UFC 102 fighter salaries and paydays for 'Couture vs Nogueira'
by Jesse Holland on Aug 30, 2009 6:59 PM EDT
44 comments
The official fighter purses for those who competed at UFC 102: "Couture vs. Nogueira" this past Saturday night (August 29) from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, were released earlier today and come courtesy of MMAWeekly.
Two former champions — Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira — were the big winners of the night, taking home a combined $650,000. Not too shabby considering they also tacked on another 60 grand with their sensational "Fight of the Night" performance.
Former number one heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga was the only other competitor to break six figures (along with breaking the sack of C-Tuch). "Napao" raked in $120,000 for his nut-cracking win.
Thiago Silva, Brandon Vera and Nate Marquardt also made off with boku bucks following their winning performances.
Here is the complete list of UFC 102 payouts:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -- $400,000 ($250,000 to show, $150,000 to win)
Randy Couture -- $250,000
Nogueira defeated Couture via unanimous decision
Thiago Silva -- $58,000 ($29,000 to show, $29,000 to win)
Keith Jardine -- $55,000
Silva defeated Jardine via technical knockout (strikes)
Jake Rosholt -- $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win)
Chris Leben -- $30,000
Rosholt defeated Leben via submission (arm-triangle choke)
Nate Marquardt -- $80,000 ($40,000 to show, $40,000 to win)
Demian Maia -- $28,000
Marquardt defeated Maia via knockout (punch)
Brandon Vera -- $70,000 ($35,000 to show, $35,000 to win)
Krzystzof Soszynski -- $8,000
Vera defeated Soszynski via unanimous decision
Aaron Simpson -- $18,000 ($9,000 to show, $9,000 to win)
Ed Herman -- $24,000
Simpson defeated Herman via technical knockout (knee injury)
Gabriel Gonzaga -- $120,000 ($60,000 to show, $60,000 to win)
Chris Tuchscherer -- $10,000
Gonzaga defeated Tuchscherer via technical knockout (strikes)
Mike Russow -- $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Justin McCully -- $15,000
Russow defeated McCully via unanimous decision
Todd Duffee -- $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Tim Hague ($7,000)
Duffee defeated Hague via knockout (punches)
Mark Munoz -- $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Nick Catone -- $5,000
Munoz defeated Catone via split decision
Evan Dunham -- $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Marcus Aurelio -- $13,000
Dunham defeated Aurelio via split 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 for "Fight of the Night," "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the Night." To check out these figures for UFC 102 go here.
The total base fighter payroll for the blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event, which attracted an official crowd of 16,088 attendees and a solid gate of $1.92 million, was $1,285,000.
For complete results and coverage of "Couture vs. Nogueira" click here and here.
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Absolutely! Keith gives it his all every fight and there are always exciting machups with him. He must win his next fight by stoppage though.
by Vulcano on Aug 31, 2009 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Duffee is a monster. I think we’ll be seeing alot more of him. Only $5k though??
by knowone on Aug 31, 2009 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
duffee only gets 5k cause he’s new!~
dont u guy’s know how the fighter’s are paid?~
all this contract money, is the gauranteed money..
zuffa can’t pay a newbie fighter a crazy amount of money, and then have him put on a boring show..
dana and lorenzo personally go up to the fighters after and reward them with bonus checks.
if the fighter “brought it” and had an entertaininig bout. they get paid.~. i heard jardine got 100k bonus for beating the iceman!~
the ufc can’t clause “if u are entertaing” in a contract, and put up a gauranteed 6 figure agreement, just to have them pull a “kalib starns” and run the entire time, knowing u will get paid regardless..
the vet’s and top fighters all get good contracts cause they are already known, or are champs..[high profile guys]..
ie~ jardine used to get paid 10k to show~ now he gets 55k.. if jardine fights 3 times a year with that contract, he will make 165k for the year.[bare minimum].
trust me fella’s, these guys make more than what u see here!~ no doubt in my mind, duffee got a nice bonus for a new record ko!~
by stinky~fingers on Aug 31, 2009 7:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Duffee should have really been given the KOTN because he needs the money more than Nate, plus he broke the UFC KO record. I hope you’re right Stinky, after that performance he deserved a good bonus.
by David W-S on Aug 31, 2009 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Big Nog soooo earned it, man! What a fight. I re-watched it yesterday. I was just as impressed with Couture. Though he lost, I couldn’t believe the subs he escaped! The dude is mad smart in the middle of a fight crisis. But definitely, Big Nog looked really good.
by MMACrossfire on Aug 31, 2009 9:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would like to see him replace Carwin if possible for there November fight and put Carwin back with Cain if possible?
by Puck Head on Aug 31, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
They do, bigger names get PPV revenue. Don’t forget about back room bonuses too.
by UFC Champ on Aug 30, 2009 9:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nice payday for Nog.
Soszynskis and Veras salaries piss me off, no way is Vera worth that much and Soszynski should get much more.
