Chris Weidman may be the UFC middleweight champion, but he's not quite close to making that treasured Anderson Silva money. Of the $1.9 million payroll, Silva was by far the top earner with a $600,000 salary, and he would've netted $800,000 via a $200,000 win bonus. That's the same payout for Anderson as his first fight with Weidman back in July. Weidman earned $400,000 ($200,000 show/$200,000 win), which is a huge increase from his $24,000 show/$24,000 win salary when he knocked out Silva at UFC 162.
The 3rd highest earner on the card was Josh Barnett, who pocketed $170,000 in his 1 minute KO loss to Travis Browne. Women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey picked up $50,000 to show and the $50,000 win bonus for her victory over Miesha Tate.
Dennis Siver was the highest preliminary card earner with $66,000 ($33,000 show/$33,000 win) after his decision victory against Manny Gamburyan. Chris Leben had the highest show money at $51,000 in a losing performance against Uriah Hall.
Here's the full list of disclosed salaries courtesy of the Nevada State Athletic Commission:
Chris Weidman: $400,000 (includes $200,000 win bonus)
def. Anderson Silva: $600,000
Ronda Rousey: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)
def. Miesha Tate: $28,000
Travis Browne: $56,000 (includes $28,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Barnett: $170,000
Jim Miller: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus)
def. Fabricio Camoes: $8,000
Dustin Poirier: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus)
def. Diego Brandao: $20,000*
Uriah Hall: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Chris Leben: $51,000
Michael Johnson: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus)
def. Gleison Tibau: $39,000
Dennis Siver: $66,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus)
def. Manny Gamburyan: $25,000
John Howard: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
def. Siyar Bahadurzada: $17,000
William Macario: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Bobby Voelker: $12,000
Robbie Peralta: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Estevan Payan: $10,000
* - Brandao was fined 25% of his purse (so $5,000) for missing weight against Dustin Poirier. Half of the $5,000 went to the NSAC while the other half went to Poirier. That is not reflected in the above list.
Please note that the reported figures do not include the UFC's post-fight bonuses, "locker room" bonuses, PPV cuts, sponsorship money, taxes, etc.
SBN coverage of UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva