
Leben defeated Sakara via technical knockout (strikes) in round one

Yushin Okami -- $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win)
Evan Tanner -- $25,000
Okami defeated Tanner via technical knockout (knee) in round two

Jon Fitch -- $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 to win)
Chris Wilson -- $12,000
Fitch defeated Wilson via unanimous decision

Andrei Arlovski -- $170,000 ($105,000 to show, $65,000 to win)
Jake O'Brien -- $11,000
Arlovski defeated O'Brien via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Luigi Fioravanti -- $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Luke Cummo -- $16,000
Fioravanti defeated Cummo via unanimous decision

Josh Koscheck -- $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Dustin Hazelett -- $12,000
Koscheck defeated Hazelett via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Diego Sanchez -- $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 to win)
David Bielkheden -- $8,000
Sanchez defeated Bielkheden via submission (verbal tapout because of strikes) in round one

Jorge Gurgel -- $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
John Halverson -- $3,000
Gurgel defeated Halverson via unanimous decision

Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. It also does not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc.

For example, the UFC often hands out extra cash -- also known as locker room bonuses -- for "Fight of the Night," "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the Night." In fact, Silva and Henderson pocketed an additional $60,000 each for the fight of the night. Furthermore, "The Spider" got another $60,000 for submission of the night.

Not a bad deal for less than 10 minutes of work (excluding all that training leading up to the bout, of course).

Leben also took home an extra $60,000 for the knockout of the night.

For complete results and coverage of the "Pride of a Champion" click here and here.

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Wow for Silva’s salary but he well deserves it!

by Shu on Mar 3, 2008 12:34 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

David Bielkheden — $30,000 ?

Wow! These numbers are all over the place.
Fitch and Diego need new contracts.

by SaVaGe on Mar 3, 2008 12:37 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Thoughts on pay:
1. How does Diego make so little? If Hazelett would have won, he would have earned more. Crazy shit! He should be at least making as much as Kos and Fitch.
2. Kongo gets paid a lot more than I expected. Especially since he didn’t have a big name before the UFC.
3. Arlovski has a pretty good contract with the UFC. The UFC must be trying to make him take a paycut, otherwise what are they negotiating about? I would seriously doubt Arlovski wants more money than he is getting now. If he does than the UFC shouldnt keep him.
4. How in the F-in hell does Chris Wilson make more than Fitch. Wow!

The problem with the UFC is that they don’t reneqotiate between contracts. Therefore a fighter who is in the middle of his contract gets screwed by a newcomer getting more money for proving himself in lesser competition. This causes animosity not loyalty. The UFC has plenty of money and should change this.

by miarep on Mar 3, 2008 12:40 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Andrei Arlovski — $22,000 ($11,000 to show, $11,000 to win)
Jake O’Brien — $105,000

That’s wrong, right? Damn, I hope so.

by Andy on Mar 3, 2008 1:00 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Andrei Arlovski — $22,000 ($11,000 to show, $11,000 to win)
Jake O’Brien — $105,000

That’s wrong, right? Damn, I hope so.

I called and spoke with Mr. Profato personally, bringing up that specific example, and he told me that’s what’s on the contract. It seems very weird. And I think a mistake was made somewhere along the line. But if I’m assured the figures are correct what can else can I say other than to not publish the list even though I guess it could be right.

by MMAmania on Mar 3, 2008 1:01 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

They paydays for each fighter are switched.

For example, Spider got 70 and who knows what to win, and hendo got 100, and would have gotten 150 to win.

Arlovski got 105 to show, and who knowswhat to win. Jake got 11k.

by Wes on Mar 3, 2008 1:01 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Jake O’Brien — $105,000

And how the heck does Jake O’Brien rake in $150K?

by David on Mar 3, 2008 1:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

The Arlovski and O’brien numbers must be switched around cuz i doubt it was 105,000 for Obrien and only 11,000 for Arlovski… MISTAKE

by CA on Mar 3, 2008 1:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Oops. That should read:

And how the heck does Jake O’Brien rake in $105K?

by David on Mar 3, 2008 1:03 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

They paydays for each fighter are switched.

For example, Spider got 70 and who knows what to win, and hendo got 100, and would have gotten 150 to win.

Arlovski got 105 to show, and who knowswhat to win. Jake got 11k.

I said that and he told me “no” flat out.

by MMAmania on Mar 3, 2008 1:04 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

i cant beleive that there is still fighters making less than 10,000.these are some of the best fighters in the world and they should get paid accordingly.
Anderson is worth what hes getting.
Arlovski should be getting more like 50,000
Leben was suposed to on a 25,000-25,000 contract, why did he only get 17,000-17,000

by the levi on Mar 3, 2008 1:07 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I said that and he told me “no” flat out.

That’s crazy! Theres a thread on the UG here:
http://mma.tv/TUF/index.cfm?ac=ListMessages&PID=1&TID=1235569&FID=1&pc=21

that has a little different numbers

by Wes on Mar 3, 2008 1:07 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I certainly hope Joke O’Brien didn’t get 105!

by mmafan on Mar 3, 2008 1:08 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

well that man must be high as a f&)&(^ kite because there’s no way that Arlovski is making 11,000 to show and some newcomer like Chris Wilson is making 30 to show, wtf?

by Anthony on Mar 3, 2008 1:08 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

There must be a mix up some where down the line cause no way did o Brien get 105 and wilson 30 in his debut it does no make sence some one messed up some where

by Canadian Nemisis on Mar 3, 2008 1:11 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

And i think fight of the night should have gone to kongo and herring

by Canadian Nemisis on Mar 3, 2008 1:12 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I said that and he told me “no” flat out.

