WEC 38 Official Salaries: Urijah Faber Tops Payroll With $48,000
Urijah Faber
Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber topped the official payroll for WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone, which took place on January 25th at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California, earning $48,000 for his first-round submission of Jens Pulver, who received $35,000 for the loss.
The California State Athletic Commission today released the official pay figures.
WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner scored $35,000 for his main event victory over Donald Cerrone, who took home $9,000.
The total disclosed payroll for WEC 38, which drew a crowd of 10,201 attendees for a live gate of $486,324, was $217,000.
The official WEC 38 salaries were:
- Jamie Varner ($34,000 – includes $17,000 win bonus) def. Donald Cerrone ($9,000)
- Urijah Faber ($48,000 – includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Jens Pulver ($35,000)
- Danillo Villefort ($8,000 – includes $4,000 win bonus) def. Mike Campbell ($3,000)
- Jose Aldo ($10,000 – includes $5,000 win bonus)def. Rolando Perez ($3,000)
- Benson Henderson ($5,000 – includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Anthony Njokuani ($2,000)
- Edgar Garcia ($6,000 – includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Hiromitsu Miura ($6,000)
- Dominick Cruz ($8,000 – includes $4,000 win bonus) def. Ian McCall ($3,000)
- Scott Jorgensen ($8,000 – includes $4,000 win bonus) def. Frank Gomez ($2,000)
- Jesse Lennox ($4,000 – includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Blas Avena ($7,000)
- Charlie Valencia ($14,000 – includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Seth Dikun ($2,000)
Remember, the salaries listed above are disclosed pay only and do not include all deductions and payments.
Tags: Donald Cerrone, Jamie Varner, Jens Pulver, Urijah Faber
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Gotta wonder how some of them fighters can afford rent and food,let alone training.
Man, that is crazy as hell those little pay checks, but they sign the contracts.
Zuffa, still leading the way in paying fighters their worth!!!
What next? Gonna complain about how little minor league baseball players get paid? Hint: for a season it’s often less than Faber got for one fight.
If they want better pay, they shouldn’t sign these contracts. Don’t put the blame on Zuffa for paying these guys what they think they are worth.
The total payroll was nearly half of the $486,324 gate, and the WEC also had to pay for arena rental, security, advertising, insurance, referees, etc. Given all of the expenses, the WEC cannot afford to pay the fighters much more. Organizations who have paid more have gone bankrupt.
This ain’t minor league baseball it’s the second biggest MMA promotion in the world. Regardless of what u think I’m sure u wouldn’t get in the cage for pocket lint.
(no personal attacks -justin)
People on here complaining about the pay,
How much do you think Zuffa really made off this event, you see that the live gate was under a half million dollars. There are no PPV revenues, it was on Versus, which has half (or less) coverage in the US as SPEED channel…which in its own right isn’t exactly a top player when it comes to market share. The guys got paid what they agreed to, and they got to do what they like and got paid for it, I see no wrong doing.
It’s funny u cat’s on here say what ever u want, I express my opinion and I get talked **** to about my beliefs. All in all half of u guys pry just started watching MMA so I don’t take what u say to heart.
1. What are you on abuot “get talked **** to”?
2. I started watching MMA in ‘93.
And to reply to your below post, how much do you think “the face of the WEC” is really worth, they are a good organization, but they aren’t that big, they really aren’t.
Don’t respond to the uneducated. They don’t understand simple economics. See, the idea that person is a commodity when they work under a personal services contract escapes them. They also don’t understand that a commodity is “worth” exactly what someone will pay for it and no more, no less escapes them.
Therefore, it makes no sense to them that Faber is WORTH 48k for a win and 24k for a loss strikes them as somehow unfair. Nevermind that he agrees that is what he is worth, it’s flat-out unfair and is Zuffa taking advantage of him. Almost like he has no other options.
Here’s an option. If they don’t like what they make in MMA, they can always go get a real job.
“Here’s an option. If they don’t like what they make in MMA, they can always go get a real job.”
Well… some of them anyways…
Oh yeah, no one and i mean no one has defended their title as many times and as successfully as Faber and he’s only worth 24k. He’s the face of the WEC and gets Di*k. Granted all the expenses.
For the record, WEC 38 had 700,000 viewers. This was the WEC’s second highest rating, the highest was Pulver v. Faber 1 which more than doubled that number reaching 1.54 million viewers. In contrast, UFN 16 averaged 2 million viewers, and EliteXC Heat had something like 4 million viewers.
How much do you think a guy like Faber makes a year in sponsorships? Anyone know?? I’ve always wondered how these guys afford gym fees, trainers, and rent, getting paid so little. I assume the money is in sponsorships and part-time work.
There is definitely some money in sponsorship. I personally could only speculate what Faber makes. Dbiz linked to an article on another page that stated that Frank Mir made 85,000 in sponsorship money alone for Lesnar v. Mir 1, and that Chuck Liddell was receiving $75k/yr from Xyience, and received ~$1 Mill for three appearances in promotion of the movie 300. Obviously Faber is not getting the kind of money that Liddell gets/got, but he may be getting close to what Mir got, especially considering he’s done commercial spots for some of his sponsors, and I’ve seen him decked out head to toe in “No Fear” gear.
So little? Going back to 2004, Faber fights, on average, 4 times a year. In a good year, 5 times. He’s only lost twice, so he wins a whole lot.
At 48k a win, that’s about 200k a year, before sponsor money is even counted. Even with 2 losses and 2 wins a year, that’s about 150k. A guy like Faber can’t train and live on 150k a year BEFORE his metric s#it-ton of money from NoFear and others comes in?
You all make me laugh, crying about the top guys. Where’s the questions about Seth Dikun’s or Frank Gomez’s pay?
good point, bit the top guys salary is above , so that speaks about Seth Dikun’s or Frank Gomez’s pay?
