UFCmania.com has received the fighter payouts for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the event held on June 23 at The Palms Hotel & Casino.
Real-world commitments kept me from passing this information along sooner ... apologies.
BJ Penn was the big winner of the night — figuratively and literally — earning $100,000 for his second round stoppage of Jens Pulver in the main event of the evening.
Shockingly, lightweight Leonard Garcia pocketed just $4,000 ($2,000 to show, $2,000 to win) for his submission win over Allen Berube. In contrast, "Monstah Lobstah" -- the inexperienced man he beat -- took home $8,000.
That seems a little strange.
Roger Huerta, on the other hand, didn't do too bad.
Nonetheless, the TUF 5 payouts:
BJ Penn — $100,000 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 to win)
Jens Pulver — $30,000
Penn defeated Pulver via submission (rear naked choke) in round two
Nathan Diaz — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Manny Gamburyan — $8,000
Diaz defeated Gamburyan via tapout (injury) in round two
Thales Leites — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Floyd Sword — $3,000
Leites defeated Sword via submission (arm triangle) in round one
Roger Huerta — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Doug Evans — $3,000
Huerta defeated Evans via technical knockout (strikes) in round two
Joe Lauzon — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Brandon Melendez — $8,000
Lauzon defeated Melendez via submission (triangle choke) in round two
Cole Miller — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Andy Wang — $8,000
Miller defeated Wang via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Gray Maynard — $8,000
Robert Emerson — $8,000
No contest (Dual knockout/tapout)
Leonard Garcia — $4,000 ($2,000 to show, $2,000 to win)
Allen Berube — $8,000
Garcia defeated Berube via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Matt Wiman — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Brian Geraghty — $8,000
Wiman defeated Geraghty via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include signing bonuses, sponsorships, pay-per-view percentages and other unofficial bonuses.
Clearly, it appears that all the TUF 5 contestants received the same deals ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win). Diaz, however, also earned a "six-figure" contract for his win in the finals over Gamburyan.
The total fighter payroll for the TUF 5 Finale was $298,000.
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