Man, if Arlovski is only pulling 11k, I’d leave the UFC too. I hope someone screwed up the numbers.

by Andy on Mar 3, 2008 1:14 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Some of these salaries seem way off. I can’t see the UFC paying O’Brien $105K per fight and then give Arlovski $11K just to show. If that’s true then it’s easy to see why Arlovski isn’t happy with his contract.

Also…the UFC has never given first time fighters $30K per fight for their first contract. How could they give someone like Bielkheden who is a relative unknown that kind of money yet only give Tanner $14K?

Something defintiely does not add up here.

by Buster Bluth on Mar 3, 2008 1:15 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

what did o brien get to show when he fought herring. he’s on the same contract, so the number should be close to that.

by Gregg on Mar 3, 2008 1:15 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

There is no way dana of all people would spend a fifth of that on someone like o’brien. Nice to see anderson pullin in some good cash though. Add in his double 60 takes and I would say at the very least he had an enviable pay day! Sad to see guys on that stage win or lose making 3,5,10 even 20K. I think with the exception of local promotions this sport is already well beyond those sort of pathetic pay days!!!

by wannabe on Mar 3, 2008 1:16 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I just uploaded the official document, fyi. See post above.

by MMAmania on Mar 3, 2008 1:17 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

UFC 70 Payout.

-Andrei Arlovski ($160,000) def. Fabricio Werdum ($80,000)

I highly doubt Arlovski is fighting for 22,000 now. Either it’s a typo or he has some type of back end deal that not in the contract.

by The Bruiser on Mar 3, 2008 1:22 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Something has to be wrong with this list, unless Dana and the contract/payrole guys are just trying to prove some wierd point?

by yoububg on Mar 3, 2008 1:23 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

If AA only got 11,000 to show and 11,00 to win, he should have walked out of the octagon after beating Irish and knocked Dana out.

by Jeff on Mar 3, 2008 1:25 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Those salaries are obviously not accurate. You should remove them so the rest of your website is not undermined.

by senior on Mar 3, 2008 1:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Deigo sanchez intially made 16000 to show and 16000 to win. Thats part of his TUF contract. The numbers are switched for all fighters. Except of silva and handerson. But overall, they need to switched

by Nash on Mar 3, 2008 1:35 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Where is the document????

How can I see 82 paydays???

by fightfan on Mar 3, 2008 1:39 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

UFC is bias towards fighhters they want to win if anybody didnt realize that already. they set up fights for a particular fighter they wanna see advance. if fitch doesnt get marcus davis you’ll see what i mean. ufc likes to protect their fighters records such as davis, fitch, but that should be the next one. even for their TUF winners they try to give them bs fighters.

by willy on Mar 3, 2008 1:44 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

The only one that dosen’t deserve a pay raise in this line up is Fitch with his boring ass. Everybody else, dam thats bad I can’t believe AAs pay. Every fighter did what they were supposed to except Fitch ( AA, Diego, Kos, Okami, Leben ) These were fights they were supposed to walk through and the only one that didn’t deliver was Fitch. The only reason I’m starting not to like him is because everybody keeps saying he’s next in line for a title shot that he’s the future of the division. Every other fighter put on a good show even in there losses Sakara at least tried Hazlet was bangin good before he got caught and Tanner after so long didn’t try to just eak out a decision. So why does Fitch get so much praise, even when he got him to the ground he did nothing.

by JV on Mar 3, 2008 1:46 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

World Victory Road (WVR) "Sengoku’
March 5, 2008
Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 1. in Tokyo, Japan.

Headlining the debut event is former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett and former Olympian Hidehiko Yoshida. Also featured on the card is Former PRIDE FC lightweight champion Takanori Gomi and MMA veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig.

MAIN CARD
Hidehiko Yoshida (7-5-1) vs. Josh Barnett (20-5-0)
Takanori Gomi (27-3-0) vs. Duane Ludwig (16-7-0)
Kazuo Misaki (18-8-2) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (13-1-1)
Kazuyuki Fujita (14-6-0) vs. Peter “Rolling Thunder” Graham
Makoto Takimoto (4-3-0) vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (15-10-0)
Ryo Kawamura (7-1-2) vs. Antonio Braga Neto (4-0-0)
Fabricio Monteiro (16-6-0) vs. Nick Thompson (34-9-1)

by roy on Mar 3, 2008 1:46 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

wow. this is weird. There’s NO WAY those fighter salaries are correct. But then why are these people insisting that they are? All we have to do is look back at AA’s salary for UFC 70 to see if these numbers are correct.

UFC 70 Payout.

