Today, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced the salaries for all of the contestants that participated in this past Saturday’s “The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale.” Diego Sanchez walked away with the evening’s largest purse as he took home a total of $125K for his 15-minute scrap against Clay Guida.
The numbers below do not include the additional $25,000 in fight bonuses that were given to eight lucky contestants for putting on special performances inside the Octagon at The Palms Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In addition, the U.K.’s Ross Pearson and James Wilks each walked away with highly coveted six-figure deals with the UFC for winning their respective TUF tourneys.
Here is the breakdown of the night’s paydays:
Preliminary Bouts:
Jason Dent: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) Defeated Cameron Dollar: $8,000
Nick Ospiczak: $16,000 ($8000 win bonus) Defeated Frank Lester: $8,000
Tomasz Drwal: $15,600 ($7,000 win bonus) Defeated Mike Ciesnolevicz: $6,400*
Brad Blackburn: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus) Defeated Edgar Garcia: $5,000
Melvin Guillard: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) Defeated Gleison Tibau: $17,000
Main Bouts:
Joe Stevenson: $70,000 ($35,000 win bonus) Defeated Nate Diaz: $20,000
Ross Pearson: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) Defeated Andre Winner: $8,000
Chris Lytle: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus) Defeated. Kevin Burns: $9,000
James Wilks: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) Defeated DaMarques Johnson: $8,000
Diego Sanchez: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus) Defeated Clay Guida: $23,000
Fight of the Night:
Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida ($25,000/each)
Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz ($25,000/each)
Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns ($25,000/each)
Knockout of the Night:
Tomasz Drwal ($25,000)
Submission of the Night:
Jason Dent ($25,000)
* Drawl took home 20% of Ciesnolevicz’ purse after he failed to make weight. The totals for both fighters reflect Ciesnolevicz’ penalty.
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