MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) today received the fighter payouts for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for the event held on June 21 at The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas.
The original TUF winner, Diego Sanchez, was the top earner of the evening, raking in $70,000 for his hard-fought three round battle against Luigi Fioravanti. Spencer Fisher and TUF 3 winner, Kendall Grove, also earned more than $30,000 each for their performances.
Here are all TUF 7 Finale payouts:
Kendall Grove — $32,000 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 to win)
Evan Tanner — $25,000
Grove defeated Tanner via split decision
Amir Sadollah — $16,000
CB Dollaway — $8,000
Sadollah defeated Dollaway via submission (armbar) in round one
Diego Sanchez— $70,000 ($35,000 to show, $35,000 to win)
Luigi Fioravanti — $10,000
Sanchez defeated Fioravanti via technical knockout (strikes) in round three
Spencer Fisher — $36,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 to win)
Jeremy Stephens — $8,000
Fisher defeated Stephens via unanimous decision
Matthew Riddle — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Dante Rivera — $8,000
Riddle defeated Rivera via unanimous decision
Dustin Hazelett — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Josh Burkman — $10,000
Hazelett defeated Burkman via submission (armbar) in round two
Drew McFedries — $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win)
Marvin Eastman — $9,000
McFedries defeated Eastman via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Matt Brown — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Matt Arroyo — $8,000
Brown defeated Arroyo via technical knockout (strikes) in round two
Dean Lister — $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win)
Jeremy Horn — $25,000
Lister defeated Horn via submission (guillotine choke) in round one
Rob Kimmons — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Ron Yundt — $5,000
Kimmons defeated Yundt via Submission (guillotine choke) in round one
*Note that Tim Credeur and Cale Yarbrough each received their $8,000 show purses even though the fight was cancelled at the last minute, according to NSAC Executive Director, Keith Kizer. For more on that fiasco click here.
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 TUF 7 Finale go here.
The total base fighter payroll for TUF 7 Finale was $402,000.
For complete results and coverage of the fight night special that aired on Spike TV over the weekend click here.