-Andrei Arlovski ($160,000) def. Fabricio Werdum ($80,000)

I highly doubt Arlovski is fighting for 22,000 now. Either it’s a typo or he has some type of back end deal that not in the contract.

unless there’s some contract language that says on the last fight of your deal you go down to some ridiculous 11/11 # then those figures are BS.

by Anthony on Mar 3, 2008 1:48 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

“To All I apologize. I had my Inspector read me the contract amounts ovewr the phone so I could get the numbers for you as soon as possible and he gave the numbers backwards. ALL FEES SHOULD BE REVERSED. Thanks to you that caught this and again I apologize and will get you the updated copy soon. They ALL just need to be reversed.”

Ok, that’s good. Now I’m going to complain about Anderson’s pay. He’s the best fighter in the promotion and he isn’t even making 100k to show. He should definitely be getting paid more, hopefully soon.

Also, what is Arlovski complaining about? 105k to show, 65k to win. That’s not a bad payday.

by Andy on Mar 3, 2008 1:50 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

All looks good now. I hope Silva gets some nice PPV bonuses.

by Mr. Jitters on Mar 3, 2008 1:54 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

K, so now with the updated salary figures if I were Jake O’Brien I’d be pretty pissed. Chris Wilson and Dustin Hazelett make more than me, one was just making his debut, and I was undefeated 10-0 and a pretty good heavyweight…. ahhh who cares. LMAO

I think Arlovski is worthy of the money that the UFC paid Cro Cop. He should be on like a 250K show 150K win or something like that. AA has a HUGE fan base. I mean look at the ovation he got at the weigh-in and then when Buffer announced him for his fight.

by Anthony on Mar 3, 2008 1:57 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Those are some fucked up numbers! I hope AA leaves, any league would pay him more than that! Wilson making more than Fitch ???? LOL Who was in charge of pay this time?

by rctrue on Mar 3, 2008 2:00 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

The numbers reported before were wrong.

by rctrue on Mar 3, 2008 2:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

More like it.

by yoububg on Mar 3, 2008 2:03 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

the crowd was roaring for arlovski

by PATRICK on Mar 3, 2008 2:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

MMA Weekly has totally different salaries for ufc 82. This phony commission guy served you, Mania. You got served.

by hbdale309 on Mar 3, 2008 2:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

60k for a fight bonus? Wow. That’s what I call incentive.

by A Lynch on Mar 3, 2008 2:34 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

MMA Weekly has totally different salaries for ufc 82. This phony commission guy served you, Mania. You got served.

Phony? He didn’t sound phony on the phone. He made a mistake. It happens. We pointed out three separate occasions to him — not much more we can do. It’s fixed now and I’m sure we are a big reason it was resolved.

by MMAmania on Mar 3, 2008 2:44 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

K, so now with the updated salary figures if I were Jake O’Brien I’d be pretty pissed. Chris Wilson and Dustin Hazelett make more than me, one was just making his debut, and I was undefeated 10-0 and a pretty good heavyweight…. ahhh who cares. LMAO

I think Arlovski is worthy of the money that the UFC paid Cro Cop. He should be on like a 250K show 150K win or something like that. AA has a HUGE fan base. I mean look at the ovation he got at the weigh-in and then when Buffer announced him for his fight.

-Very true! hes been a top tier fighter and on main cards for like 3 or 4 years now, def deserves at least 175k. If lidell and others are making upwards of 250 to 500k even taking the fact that they have been losing as of recently. Arlovski has been winning and his fan base is huge, so the excuse cant possbily be markeability, since hes easily one of the top 5 most popular guys in the UFC and has been for quite some time now.

by blah on Mar 3, 2008 2:46 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Hahahaha…That’s hilarious that anyone believed those initial figures. I mean seriously Arlovski $11,000, surely you’d just go hmmmm, Jake who? vs. the former UFC HW champ, other way around, yeah that’s got to be it.

Still, Okami is getting screwed. He’s getting $14000 to show and $14000 to win. Hopefully he’s picking up good sponsership money plus a little extra from the UFC. He ko’ed Tanner, a former UFC champ while ginger brawler Leben swings for the fences and manages to ko a guy who has done nothing to date and has a glass jaw. Sakara’s last 3 losses have all come by TKO. I think Okami should have gotten the KO of the night. Leben gets almost twice as much as Okami to show.

Of course people will say Leben is a name (well sort of, especially due to his TUF exposure) and that he is excting. I don’t know, he looks like a drunk fighting outside a kebab shop in Liverpool on a Saturday night (hahaha…stole that one from Bisping, he didn’t mention Liverpool though as far as I’m aware). Just seems unfair.

I do realise though that those are of course the terms Okami agreed to.

by RobH86 on Mar 3, 2008 2:49 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Yeah you guys can complain about the pay.. but look at what EliteXC paid, at least nobody on this card got $1 for winning.

by Kitsunex on Mar 3, 2008 2:55 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Yeah you guys can complain about the pay.. but look at what EliteXC paid, at least nobody on this card got $1 for winning.

thats because he was be paid by a different promoter and they had to list something.

by roy on Mar 3, 2008 2:57 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

AA and Sanchez were not even on the PPV. whats up with that?!

by kama kaze on Mar 3, 2008 2:58 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

da spida is going to sign a HUGE contract soon im guessing. I would not be surprised if it jumps to 300k per fight. He prob deserves it now IMO, and i would go as far as saying that it should be just as much as lidells after this fight! If lidell can make that kind of money, why not a current champ who hasnt lost??
I can understand the theory behind paying lidell that kind of money a few years ago since hes WAS one of the few, along with TITO and RANDY who brought the sport to new heights in terms of popularity, but the UFC is thriving now and its no longer because of the 3 just mentioned. I dont see how you can have such a huge gap of pay for lidell (which hasnt even been winning as of recently) compared to the current title holders. The nogueras and silvas should be getting paid just as much until someone dethrones them in my personal opinion.

by blah on Mar 3, 2008 2:59 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

World Victory Road (WVR) "Sengoku’
March 5, 2008
Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 1. in Tokyo, Japan.

