UFC 148 salaries: Anderson Silva hauls in $200K to just $50K/$50K for Chael Sonnen

No matter what Chael Sonnen does against Anderson Silva in the main event of tonight's (Sat., July 7, 2012) UFC 148 pay-per-view (PPV) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, he'll only make no more than half of his hated opponent. Officially, at least.

That's according to the payouts and salaries released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), who delivered the numbers to MMA Junkie late last night.

Sonnen is still operating on a contract that pays him $50,000 to show and another $50,000 if he is to emerge victorious. Silva, meanwhile, gets a flat salary of $200,000 as long as he gets to the cage and participates in a sanctioned mixed martial arts (MMA) bout tonight.

Of course, none of this is accounting for the considerable bonuses that will likely be handed out, not to mention PPV points and so on and so forth. Surely these two will be sitting pretty once the checks start rolling after the buyrate comes in.

It also doesn't include any "Of the Night" bonuses and awards.

The last time these two met, they were awarded $60,000 for "Fight of the Night" honors (of course!) and "The Spider" earned an additional check for "Submission of the Night" for his late triangle choke.

The undercard also features a couple of big earners.

Tito Ortiz is riding off into the sunset (or so he says) following his third and final bout against Forrest Griffin later on this evening and we now know he'll do so no less than $250,000 richer.

For his part, Griffin will rock $125,000 to show and an additional $150,000 if he can pull out the victory. When considering the difference, it's no wonder he was so grateful for that split decision win in their last meeting.

Cung Le and Patrick Cote will square off in a middleweight main card match-up with plenty of potential for fireworks. It won't come cheap, though, as Le will take home a flat fee of $150,000 for his services inside the Octagon.

"The Predator," no doubt just grateful to get another chance in the UFC, is being paid $21,000 to show and double that to win.

The rest of the card isn't available at this time but expect that to change sometime next week.

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

And, really, who cares about how much they make right now, right? Let's just get to the fights!

Remember: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night, which is slated to air at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (PPV). The latest quick updates of the live action will begin to flow earlier than that around 6:45 p.m. ET with the "Prelims" bouts on Facebook and FX.

For all the latest and greatest news and notes for UFC 148: "Silva vs. Sonnen 2" click here.