UFC 117 Salaries: Anderson Silva and Matt Hughes Top Earners With $200K Payday
According to the California State Athletic Commission (via mmajunkie.com):
Televised Card:Plus the $60,000 fight-night bonuses:
- Anderson Silva: $200,000 (no win bonus) def. Chael Sonnen: $35,000
- Jon Fitch: $108,000 (includes $54,000 win bonus) def. Thiago Alves: $60,000
- Clay Guida: $56,000 (includes $28,000 win bonus) def. Rafael dos Anjos: $12,000
- Matt Hughes: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus) def. Ricardo Almeida: $35,000
- Junior Dos Santos: $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. Roy Nelson: $15,000
Preliminary Card:
- Rick Story: $22,000 (includes $11,000 win bonus) def. Dustin Hazelett: $18,000
- Phil Davis: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus) def. Rodney Wallace: $6,000
- Johny Hendricks: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Charlie Brenneman: $8,000
- Tim Boetsch: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Todd Brown: $6,000
- Stefan Struve: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Christian Morecraft: $6,000
- Dennis Hallman: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Ben Saunders: $12,000
- Fight of the Night: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
- Submission of the Night: Anderson Silva
- Submission of the Night: Matt Hughes
- Knockout of the Night: Stefan Struve
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If they didn’t slip Sonnen a bonus check with six figures on it in the dressing room, I would be shocked and disappointed.
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by Brian Mayes on Aug 16, 2010 8:47 PM EDT reply actions 6 recs
Sonnen and Anderson both made way more than advertised. That’s for sure.
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
On the realz
I can only assume Sonnen got PAID like a mofo behind the scenes. If not, that is a travesty. And Roy only getting 15k to show just leaves me shaking my head. Does not compute.
I think its about right
being that he’s on a TUF contract. That’s what TUF winners normally make per fight until they renew their contracts
by av1o3 on Aug 16, 2010 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think that's more than they used to make...
Anybody want to go to the trouble?
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
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That is why I always thought it was funny Dana saying something to the effect of you are an idiot if you don’t do TUF. You get exposure but that doesn’t translate to $$ always.
These numbers bug me...
Overall they look low, and it makes you feel UFC is stingy. I can understand concealing some big bonuses for the headliners behind closed doors. Otherwise people will be acutely aware of the apparent inequity in the distribution of income for the fighters.
But the lower-paid fighters’ wages look super low in some cases. If these are all the fighters get, then UFC really isn’t taking very good care of its 2nd/3rd tier talent. If there are additional payments undisclosed, I reckon the UFC should disclose them so we can see that they ARE taking better care of their people than we thought. This set of numbers casts a negative light on UFC’s pay scheme.
I had no idea what UFC fighter were paid until now
And I am quite shocked by how low it is. 200,000 for a main eventer? That’s pennies compared to most other high profile sports.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Aug 17, 2010 6:30 AM EDT up reply actions
Silva and Hughes get percentages of the PPV, they both made millions off this show. Athletic commission reported payouts are just what is reported to commissions it’s not the whole story (and that can go both ways, some lesser promotions actually take out for medical expenses and the like). It also doesn’t tell you anything about sponsorship money (basically double everything on the list for that). It’s not great but it’s not anywhere near as bad as it was just a couple of years ago.
That’s funny because I looked at these numbers and thought things were really looking up. Go back and look at the numbers for a card 3 or 4 years ago. Only 4 guys that made less than $10k for their fight and even the undercard guys they brought in to look at made at least $6k (2 years ago it would of beeen 3k or 4k). Heck you used to never seen guys on the undercard making those kinds of numbers, things still aren’t great but they are definitely looking up.
im pretty sure
they took care of Sonnen
..!..
by nostraboris on Aug 16, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
You’re just a Zuffa nuthugger, man.
/being an idiot
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by Derek Suboticki on Aug 17, 2010 3:14 AM EDT up reply actions
100,000
Seems like a lot of money to potentially leave on the table if you don’t win.
Hughes
Straight up robbed Oakland!
…and came away with some foodstamps and a methed out hooker.
No idea where the hundred g’s came from.
Interesting that Silva gets guarantee but no win Bonus
Silva and Hughes are both 1/4 million dollar boys, but Hughes earned his much easier!.
Also interesting that Struve, whom was both JDS and Nelsons last victim. Gets $90K to to JDS $80K and Nelsons $15K!!!!
struve got 30 (15 and 15) plus a 60 thousand dollar bonus, so he does not get more base then JDS
by combat-waterloo on Aug 16, 2010 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Why
Why did you use whom instead of who? I notice that a lot on this site. People use whom when the pronoun is clearly still supposed to be in the subjective not objective case.