Headlining the debut event is former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett and former Olympian Hidehiko Yoshida. Also featured on the card is Former PRIDE FC lightweight champion Takanori Gomi and MMA veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig.

MAIN CARD
Hidehiko Yoshida (7-5-1) vs. Josh Barnett (20-5-0)
Takanori Gomi (27-3-0) vs. Duane Ludwig (16-7-0)
Kazuo Misaki (18-8-2) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (13-1-1)
Kazuyuki Fujita (14-6-0) vs. Peter “Rolling Thunder” Graham
Makoto Takimoto (4-3-0) vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (15-10-0)
Ryo Kawamura (7-1-2) vs. Antonio Braga Neto (4-0-0)
Fabricio Monteiro (16-6-0) vs. Nick Thompson (34-9-1)

Roy: Any idea how we can watch this event? Pay per view?

by john on Mar 3, 2008 3:08 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Hahahaha…That’s hilarious that anyone believed those initial figures. I mean seriously Arlovski $11,000, surely you’d just go hmmmm, Jake who? vs. the former UFC HW champ, other way around, yeah that’s got to be it.

Still, Okami is getting screwed. He’s getting $14000 to show and $14000 to win. Hopefully he’s picking up good sponsership money plus a little extra from the UFC. He ko’ed Tanner, a former UFC champ while ginger brawler Leben swings for the fences and manages to ko a guy who has done nothing to date and has a glass jaw. Sakara’s last 3 losses have all come by TKO. I think Okami should have gotten the KO of the night. Leben gets almost twice as much as Okami to show.

Of course people will say Leben is a name (well sort of, especially due to his TUF exposure) and that he is excting. I don’t know, he looks like a drunk fighting outside a kebab shop in Liverpool on a Saturday night (hahaha…stole that one from Bisping, he didn’t mention Liverpool though as far as I’m aware). Just seems unfair.

I do realise though that those are of course the terms Okami agreed to.

People STILL hating on Leben. I think that a Leben/Okami fight would be interesting, at least he’s the only guy that could fight Okami and make it interesting (well, of course Anderson Silva as well).

The comment from Bisping, was that directed towards Leben or was he saying it about someone else??? Because I think that Leben would destroy Bisping!!!! Bisping has nothing on Leben. His only advantage is that he might be “more technical at striking”, but that was the only thing that Sakara had going for him and look how that turned out. Bisping has about as much power as a 12 year old girl behind his punches. Leben would be able to fight Bisping without even thinking about defense, or moving his head or anything. He could just stand there and let Bisping hit him for a few minutes, and then take one swing and take Bisping’s head off. Bisping is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more of a joke of a fighter than Chris Leben.

by ViolentMike on Mar 3, 2008 3:18 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

da spida is going to sign a HUGE contract soon im guessing. I would not be surprised if it jumps to 300k per fight. He prob deserves it now IMO, and i would go as far as saying that it should be just as much as lidells after this fight! If lidell can make that kind of money, why not a current champ who hasnt lost??
I can understand the theory behind paying lidell that kind of money a few years ago since hes WAS one of the few, along with TITO and RANDY who brought the sport to new heights in terms of popularity, but the UFC is thriving now and its no longer because of the 3 just mentioned. I dont see how you can have such a huge gap of pay for lidell (which hasnt even been winning as of recently) compared to the current title holders. The nogueras and silvas should be getting paid just as much until someone dethrones them in my personal opinion.

Because the casual fan does not order a PPV because Anderson Silva is fighing Yushin Okami as the main event. However, the UFC can have Chuck Liddell fight Keith Jardine as the main event and they get plenty of PPV buys from the casual viewers. If Silva was more marketable, in that he spoke English and can carry a conversation, he would be an easier sell to the American general public.

Also, before that little queer hops on this thread because Chuck Liddell was just mentioned, I’ll make his post for him:

Over-rated-Chucky:
Its because Chuck gives Dana “oral pleasure”

Has that kid gotten on any one elses nerves lately????

by ViolentMike on Mar 3, 2008 3:22 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Roy: Any idea how we can watch this event? Pay per view?

i am lookin around don’t know if it will be on hdnet ppv or we may have to wait and catch it on the internet after.

by roy on Mar 3, 2008 3:35 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Ok, that’s good. Now I’m going to complain about Anderson’s pay. He’s the best fighter in the promotion and he isn’t even making 100k to show. He should definitely be getting paid more, hopefully soon.

Also, what is Arlovski complaining about? 105k to show, 65k to win. That’s not a bad payday.

Andy: I also have a big problem with Anderson Silva’s base salary of $70,000, thats is the same amount Hearing made just to show. No disrespect to Hearing who fought his ass off but Silva is the best champion that the UFC has, and they gave Hendo $100,000 just to show. I love Hendo but he does not deserve to be paid more in the UFC than Anderson Silva.

