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Monday, June 18, 2007
 
Mixed Martial Arts--- K-1 Dynamite Fighter Salaries
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for K-1 Dynamite USA, which took place on Saturday, June 2nd in Los Angeles, California. The event was co-promoted by Showtime/EliteXC and FEG, the parent company of K-1.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that FEG and Showtime/EliteXC are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that FEG and Showtime/EliteXC also pay their fighters, but do not disclose to the athletic commissions, are not included in the figures below.

All of the fighters on this particular card had flat salaries with no win bonuses, with the exception of the four fighters who competed on the live Showtime broadcast (Jake Shields, Ido Pariente, Jonathan Wiezorek, and Tim Persey). Shields and Wiezorek each won their bouts, so they are the two fighters on this card who had win bonuses.

Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti was fined 20% of his purse for failing to make the contracted weight of 155 pounds. This fine amounted to $9,000, half of which went to the California State Athletic Commission, and half of which went to Calvancanti's opponent, Nam Phan.

Johnnie Morton's entire purse of $100,000 is being withheld for the time being by the California State Athletic Commission, as a result of Morton's refusal to take a post-fight drug test. Morton has also been indefinitely suspended by the CSAC for refusing to take his drug test.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Preliminary Match Fights" are fights that are taped before a television or pay-per-view show goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those fights aired on the telecast or pay-per-view broadcast.

Main Event Fighters
-Brock Lesnar: $500,000 (defeated Min Soo Kim; no win bonus)
-Min Soo Kim: $30,000 (lost to Brock Lesnar)

Main Card Fighters
-Royce Gracie: $300,000 (defeated Kazushi Sakuraba; no win bonus)
-Johnnie Morton: $100,000 (lost to Bernard Ackah) (purse is being withheld for the time being due to refusal to take drug test)
-Melvin Manhoef: $50,000 (lost to Dong Sik Yoon)
-Jonathan Wiezorek: $40,000 (defeated Tim Persey; includes $25,000 win bonus)
-Kazushi Sakuraba: $30,000 (lost to Royce Gracie)
-"Mighty" Mo Siliga: $30,000 (defeated Ruben Villareal; no win bonus)
-Ruben Villareal: $30,000 (lost to "Mighty" Mo Siliga)
-Jake Shields: $24,000 (defeated Ido Pariente; includes $12,000 win bonus)
-Dong Sik Yoon: $20,000 (defeated Melvin Manhoef; no win bonus)
-Tim Persey: $20,000 (lost to Jonathan Wiezorek)
-Bernard Ackah: $5,000 (defeated Johnnie Morton; no win bonus)
-Ido Pariente: $2,500 (lost to Jake Shields)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti: $36,000 (defeated Nam Phan) (original purse was $45,000 and he was fined $9,000 for failing to make weight)
-Nam Phan: $29,500 (lost to Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti) (original purse was $25,000 and he also received $4,500 from Calvancanti's fine)
-Hideo Tokoro: $15,000 (defeated Brad Pickett; no win bonus)
-Katsuhiko Nagata: $15,000 (defeated Isaiah Hill; no win bonus)
-Brad Pickett: $8,000 (lost to Hideo Tokoro)
-Isaiah Hill: $2,500 (lost to Katsuhiko Nagata)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $1,287,500

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