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
by IKilled007 on Aug 16, 2010 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions 6 recs
Whom do you think you are
An English teacher
Root for the home team jack ass
by KING FEDOR on Aug 16, 2010 9:39 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
I is not a english teacher
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
by IKilled007 on Aug 16, 2010 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thank you
Thank you so much. I hate people using ‘whom’ when they mean ‘who’. Almost as much as I hate the use of “{object} and I” when someone means ‘{object} and me’.
Careful now, your getting racist here.
Whom is the preffered method for people such as myself whom are originally from britain, wales, australia and south africa.
I think you are mistaken
I am from Australia, and I grew up a bit in London. I find that ‘who’ is preferred in all situations, and technically wrong in the objective case. ‘Whom’ is often mistakenly taken as the correct form in all situations, but it is wrong in the subjective case.
My issue is that people using ‘whom’ incorrectly often do so as a display of education, and have no idea they are using it incorrectly. That’s when it is so obviously being used as a tool to dominate.
Personally, I use ‘who’ all the time, as that’s where language seems to be shifting. Why be archaic and technically correct when you can be part of the future with laser powered apostrophes and jetpack semi-colons?
by Mortschlag on Aug 17, 2010 6:03 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Semi Colons ftw
Man, I’m so adjective I verb nouns.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Aug 17, 2010 6:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Simple Psych
Speaking as a Scot, and an English student, I can assure you that it is not.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Aug 17, 2010 6:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Being Anglo/Aussie/South African isn't a race...please do not use that term
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by Matthew Roth on Aug 17, 2010 7:53 AM EDT up reply actions
That’s racist…
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by dancingChicken on Aug 17, 2010 8:52 AM EDT up reply actions
HONKEY!
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by Matthew Roth on Aug 17, 2010 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Do you know what stickler means?
A stickler is actually a term for somebody that has sex with horses.
“The more you know!”
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
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Roy Nelson earns $15K for fighting JDS?
WTF?!
Is that part of his “six figure contract”?
That dude needs an agent, and fast!
Sonnen too for that matter…he built all the sizzle for 117, and he got less than an overweight PitBull?
WTF?
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin
Nelson's pay seems about right
That’s what TUF winners normally make per fight until they renew their contract. I think Nelson probably has one or two more fights till he can renegotiate.
by av1o3 on Aug 16, 2010 10:28 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yeah that six figure contract is not really that great.. those six figures are spread out over several fights, so while winning TUF does provide you a certain job stability it’s not by any means all that much better than what other guys are making (many times worse).
by Horselover Fat on Aug 17, 2010 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Jon Jones has one fight left on his current contract
After he throws Forrest Griffin over the cage into the audience, I wonder what his new contract will look like.
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
The best UFC contract ever offered
outside of Brock, Fedor and GSP?
"I trained with Steven Seagal."
by B.H. Farnsworth on Aug 16, 2010 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions
No
It’s nice that he’s a fantastic fighter and all, he’s not a draw yet. His next contract will be better than what he’s getting now but it’ll be the third contract where he starts seeing big bucks if he keeps winning and getting eyes to pay attention.
"If the commission would sanction it and Dana would move, I’d fighter Anderson right now."
- Chael Sonnen at the post fight press conference following his loss to Anderson Silva.
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Good answer.
I wonder how short the next contract will be. Any decent manager argue that Jones is a can’t miss superstar in the near future, that’s gotta better than most guys second contract.
"I trained with Steven Seagal."
by B.H. Farnsworth on Aug 17, 2010 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions
They should try to lock him up long term
I imagine they’ll try to get him to sign a 10 or 12 fight contract
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
Hahaha
yeah, although it seems like Dana is a little reluctant to allow Jones to win a title yet. I think he knows once Jones wins, that’s a whole weight class that becomes just like Middleweight has been until very recently: completely dominated by the champion.
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
Well, he still has to beat the Shoguns and the Machidas. I admit Jones looks like the second coming, but I’d be a little bit surprised if he takes those two with ease. Especially shogun, who’s no slouch on the ground.
thing is, it also wouldn’t be that surprising of Shogun is kinda done after his 3rd reconstructive knee surgery
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by eastcoastatlas on Aug 17, 2010 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions
We also said that about Rampage and Lyoto. 205 is a revolving door. I think that division is so full of talent that almost anybody in the top ten can beat anybody else in the top ten on any given night.
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by Earl Montclair on Aug 17, 2010 5:40 AM EDT up reply actions
ANY chance Strikeforce goes after him?
"I might know a couple things that you don't know. 'Cause I've been young, but you ain't never been old." - Elvin Bishop
If he actually becomes a free agent then yes
but 1) I doubt they even come close to matching whatever the UFC offers and 2) it never goes that far and he resigns before ever testing free agency.