Props to Hazlett’s agent for negotiating a higher base salary than his opponent and top 10 fighter Koschek. Hazlett’s base salary was 12k and Kos’s was only $10k

I am not a fan of Koschek at all. In fact he is one of the fighters I hate the most, but come on, he deserves a base salary of more than 10k. He is a top 10 fighter and IMO no Top 10 fighter should only be paid $10K to show, on top of that he is a reality star…. I couldn’t blame Koschek for being pissed at his salary. His contract is up, making him an mma free agent, I would not to return to the UFC without a significant raise in pay, and I cant stand the guy. But fair is Fair!

Hearing got himself a nice agent as well. He was a pretty solid fighter in PRIDE, but he isnt worth a base pay of $40 more than Kongo.

The way the UFC pays its fighters is really wierd. I mean Koschek and Fitch are training partners, from the same camp, and are both top 10 fighters. Kos was a TUF alumni, Fitch was not. Fitch is tied for the best winning streak (8 wins no losses) in the history of the UFC. He is tied with Roycae gracie but his contract negotiation were at least 3 fights ago and he hadnt had that many big name or televised fights at that point. How the hell did he manage to negotiate $20,000 more in his base salary than Koscheks? Fitch is clearly the best fighter but they are both with out a doubt in the top 10 best welterweights of the UFC, yet Fitch makes 20K more? Dustin Hazlett which the past weekends event was the 1st time ever televised on pay per view negotiated a base salary thats 2k more than Koscheks. I just think it is weird.

As good as Henderson is, he should not have had a $30 increase in pay salary than Anderson Silva. Its just weird!

Some fighters are treated great financialy by the UFC, then a fighter who’s on the same level and is just as eciting makes a lott less. I just dont understand!

I do understand when a top notch but Boring fighter(Okami) doesnt make as much as some what on his level. I just find it weird that fighters on the same level, equally popular and equally exciting can completely different Base Salary’s.

For those who dont know what I mean by “Base” Salary…It means what the fighter got paid just to show up, that figure usually dubbles with a win.

As much as I love that lunatic Leben, how does he make a base 15k more in base salary than Koschek. Koscheks contract is up, and if I were him, the UFC would have to give me a significant pay raise or I would take my services to another company. Keep in mind I am just trying to keep it real… I hate Koschek more than any other fighter but he is getting treated unfairly.

Chris Wilson who half the people that ordered the pay perview never heard of, made $2k more in base salary than Koschek did, and they are in the same division.

I would be really pissed if I was Kos…. I would be like “Show me the MONEY, or I’m out”!

by john on Mar 3, 2008 3:35 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Now some fighters get treated really well, when you take account the bonuses (submission, KO, and fight of the night bonuses) so thats cool. I also heard that Dana has been handing out some “generous” Locker room bonuses, so its not all bad. There is just a huge discrepancy in salaries between fighters and I dont understand.

I am pissed that Silva only was paid $70,000 to show up, when Henderson was paid $100,ooo to show, Lucky for Silva that he submitted him because submission of the night plus Fight of the night and the win let him pocket $260,000 which is really what he should be making anyway.

I would love to find out how the “locker room” bonuses work, and how much $ they involve. Any one with info in this department?

by john on Mar 3, 2008 3:41 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Wow, regardless of the sponsorships, these guys get grossly underpaid considering how much revenue the UFC makes. The fact that Anderson Silva isn’t making multi-millions per fight is ridiculous. These guys need to get unionized.

Hopefully WVR, Dream, IFL, HDnet, M1, Strikeforce and EliteXC/ProElite can establish a world champion belt system and get this sport sorted out correctly, forcing UFC to go along with it, and get MMA out of the dark ages.

by coh on Mar 3, 2008 3:42 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Also, before that little queer hops on this thread because Chuck Liddell was just mentioned, I’ll make his post for him:

Over-rated-Chucky:
Its because Chuck gives Dana “oral pleasure”

Has that kid gotten on any one elses nerves lately????

haha that was pretty spot on, actually. and yeah he’s gotten on my nerves.

by Kitsunex on Mar 3, 2008 3:54 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

here’s a little food for thought…

Dana was probably going to keep A.A. on the shelf forever, until he signed a contract extension favorable to the UFC. A.A. held his ground and Dana finally gave him an out.. ‘You want out, well, we’re only going to pay you 11/11 for your last fight, take it or leave it’…

I would have taken the mediocre payday, if it was my only way out…

all speculation, but is it that far fetched?

by it.dont.stop on Mar 3, 2008 3:57 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

TOTALLY OFF TOPIC, but did anyone watch Marquez/Vazquez 3 that was on the same night as UFC 82? I recorded it on my DVR and watched it afterwards. WOW, WOW, WOW, what a fight!!!!! If any of you have Showtime, watch the replay, it is worth your time!!!! And I pretty much hate boxing.

by ViolentMike on Mar 3, 2008 4:06 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

30 000 $ to show for Kongo, what a bargain for the UFC.After all the hype surrounding the win over cro cop, Cheik receive a tip as a salary.I don t get it sorry.
in fact it s only 20 0000 because of the higher rate of the €uro lol.

by yaz on Mar 3, 2008 4:14 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

i am lookin around don’t know if it will be on hdnet ppv or we may have to wait and catch it on the internet after.

