Live in a house with 16 dudes without any music, movies, television or family/female interaction for six weeks. Do nothing during this time but train and get beat up for one chance at a title shot.
How much is it all worth?
Well, for Travis Lutter and Matt Serra – middleweight and welterweight The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 champions, respectively – it was certainly well worth the sacrifice.
Both received six-figure UFC bonuses, cars, bling and other swank.
But what about the rest of the pack?
Thanks to MMAWeekly.com, we now know what each fighter brought home:
Travis Lutter: $110,000
Matt Serra: $110,000
Chris Lytle: $10,000
Patrick Cote: $10,000
Jorge Rivera: $20,000
Din Thomas: $20,000
Edwin Dewees: $10,000
Rich Clementi: $10,000
Scott Smith: $20,000
Pete Spratt: $20,000
Charles McCarthy: $20,000
Martin Kampmann: $15,000
Jeremy Jackson: $10,000
Pete Sell: $10,000
Gideon Ray: $10,000
Thales Leites: $3,000
<!--[endif]-->
All told, the UFC ponied up $408,000 for the entire TUF 4 fighter payroll
With the exception of Kampmann and Leites – the only two fighters on the card not from TUF 4 – it appears that payouts were even-Steven.
From an exposure and experience point of view, TUF 4 was probably invaluable. The payout amounts, however, are an entirely different animal.