48,000 k.
there had better be a lot more in other revenue cause the wage is like that of a slightly above average level busy home reno guy. especially as the reno’ guys job gets easier in his 40’s.
dreamfight: penn vs. faber, open weight.
I’m not gonna blame Zuffa for these crappy paychecks. The fighters agree to the terms. But, it has gotta be rough only making two grand for a fight you trained 2 months for.
guys guys guys…. you are all missing the point. i completely understand the respect you have for these fighters, as i do. i also empathize with those of you who think you are underpaid. the bottom line, however, until both the UFC and its “Minor League” affiliates organize and get behind a UNION–like the MLBPA or NFLPA, the check will remain in the same price range for as long as ZUFFA wants. Its a monopoly–you can’t fight a monopoly unless you unionize!! i think they should.
agreed,
that’s why respect fighters
dbiz and justin I just like to get people going. You both make valid points i guess but, don’t forget that they haven’t paid taxes on that money and taxes on 200k pry ain’t to pretty. dbiz i’m sure the uneducated remark was for me that wasn’t very nice. ha should i cry now
“dbiz and justin I just like to get people going”
I noticed.
“don’t forget that they haven’t paid taxes on that money and taxes on 200k pry ain’t to pretty”
First part, you don’t know that, but you’re probably right. Second part, blame that on Uncle Sam. In addition, if they haven’t paid the taxes on the money, when they do come around to the time of year to pay those taxes (when that is depends on income level) they get to write off travel costs, training equipment, paying for training, medical costs, chiropractors, massage therapists, nutritionists, and a lot of other things they spend money on as business expenses, therefore they don’t pay taxes on that full income. Just because they have to pay taxes on the money doesn’t mean they should get an increase to cover the taxes, that just increases the taxes. Besides that, when they sign the contract they should think about the fact that they will have to pay taxes on any income and negotiate accordingly.
$200,000 a year might sound like a lot of money to you and me, but in reality, it’s not. The league minimum for a Major League Baseball player is over $300,000. Your dentist takes home more than than $200,000. Faber is (arguably) the best in the WORLD in his class. I wonder how much Tapout or other sponsors pay to have their names on the fighter’s shorts. A lousy few hundred bucks???
Mir got 85k for one night from his sponsors. True, that was a UFC PPV, but I can’t imagine a WEC event on cable would get them less than 2k-3k from a major sponsor.
While the league minimum for MLB may be 300k, these guys aren’t the MMA equivalents of MLB. They are the equivalent of AA or AAA (at best…I would put lower tier UFC guys at AAA) minor league ball players. Doing a little Google reasearch, it appears that the league minimum for AAA minor leagues is $2150 a month. Since that isn’t a 12 month season (closer to 6 or 7), it looks like minimums at that level are about 13k-15k per year.
When you look at AA, the minimum is 1500 a month and A ball (long season) is just over 1000 a month. Short season A ball is 850 a month. Compare that with these fighters, and you’ll see that they aren’t far off from baseball even.
I think those are great comparisions. But remember, those are league MINIMUMS. The fighter payrolls stink, but when you do the numbers you realize that it’s reality.
I don’t really think I had a point one way or the other on the salaries…just wanted to point out that $200,00 a year isn’t as much as you think. Remember, one injury can ruin a career. It’s not like someone like Faber is making $200,000 a year for life. Just as long as he’s healthy and keeps winning. It can all be over in one fight…then what? One of the most important things about having a career is planning for retirement, even at his age.
I used to work in construction, if I got hurt that could have ended my career, and I didn’t make anything close to $200,000/year. Not to mention, more people get killed doing construction every year than in MMA. It is not the responsibility of the employer to provide for the employees’ future beyond their employment. That is up to the employees as individuals, regardless of the line of work. Is it nice if a company takes care of their employees’ retirement? Yes it sure is. Do they have to? Only if they agree to.
Many companies will toss in an amount for their employers 401k account, but it is still up to the person to invest. I think the wages are pretty much right on, keeps the fighters humble. Look at what happens to boxers, celebrities, etc, they get a check for a couple million and are filling for bankruptcy soon after. Most fighters get a signing bonus on their contract, most make more on sponsorships (ie Tiger Woods makes a million or so playing golf each year, 9+ million per year in sponsorships), and the new comers are making more then the couple hundred bucks they used to get.
I never mentioned that it was the job of the employer, it’s just something everyone needs to think of. (investments, saving, etc.) I’m curious how the middle-of-the-road MMA fighter considers this sorta stuff. And, no offense, you’re not Uriah Faber..neither am I, unfortunately. I would take his abs…hell, I’d take his chin.
“I never mentioned that it was the job of the employer, it’s just something everyone needs to think of.”
Some that come on here and complain about fighter pay want to blame everything on the promotions, and would claim that it is the promotions’ responsibility to provide for the fighters’ retirements, or pay them enough to provide their own. Clearly I disagree with that and that’s why I said something, sorry to assign an opinion to you, that you don’t actually possess.
The bigger MMA gets, the more the smaller shows will pay. The best thing that could happen for fighter salaries is if UFC becomes as big as pro football…which it might! (and I hope it does.)
maybe Dana just signes pro wrestlers at their old rates and pretty soon we’ll have Brock v Undertaker, bring the Nasy Boyz out of retirement they could be making $150k just to lose to Frank Mir!
Great Nasty Boys reference.
you guys are forgetting something…these fighters fight 3 to 4 times a year…urija faber is making almost 100 grand a year in just fights..not sponcers…once your a pro and on that level you open your own gym…personal train..teach on the side…thats your side job to train and teach. getting a main event fight may only pay 10 grand but the experience you can sell in kid programs and martial arts classes!!!!