I hate having to catch an event on the net. Hopefully if we have to watch it on the net, they release it on DVD later.

by john on Mar 3, 2008 4:17 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Because the casual fan does not order a PPV because Anderson Silva is fighing Yushin Okami as the main event. However, the UFC can have Chuck Liddell fight Keith Jardine as the main event and they get plenty of PPV buys from the casual viewers. If Silva was more marketable, in that he spoke English and can carry a conversation, he would be an easier sell to the American general public.

Also, before that little queer hops on this thread because Chuck Liddell was just mentioned, I’ll make his post for him:

Over-rated-Chucky:
Its because Chuck gives Dana “oral pleasure”

Has that kid gotten on any one elses nerves lately????

I don’t know why Silva doesn’t learn English. If I was Dana I would be all over him to learn as fast as possible. It would mean more money for him and the UFC. I respect him as a fighter, but don’t love him like some of my favorite fighters in the UFC. Pesonality has a lot do with why we like a certain fighter and how can you tell what his is like if you don’t know what the hell he is talking about.

I am a huge Chuck fan and everytime that dude posts something it drives me nuts. He is like an annoying little brother who doesn’t know shit and won’t shut up.

by bnf on Mar 3, 2008 4:30 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Andy: I also have a big problem with Anderson Silva’s base salary of $70,000, thats is the same amount Hearing made just to show. No disrespect to Hearing who fought his ass off but Silva is the best champion that the UFC has, and they gave Hendo $100,000 just to show. I love Hendo but he does not deserve to be paid more in the UFC than Anderson Silva.

Props to Hazlett’s agent for negotiating a higher base salary than his opponent and top 10 fighter Koschek. Hazlett’s base salary was 12k and Kos’s was only $10k

I am not a fan of Koschek at all. In fact he is one of the fighters I hate the most, but come on, he deserves a base salary of more than 10k. He is a top 10 fighter and IMO no Top 10 fighter should only be paid $10K to show, on top of that he is a reality star…. I couldn’t blame Koschek for being pissed at his salary. His contract is up, making him an mma free agent, I would not to return to the UFC without a significant raise in pay, and I cant stand the guy. But fair is Fair!

Hearing got himself a nice agent as well. He was a pretty solid fighter in PRIDE, but he isnt worth a base pay of $40 more than Kongo.

The way the UFC pays its fighters is really wierd. I mean Koschek and Fitch are training partners, from the same camp, and are both top 10 fighters. Kos was a TUF alumni, Fitch was not. Fitch is tied for the best winning streak (8 wins no losses) in the history of the UFC. He is tied with Roycae gracie but his contract negotiation were at least 3 fights ago and he hadnt had that many big name or televised fights at that point. How the hell did he manage to negotiate $20,000 more in his base salary than Koscheks? Fitch is clearly the best fighter but they are both with out a doubt in the top 10 best welterweights of the UFC, yet Fitch makes 20K more? Dustin Hazlett which the past weekends event was the 1st time ever televised on pay per view negotiated a base salary thats 2k more than Koscheks. I just think it is weird.

As good as Henderson is, he should not have had a $30 increase in pay salary than Anderson Silva. Its just weird!

Some fighters are treated great financialy by the UFC, then a fighter who’s on the same level and is just as eciting makes a lott less. I just dont understand!

I do understand when a top notch but Boring fighter(Okami) doesnt make as much as some what on his level. I just find it weird that fighters on the same level, equally popular and equally exciting can completely different Base Salary’s.

For those who dont know what I mean by “Base” Salary…It means what the fighter got paid just to show up, that figure usually dubbles with a win.

As much as I love that lunatic Leben, how does he make a base 15k more in base salary than Koschek. Koscheks contract is up, and if I were him, the UFC would have to give me a significant pay raise or I would take my services to another company. Keep in mind I am just trying to keep it real… I hate Koschek more than any other fighter but he is getting treated unfairly.

Chris Wilson who half the people that ordered the pay perview never heard of, made $2k more in base salary than Koschek did, and they are in the same division.

I would be really pissed if I was Kos…. I would be like “Show me the MONEY, or I’m out”!

John, I believe that that was Kos’s last fight on his original TUF contract. Chris Leben is getting more because he fulfilled his original TUF contract and re-negotiated. I believe I read in a Kos interview something like he had fulfilled the number of fights on the contract, but not the time, so he could have sat around waiting for the time to come to re-negotiate, or he could have taken a fight at his current salary. Rather than sit around, he chose the latter of the two.

by ViolentMike on Mar 3, 2008 4:32 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Over-rated-Chucky:
Its because Chuck gives Dana “oral pleasure”
Has that kid gotten on any one elses nerves lately????

LOL…yes.

by Andy on Mar 3, 2008 4:42 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I remember a while back I rented a few UFC DVD’s it was when Chuck fought Horn, when Hughes fought penn and when Franklin fought Quarry, I cant remember exactly which one buin the extra credits, Dana has all the fighters in a meeting and he mentions that the bonus for KNockout, submission and fight of the night is $10,000, that somebody could potentially win $20,000. DAMN after watching that they now get $60,000 fuck thats a huge increase in a few years not to mention Silva got $140 g’s to win and $120g’s bonus, aside from the bonus that Dana gives and sponsor money and PPV % fuck he must of made at least half a mil hell well deserved he keeps entertaining the shit out of all the MMA fans

by hector on Mar 3, 2008 4:44 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Roy: Any idea how we can watch this event? Pay per view?

