Although Dominick Cruz is the defending WEC bantamweight champion and has already hung a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Joseph Benavidez, the challenger could be the card’s highest paid athlete if he’s able to leave Las Vegas with his first major title.
Benavidez will pocket a cool $17,500 for simply stepping into the cage tonight inside The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort and another $17,500 if he can pull off the upset. Cruz, on the other hand, will earn $11K to show and can double that if he’s able to retain his strap at WEC 50.
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 insurance, licenses and taxes.
Additionally, they do not contain money paid by sponsors or any bonuses from the WEC. These royalties can include pay-per-view commissions, Fight Night bonuses, secret somethin’ somethin’ handshakes, etc., which can oftentimes represent a substantial portion of a fighter’s total income.
Here are the official WEC 50 salaries (show/win) for all the contestants participating in tonight’s event (Courtesy of MMAFighting):
Joseph Benavidez $17,500/$17,500 vs. Dominick Cruz $11,000/$11,000
Anthony Pettis $6,000/$6,000 vs. Shane Roller $16,000/$16,000
Chad Mendes $5,500/$5,500 Cub Swanson $11,000/$10,000
Brad Pickett $5,000/$5,000 vs. Scott Jorgensen $12,500/$12,500
Zach Micklewright $3,000/$3,000 vs. Bart Palaszewski $8,000/$8,000
Maciej Jewtuszko $3,000/$3,000 vs. Anthony Njokuani $7,000/$7,000
Mackens Semerzier $4,000/$4,000 vs. Javier Vazquez $8,000/$8,000
David Jansen $4,000/$4,000 Ricardo Lamas $7,000/$7,000
Bryan Caraway $4,000/$4,000 vs. Fredson Paixao $3,000/$3,000
Dustin Poirier $9,500/$9,500 vs. Dan Castillo $9,500/$9,500
Loading ...