MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information from the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission for UFC 88 featuring Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans, which took place on Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.
The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.
In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.
MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS
– Rashad Evans ($120,000/win bonus was $60,000) def. Chuck Liddell ($500,000)
*Evans also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 88 Knockout of the Night”
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
– Rich Franklin ($100,000/win bonus was $50,000) def. Matt Hamill ($10,000)
– Dan Henderson ($250,000/win bonus was $150,000) def. Rousimar Palhares ($7,000)
– Nate Marquardt ($56,000/win bonus was $28,000) def. Martin Kampmann ($15,000)
– Dong Hyun Kim ($46,000/win bonus was $23,000) def. Matt Brown ($8,000)
PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS
– Kurt Pellegrino ($24,000/win bonus was $12,000) def. Thiago Tavares ($13,000)
*Each also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 88 Fight of the Night”
– Tim Boetsch ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Michael Patt ($5,000)
– Jason MacDonald ($44,000/win bonus was $22,000) def. Jason Lambert ($17,000)
*MacDonald also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 88 Submission of the Night”
– Ryo Chonan ($30,000/win bonus was $15,000) def. Roan Carneiro ($9,000)
UFC 86 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,270,000
UFC 88 AWARD BONUSES
(as disclosed by UFC president Dana White)
Each fighter received a $60,000 bonus for the following awards.
Fight of the Night:
– Kurt Pellegrino and Thiago Tavares
Knockout of the Night:
– Rashad Evans
Submission of the Night:
– Jason MacDonald
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