John, from what I can tell, the PPV is only available in Asia.

by ViolentMike on Mar 3, 2008 4:48 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

“bnf” I disagree with you, I have seen many interviews and saw him in person at the Q & A at UFC79 and the dude is hillarious he has a great personality its almost unbelievable that a man that nice and funny is a freaking killing machine. yes it would be nice to actually hear him speak english and be himself which is a likeable person and great fighter but, I will not be less of a fan nor will the UFC make less money because he doesnt speak english. Wandy learned english and its great but he has lost his last 3 fights I still love to watch the guy fight and he is a damn good fighter as well but, I would much rather him win fights and dominate ppl than hi speak english so I can understand him, hence Anderson Silva

by hector on Mar 3, 2008 4:49 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

“bnf”

I disagree with you, I have seen many interviews and saw him in person at the Q & A at UFC79 and the dude is hillarious he has a great personality its almost unbelievable that a man that nice and funny is a freaking killing machine. yes it would be nice to actually hear him speak english and be himself which is a likeable person and great fighter but, I will not be less of a fan nor will the UFC make less money because he doesnt speak english. Wandy learned english and its great but he has lost his last 3 fights I still love to watch the guy fight and he is a damn good fighter as well but, I would much rather him win fights and dominate ppl than hi speak english so I can understand him, hence Anderson Silva

I guess it depends on what Anderson’s goals are. If he wants to destroy everbody the UFC throws at him take his salary and go back to Brazil more power to him. But if he wants to become a huge name in America and get big money outside of the ring as well he definetly needs to learn English. He is so good and with the popularity of the UFC now I think he can become a huge star.

by bnf on Mar 3, 2008 5:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Because the casual fan does not order a PPV because Anderson Silva is fighing Yushin Okami as the main event. However, the UFC can have Chuck Liddell fight Keith Jardine as the main event and they get plenty of PPV buys from the casual viewers. If Silva was more marketable, in that he spoke English and can carry a conversation, he would be an easier sell to the American general public.

Also, before that little queer hops on this thread because Chuck Liddell was just mentioned, I’ll make his post for him:

Over-rated-Chucky:
Its because Chuck gives Dana “oral pleasure”

Has that kid gotten on any one elses nerves lately????


I don’t like Liddell, but yeah, that guy annoys me.
Of course, after that beat down he gave Wandy he’s starting to get on my good side again lol.

by Toms Bombs on Mar 3, 2008 5:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Am I on crack or just retarded? It says
“Andrei Arlovski — $170,000 ($105,000 to show, $65,000 to win)
Jake O’Brien — $11,000”

Now why is everyone saying AA only got 11K to show and 11 to win? Am I missing something?

by Boss on Mar 3, 2008 5:50 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

John, from what I can tell, the PPV is only available in Asia.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

John, I believe that that was Kos’s last fight on his original TUF contract. Chris Leben is getting more because he fulfilled his original TUF contract and re-negotiated. I believe I read in a Kos interview something like he had fulfilled the number of fights on the contract, but not the time, so he could have sat around waiting for the time to come to re-negotiate, or he could have taken a fight at his current salary. Rather than sit around, he chose the latter of the two.

Thanks for clearing that up contractual crap up for me. Makes sense, expect to see him renogotiate for the $30,000 base salary that Fitch is getting, or slightly less. If not his agent should be fired, and once again I dont even like the guy!

by john on Mar 3, 2008 6:04 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

hmm the highest paid fighter tht nite was on the undercard..makes a lotta sense to me

by ISLAND BOI on Mar 3, 2008 6:05 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I still cannot believe that AA got paid $170k for that fight and the UFC would not even air it. Absofuckinglutely ridiculous.

Silva has an older contract I’m sure and Henderson has a recent contract. When Silva’s contract comes up, he will be due some big dollars — his fights are always entertaining!

by Rob on Mar 3, 2008 6:09 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Go Arlovski! Top 4 and getting paid for it. Good to see!

by Rilly on Mar 3, 2008 6:10 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

[quote comment=“341873”][quote]

I don’t know why Silva doesn’t learn English. If I was Dana I would be all over him to learn as fast as possible. It would mean more money for him and the UFC. I respect him as a fighter, but don’t love him like some of my favorite fighters in the UFC. Pesonality has a lot do with why we like a certain fighter and how can you tell what his is like if you don’t know what the hell he is talking about.

quote]If you were a fighter in brazilian leauge, would you wanna take portugese lessons? I’d rather work on my bjj or boxing and do the talking in the octagon/ring

by scott on Mar 3, 2008 7:30 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

The funny thing about Silva is that he will fight anyone. In his post-fight interview he was talking about going down in weight to fight and wanted to fight the boxing 185 champ. Strong words, but from a guy this good and this confident, he will most likely compete and has a good chance of winning as well. Randy is a champ in 2 different weightclasses, Bj is as well, Hendo belongs to the club so why not Silva? Silva has as good a set of tools as those guys do. Better than Hendo’s obviously.

by Spider Style on Mar 3, 2008 8:09 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

even well known UFC fighters are underpaid if you compare it with boxing.. Pacquiao is getting 5 million per fight plus PPv, mayweather 25 million.. and yet DANA keep saying that boxing is dead beacuse of UFC..

by gagag on Mar 3, 2008 9:27 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Because the casual fan does not order a PPV because Anderson Silva is fighing Yushin Okami as the main event. However, the UFC can have Chuck Liddell fight Keith Jardine as the main event and they get plenty of PPV buys from the casual viewers. If Silva was more marketable, in that he spoke English and can carry a conversation, he would be an easier sell to the American general public.

