Official UFC 73 Fighter Salaries
MMAFrenzy.com has received the official fighter salaries for UFC 73 as well as official attendance and live gate figures.
UFC 73 had an official attendance of 13,183 (which was slightly lower than previously reported). Before the UFC commits to returning to Sacramento next year they may want to consider that just over 8,500 of the attendance was paying fans while nearly 5,000 were given away. Even after taking all fans in attendance into account the ARCO Arena was nearly 4,000 people short of capacity. Meanwhile UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio had a full crowd that was respectful of the fighters and most of whom were there before the first premliminary bout even began. It’s just something to think about when the UFC keeps holding shows in the western United States while the eastern portion of the country is lucky to get a couple events each year.
The live gate previously reported was much closer with the actual figure standing at $1,551,920.
The following is a listing of the figures reported to the California State Athletic Commission and do not include event bonuses, PPV earnings, or sponsor payments that fighters may receive:
- Anderson Silva ($90,000) def. Nate Marquardt ($24,000)
- Tito Ortiz ($210,000) vs. Rashad Evans ($16,0000
- Sean Sherk ($28,000) def. Hermes Franca ($14,000)
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($200,000) def. Heath Herring ($70,000)
- Kenny Florian ($16,000) def. Alvin Robinson ($3,000)
- Stephan Bonnar ($32,000) def. Mike Nickels ($5,000)
- Jorge Gurgel ($14,000) def. Diego Saraiva ($3,000)
- Chris Lytle ($20,000) def. Jason Gilliam ($3,000)
- Frank Edgar ($10,000) def. Mark Bocek ($3,000)
- Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $761,000
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I think that Anderson Silva is a great fighter he should get pay more money. He wins do not let no dougt on anybody minds.
I agree with the notion that fighters could make more but Silva needs some more UFC fights under his belt before is making Tito/Nogueira money. He has been dominant and I think he will get a significant pay boost when he reups his contract.
Saw your link on UFCjunkie.com, so far I like this site more when it comes to design, lack of advertising and most of all, quality updates… so far.
Question is: Do you plan on promoting yourself like you're anything more than a guy with a website like those idiots Performify and Junkie do? And do you plan on reporting lame ass relationship news like those retards do too?
If not, hopefully I get to switch my RSS feed
Thanks for the compliments Xavier – We really appreciate them.
wow … I'm always amazed at the discrepancies between some fighter's salaries compared to others. Sean Sherk needs a new contract … bad. I know he's only been champ for 1 fight … but 28k?!? Especially with the steroid enducing Bonnar making 32k? ouch.
I am not sure specifically about Sherk's contract but I would suspect he is coming to the end of a contract and that he will re-up and earn substantially more by next year. It will be interesting to watch his next fight and see if his earnings jump.
That's sickening that the top dogs of the sport get disrespected like that. It is so representative of the current state of our country. The gap between the Rich (Fertittas, Dana White etc..) and the Poor working man (Sherk, Silva etc…) is tremendous.
Kris,
I love the site. Please keep it as pure as possible by focusing on MMA (UFC) and not gambling. Don't accept advertising from any gambling sites and I will post here often. Please consider the youth of our country when you make these choices and remember that gambling is an addiction for many people.
This site is so informative, as a massive UK UFC fan I cant believe how poorly the fighters are paid in this sport, the sport is growing at such a fast rate and the fighters salaries should reflect that. could you imagine Oscar De La Hoya fighting for $90,000. He wouldnt get out of bed for that amount. Come on Dana time you cut back on your wages and gave the fighters a bit more….Great site keep up the great work!
Thanks for the compliments Mark. I think one of the most unifying things with fans in MMA is how low fighter pay is and how much better it should be. I really hope we continue to see salaries increase for the fighters as they ink new contracts. The UFC will learn eventually when other promotions can snatch up fighters with big pay days.
Kris and Mark,
You guys actually have a heart (not that you didn't before). I'm hoping the intellectual pool is deeper at UFC daily.com than the others that I refuse to mention. I also wonder if the fighter's have a health or pension plan. I still wonder if Radev is okay after the MacFedries knockout. They really put themselves at risk in this sport, although not as bad as boxing. The UFC justs seems to have them all over a barrel and will suppress their pay for as long as possible. The almighty dollar rules the owners lives. The fighters need a union just like baseball players. They used to get paid peanuts too.
I would Love to know what Mr Dana Whites salary was for the UFC 73 event? I bet it was more than the poor guys that got $3,000. Im not knocking Dana as he is a great promoter and has really made the UFC what it is today, but……….as I have said in my previous post the Fighters deserve more!
MrRee – As far as I know Radev is okay. He checked into a hospital following but the injury reports sounded typical for a brutal KO. Once he is cleared he can return. That is really the problem with a monopoly in sports. It is good for competition but sucks for the fighters until they stand up. The UFC will change once their top talent is lured to other organizations who are willing to pay them big money.
Considering he is a partial owner I don't know what his salary is but I am pretty confident to say that he is taking home a healthy paycheck. I hope the pay improves over time as more contracts are signed. I think when the fighter pay is almost half of a weak live gate, not counting PPV dollars, something is screwed up.
I don't know about the "lure" of other fight organizations. Now that Pride is dead the ones that remain have a mountain to climb to be on a par with the UFC. The UFC has name recognition, the TV audience and the superstars of the sport. It really is where the fighter's aspire to fight. It is the pinnacle in the sport of MMA.
I use the baseball analogy, because it really is similiar. When the baseball players were underpaid in the early 70's Major League Baseball was the ONLY place that they wanted to play. The only way they were able to get paid properly was to form the players union. This enabled them to dictate to the owners their demands. One of those demands was free agency and when they got that, the agents made sure they got top dollar. That is the only way these fighter's are going to make the money that they deserve. Of course the owners will resist and dismiss a union, but if it is a strong one that presents a united front, the owners will have to cave in. Sadly for us, as history will tell you, this only occurs after a lengthy strike. You have to hit these owners where it hurts and that is they're bank accounts.
What I was trying to refer to with the lure comment was money. Other organizations are willing to pay fighters more and can therefore lure fighters away from the UFC. There really are two kinds of fighters (predominantly). There are those who are truly in it for the sport where money is essentially no factor while competition is. Others want a big paycheck whether it is on the worlds biggest MMA stage or not.
So you think these other organizations are going to have enough revenue to stay afloat long term? Casual fan of MMA will probably follow one organization and the obsessed fans will watch everything. There just aren't enough obsessed fans to keep multiple organizations solvent.
I think, as of now, the UFC and Bodog are probably the only two who can stay around long term. EliteXC is close behind as is Cage Fury Fighting and Cage Rage. I think that other organizations can lure fighters away from the UFC, at least temporarily. Their money is likely to dry up but they can still keep some top talent for over a year if not more.