Where are you getting this info? I’m fairly certain he has more than one fight left on his deal.
by ufc4 on Aug 16, 2010 9:40 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Well
According to this he signed a 4 fight deal in September ’09: http://www.fiveknuckles.com/mma-news/Light-heavyweight-prospect-Jon-Jones-signs-new-contract-with-the-UFC.html
And do the math: Hamill, Vera, and the Janitor. That leaves one more fight on that deal.
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
I can imagine a new contract being signed before or after the Vera fight.
we each must become like fishermen, and go out on to the dark ocean of mind, and let your nets down into that sea
by Barack Lesnar on Aug 16, 2010 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I can imagine myself having a threesome with Angelina Jolie and Adriana Lima
The question is: did it happen?
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
Seriously???
She’s like the all-time hottest Victoria’s Secret Angle. Well I guess we know what catalogue you don’t jerk off to.
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
I love Victoria's Secret Angle
They’re all so acute.
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by SSreporters on Aug 17, 2010 1:13 AM EDT up reply actions 9 recs
Obtuse!
But you got me.
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
Come on y'all...
This has to be green’d! That’s gold right there buddy. Rec’d.
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by RearNakedChoker on Aug 17, 2010 1:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Nah
Alessandra Ambrosio FTW
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by Anthony Pace on Aug 17, 2010 2:54 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Why does Johny Hendricks earn more than Chael Sonnen?
"You stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody but the champion, and Joe Silva should fax him a pink slip right then." -- Chael Sonnen.
Still
Seems a touch unfair, considering their obviously very disproportionate drawing powers.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Aug 17, 2010 6:38 AM EDT up reply actions
How the fuck does Roy, a TUF winner, only get $15,000 a fight?
I thought TUF winners got paid pretty well.
by Polyhedron on Aug 16, 2010 9:24 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
TUF contracts increase
Over time and wins I believe.
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Roy gets the rest of his pay in mashed potatoes and gravy.
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by BadB on Aug 16, 2010 9:48 PM EDT reply actions 4 recs
Wow, Johny Hendricks is getting paid pretty well. You guys think his next fight will be on the PPV undercard?
I think that Jordan Breen on the SRN mentioned that it has to do with his camp and management that he gets paid well. I believe he is with Team Takedown, and they have a system that is different than any other camp.
by chrisbboy82 on Aug 17, 2010 1:52 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
The economics of the UFC baffle me
I didn’t do the math, but from this it looks like the total purse from the card (main and under) was just under $1 million. If the PPV does 500k buys at $44, that’s $22 million, plus a live gate of another million or so, plus sponsorships (movies, games, etc.) merch, DVD sales, replay rights. Even if you doubled the purses across the board (let’s assume they do with phantom bonuses) the purse still wouldn’t reach 10 percent of revenues. Am I missing something?
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by Dave Strummer on Aug 16, 2010 11:36 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I believe you forget that the UFC is a business, and the purpose of a business is to make money.Its shitty and wrong that the fighters (or even employees of any big business for that matter) gets paid less then (imo) what they deserve.
"Everyone has a game plan, untell they get hit." -Mike Tyson
I don’t forget that at all, I just marvel at the fact that they appear to be able to function as the elite promotion in the sport by paying less than 10 percent of their total revenue to the talent. The NFL, NBA, MLB, Boxing, etc, are all businesses too, some of them very good ones, and they haven’t been able to work that kind of a deal for themselves.
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
by Dave Strummer on Aug 16, 2010 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Each fighter gets exactly what they sign on to get. They each have the ability to negotiate their contract and either come to terms with the UFC or go elsewhere and come to terms in some other industry. Everyone in this world gets what they sign up to get. There are a lot of businesses in the world that pay out less than 10% of their gross to talent. Go look up how much the average radio jockey gets paid. They’d give their nuts to be paid like a mid to low tier fighter. And these fighters have the option of working another job on the side, making even more money, an option that a lot of lower paid people don’t have.
by Dooda on Aug 17, 2010 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Fair enough
But these fighters aren’t the same as radio jockeys, they put themselves through considerable mental and physical pain and anguish, and even risk their lifes every time they enter the Octogon, just for your entertainment.
Also, they have staff to pay, and other expenses involved in costly training camps. It’s all very well to say that they get what they sign on for, but if the people on the other end of the negotiations have what may as well amont to a monopoly, they don’t exactly have a fair chance to get themselves a good deal.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Aug 17, 2010 6:42 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
There’s no such thing as fair. If there was fair I’d be earning a living gardening and playing my guitar and selling photography. As it is I sell staffing services at a recruitment company. That isn’t fair, but what IS fair? Nothing, because we all get out of life what we decide and need to get and no one gets any more or any less.