They should be reversed, then maybe Vera would start and TRY to finish people.
by Lester The Pimp on Aug 30, 2009 8:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
He has won 11 fights in his career and finished 8 of them.. Not a bad average..
by lance2576 on Aug 30, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
and he WON a fun fight to watch. What the fock Lester you’re ridiculous.
by The Dude on Aug 30, 2009 9:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
are you out of your mind? they are all getting to little..
Thiago Silva should get twice as much as Jardine, he is a much better fighter, and with big potential to not only become better as a fighter but to become a big name/fan favorite…
by RoBerto on Aug 30, 2009 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
agreed roberto, thiago and nate should both make more than jardine, but then again maybe they are trying to make up for underpaying him so long. contenders should make more money than gatekeepers either way.
by buttcrack obama bin laden on Aug 30, 2009 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
yeah, that’s right.. Keith is not a contender nor is he a big name, and quite honestly he’ll never be. We know that now, next step for him should be a rematch against Forrest
by RoBerto on Aug 30, 2009 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If only he could stop being “unorthodox”, stop hoppin around, put his hands up and stop swinging his arms side to side when he strikes, he could be a solid B+ fighter.
by NameNotRequired on Aug 30, 2009 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Namerequired-If he ain’t unorthodox, he’s gonna be a C-Level fighter…
by The Negation on Aug 31, 2009 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
yep, he was running forward throwing lazy punches with no defense! I think about 100% of the fighters doing that gets caught and lose..
by RoBerto on Aug 31, 2009 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Krzystzof should get 15/15 but at least those kimura bonuses were there. Thank the maker Vera doesn’t get 100k anymore but he still is overpaid.
by Vulcano on Aug 31, 2009 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
You guys have to understand that Krzy… is locked into a TUF contract. They all come out of the house getting 8/8. He is def getting way more in the back room bonuses. When his current contract is up he will be getting a lot more in the disclosed salaries.
by ehoglund on Aug 31, 2009 1:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Cant believe marquardt isnt on more..especialy when you consider Bisping gets $150,000 to show (or get KO’d I should say)
by Confused on Aug 30, 2009 8:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Bisping was paid (although I don’t care for him as a fighter) more because he generates revenu from the brit fans.
by neeko on Aug 30, 2009 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
then he should get money as a bonus, not guaranteed.
by buttcrack obama bin laden on Aug 30, 2009 10:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
that makes no sense. You get paid by how many fans you bring in not how good you are, it’s business. Same reason Tito makes 300k a fight even though he’s barely a top 10 LHW now.
by GSP4Prez on Aug 30, 2009 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m glad to see UFC salaries starting to creep upward.
by Mr. Bojangles on Aug 30, 2009 9:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
randy made a quater mil for a loss and probably would have made half a million if he won. what was he bitching about again?
by Conan the Barbarian on Aug 30, 2009 10:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
boxers making 10x that much while selling half as many ppv’s.
by buttcrack obama bin laden on Aug 30, 2009 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
according to simplyhired.com:
Average Professional Boxer Salaries
The average salary for professional boxer jobs is $32,000. Average professional boxer salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits.
This salary was calculated using the average salary for all jobs with the term “professional boxer” anywhere in the job listing.
My cousin was married to Lou Duva’s daughter for a while. I remember them saying a no name boxer was getting anywhere from $100 to $500 for a 4 round under card fight for smaller promos. That was a few years back when I last spoke with him though, so it maybe worse now with the popularity of mma.
by Da Monkey on Aug 31, 2009 7:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ya, and thats why boxing became so corupt and failed eventualy.
by Cantrim on Aug 30, 2009 11:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Krzystzof, a guy who won his 3 last fights in a decisive manner, makes 8 while a debuting Chris Tuchscherer makes 10? Where in the hell is that fair?
by CMP on Aug 30, 2009 11:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I thought Couture’s salaray got upgraded with the new contract he signed before the fight? Should’nt his payday be higher than $250k? I thought that’s what it always was…
by Dayvet on Aug 31, 2009 12:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I laugh at some of the comments here.
Zuffa/UFC has a perfect plan going on. It’s a business and the fighters who are tops make millions a year (Randy) even without their fight pay. Marketability is the biggest factor.
by DubNub on Aug 31, 2009 1:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Im glad Vera isnt getting those 100k+ checks without bonus anymore , cause hes boring basically and has no killer instinct in him .. Not too mention he has no balls and wont fight a A fighter.
by Dayzah on Aug 31, 2009 1:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I’m surprised Krzystzof Soszynski only made 8k considering his talent, win-record (aside from Vera fight) and a lot of fans know him from TUF.
by shitleTOT.com on Aug 31, 2009 2:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
and the only boxers who make more are the top boxers and thats because HBO is involved and multiple producers the UFC pays for its own shows and broadcasting and such i think there pay scale is fine look at what the guys on the under card of boxings ppv are making its way worse then these numbers
by rylie on Aug 31, 2009 3:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Thiago Silva deserves a better salary. Jardine got a heft upraise, wow!
by TheBrazilianNinja on Aug 31, 2009 8:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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