Also, before that little queer hops on this thread because Chuck Liddell was just mentioned, I’ll make his post for him:

Over-rated-Chucky:
Its because Chuck gives Dana “oral pleasure”

Has that kid gotten on any one elses nerves lately????


lmao , yep I dont like that guy either.

by c-war on Mar 3, 2008 10:01 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Arlovski probably just set the record for biggest pay day on the undercard.

by c-war on Mar 3, 2008 10:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

David Bielkheden — $30,000 ?

Wow! These numbers are all over the place.
Fitch and Diego need new contracts.

What about KOS??? He should be spitting blood. He’s earning 1/3 of what a guy he beat is on!

by Nick J on Mar 4, 2008 6:15 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Andre got paid that much and didn’t make it to the televised part. Those guys are dumb-asses! I’m pissed it wasn’t on PPV.

by SmokeRogan on Mar 4, 2008 1:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

This wasn’t as great as on paper, though…

Anderson Silva: still one of my favs. though when not touching gloves with Dan… not really much of sportmanship for a nice guy like Silva.

Dan Henderson: A heck of a tough dude, the Silva fight was nothing… Dan will coming back, stronger than ever.

Heath Herring: Back in the day of Pride Heath was one of my favs. in his latest fight versus Kongo he was almost as good… to be a big man he moves great on the floor, if the rules was like in Pride, Kongo would’ve been KO’d in the second round.

Cheick Kongo: I didn’t knew he was that great at takedowns, hope to see him in the future.

Chris Leben: Leben looked to be in better shape, junkfood and beer is no more the main priority in his diet, I thought Leben was going to lose this fight and I’m glad he won, I hate his hair and his fingernails… but why bother… most of them look like turds anyway… I mean Herring’s hair was crazy… I bet Leben was jealous and took all the anger out at Sakara.

Alessio Sakara: He could do better than this… he need to improve overall… I mean Leben had improved on most aspects and Sakara looked to be in lesser shape than before.

Yushin Okami: I don’t like Okami… but he’s strong, I bet he’ll stay in the UFC for a long long time.

Evan Tanner: Hmmm… well I knew Okami should take this fight easliy, but not in that fashion… to me Evan Tanner is done, he has too much to learn to catch up and he’s not getting younger.

Jon Fitch: One of my absolute favs., though to me that was a crap fight, the good in this fight weas the surprise of Wilson being that good.

Chris Wilson: What a debut and what a fighter, I thought he was good but that he was at this level that I didn’t have the slightest thought of.

Andrei Arlovski: Andrei is not one of my favs. though I’m glad he won… crap fight anyway.

Jake O’Brien: This was the let down for me… huge let down, I was rooting for Jake to win, he then looses… obviously, but what was he doing, going for takedowns after takedowns, crappy crappy takedowns…even a granny can see that lousy takedowns, I thought this was going to be the fight of the evening with a standup brawl, thanks Jake for screwing the fans.

Luigi Fioravanti: Damn, that guy impressed me… he was truly one of the highlights… he was short but then again “size doesn’t matter” (inside the Octagon though).

Luke Cummo: Luke did a good fight, Luigi did better and won… simple as that.

Josh Koscheck: I’m still not a fan, but he’s winning me over… he seems to be a great guy, liked the sportmanship between him and Hazelett.

Dustin Hazelett: I thought Hazelett should’ve taken this fight, though he did a great performance.

Diego Sanchez: Still hate that guy, I can’t stand him… not even when he put on a show… and who the hell is he praying to?
Next in the UFC I wanna see a Satanist entering to Black Metal from the early 90’s with a pentagram tattood to his forehead… he’s drinking blood from a goat head, reading the Black Bible and burning down the Octagon… Winning by the way of Arson in round one, now THAT would be a great show… hope you find the Exit-signs in time!

David Bielkheden: I thought that Bell-ka-den (as they’re spelling it), it should be read Bjealkhayden… almost 100% right there… well my Swedish comrade didn’t do as I thought, he lost though… so I wasn’t that wrong either.

Jorge Gurgel: Can’t remember, bet it was crap though!

John Halverson: Same as Gurgel!

by JonnyBoy on Mar 4, 2008 2:16 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

TOTALLY OFF TOPIC, but did anyone watch Marquez/Vazquez 3 that was on the same night as UFC 82? I recorded it on my DVR and watched it afterwards. WOW, WOW, WOW, what a fight!!!!! If any of you have Showtime, watch the replay, it is worth your time!!!! And I pretty much hate boxing.

- i also recorded it, it was a great fight!

by blah on Mar 4, 2008 3:24 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

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