It isn’t really fair when a company goes under and someone’s pension disappears, it isn’t fair that Randy C couldn’t fight Fedor like he wanted to. It isn’t fair when a hawk swoops in and eats a baby robin and trashes the nest. Nothing is fair. Fairness is an illusion.
There is nothing, in principle, different from a fighter and a radio jockey. They both decided that they’re going to do something that doesn’t pay a lot unless they reach the top 3%. A lot of people do that stuff for free. There are young people lined up to do it for peanuts (fighting and radio jockeying) and so each of them have a choice: Do it anyways, or find something else that pays better.
If the UFC was run like Affliction, there would be no money for anyone. There would be no MMA expansion, there wouldn’t be legalizing of MMA in different places, it would be a completely different world, so to say that this whole thing is unfair, to me, is way way too simple.
Something about a union…
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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by Derek Suboticki on Aug 17, 2010 2:57 AM EDT up reply actions
That’s what they said about… oh, just name any kind of human accomplishment. I’m tired.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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by Derek Suboticki on Aug 17, 2010 3:13 AM EDT up reply actions
It ain’t competition that has the NFL paying out such a healthy percentage of revenue as salary.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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by Derek Suboticki on Aug 17, 2010 3:14 AM EDT up reply actions
No
But there are several differences between the NFL (or NBA and MLB) and the UFC. The first is that in team sports the middle tier or utility player has power. A baseball team cannot win solely because they have the best pitcher or hitter. A QB is only as good as his linemen or receivers. They have value and as such can collectively hold out for something. Good luck getting that to work in the UFC when all you have to do is offer Brock another million and load the undercard with scrubs.
The other major difference is that the stick and ball sports need an infrastructure, They need owners to build stadiums, which also means the owners have assets that can be threatened.
Finally the competition between the AFL and NFL helped immensely as the players could play off the two. The players union was weakened after the merger, and only really came into its own over a decade later with the 82 strike.
If ever MMA fighters are going to organize I imagine it would be more along the lines of the ATP or PGA. but that wold also mean the end of the promotions as we know it – which in my eyes might be a good thing.
There are so many ways to organize that it’s odd that people think it has to be like any other sport (Nice observations about the NFL though). MMA will probably go the way of a fighter’s association but with a lot of stuff in there that is specific to MMA’s issues. I can see a time when it becomes in the UFC’s favor to have that kind of structure too, the standardized system that would come out of collective bargaining could streamline the system (and wouldn’t neccessary be 100% in the fighter’s favor).
you're missing nothing
But hey don’t worry about it, who cares that the fighters are being paid piss poor money, especially when you get to enjoy seeing Dana White show off his latest Ferrari in one of his enthralling video blogs!
I’ve never really believed in these “official salaries”, cause we all know Dana is in the locker room after the shows writing checks, plus its not like that counts sponsorship money either.
by Takun on Aug 17, 2010 2:07 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
well said.
"they mad at me, I keep going hard reppin/
cause what's your Rampage to Rashad Evans/"
-Joe Budden (Something To Ride To)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/76866807deabe3c1/
Who? The stats?
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by Derek Suboticki on Aug 17, 2010 3:15 AM EDT up reply actions
haha
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
by Anthony Pace on Aug 17, 2010 3:52 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
To address some of the issues in here with my opinion
-Zuffa is also still paying back roughly $450 million in loans that they have out. The big one is being paid back between now and 2015, they also are establishing new offices around the world, still paying people to lobby to get MMA regulated in places like New York, and until recently Canada. Fighter pay has gone up a bunch over the last few years, and it will continue to rise, I’m guessing it will go through the roof in a few years when some of these other expenses are gone.
-Jon Jones will get a big contract if he is up for a renewal, probably around $60/$60, and if he wins the title they will re-negotiate it into at a minimum $100K/$100 with PPV buy rate bonus
-Johny Hendricks is 4-0 in UFC, and he was 2-0 in WEC before that, so he is probably on his second Zuffa contract right now, and he is due to re-sign it will probably be a pretty good contract .
-Dana has never been a big Roy Nelson fan due to his big gut, that is why Roy had to be on TUF even to get into UFC.
For some reason we are not allowed to factor in bonuses and sponsors when it comes to fighter pay, but people have to realize that they to have an effect on the decisions that fighters make. in real life, sometimes you take a lower salary to work for an employer that does christmas bonuses, or more possibility for commissions, better tips, better retirement plans, better health care and so on.
The same goes for fighters. The reality of the “undisclosed bonuses” or any undisclosed money coming from zuffa is somewhere in the middle of where people would like to imagine, but they do exist. And the sponsors need to be taken into account also.
I gotta tell ya........
that pay scale sucks. Alot of those fighters got robbed……Roy Nelson 15 grand….Sonnen 35 grand WTF!!!! Slavery!!!

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