The Nevada Athletic Commission has released the official salaries for Sunday’s “The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale” event.
Despite losing to Stephen Thompson (pictured) in highlight reel fashion, Jake Ellenberger was by far the biggest winner on the paycheck front. Ellenberger scored $73,000 for merely stepping into the cage.
Thompson, meanwhile, made just $42,000, with half coming via win bonus.
Please keep in mind, the numbers that get reported to the athletic commissions are only of what’s required. These figures do not include deductions for items such as licenses and taxes.
Additionally, they do not contain sponsorship money paid by Reebok or any bonuses from the UFC. These royalties can Fight Night bonuses, top secret discretionary bonuses, etc., which can oftentimes represent a substantial portion of a fighter’s total income.
MGGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas hosted Sunday’s event.
Here are the disclosed salaries for all of the card’s fighters:
(Total disclosed payroll: $596,000)
Preliminary Card:
Josh Samman: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Caio Magalhaes: $20,000Jerrod Sanders: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Russell Doane: $11,000Trevor Smith: $34,000 ($17,000 to show, $17,000 to win)
Dan Miller: $25,000George Sullivan: $30,000 ($15,000 to show, $15,000 to win)
Dominic Waters: $10,000Willie Gates: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Darrell Montague: $10,000Main Card:
Maximo Blanco: $41,400 ($18,400 to show, $23,000 to win)*
Mike De La Torre: $17,600 ()Michelle Waterson: $30,000 ($15,000 to show, $15,000 to win)
Angela Magana: $10,000Jorge Masvidal: $102,000 ($51,000 to show, $51,000 to win)
Cezar Ferreira: $20,000Michael Graves: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Vicente Luque: $10,000Kamaru Usman: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Hayder Hassan: $10,000Stephen Thompson: $42,000 ($21,000 to show, $21,000 to win)
Jake Ellenberger: $73,000