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Friday, July 13, 2007
 
Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for UFC Fight Night 10 & Ultimate Fighter 5 Live Finale
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for the live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5 and for UFC Fight Night 10. The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale took place on June 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada; and UFC Fight Night 10 took place on June 12th in Hollywood, Florida.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions. The winners' bonuses for the fighters who won their matches are included in the figures published below.

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 the UFC also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for PPV main event fighters), are not included in the figures below. Also not reflected below are the taxes that the fighters have to pay.

In the listings below, "Title Match & 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. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or PPV broadcast.

Please note that Brandon Melendez was fined 10% of his purse for failing to make weight. All of The Ultimate Fighter 5 fighters had contracts that paid them $8,000 to fight and $8,000 to win on the finale, so Melendez' purse for his loss to Lauzon was $8,000. The amount of the fine was $800, half of which went to Lauzon and half of which went to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.


UFC Fight Night 10 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on June 12, 2007

Main Event Fighters
-Spencer Fisher: $26,000 (7th fight in UFC; defeated Sam Stout)
-Sam Stout: $6,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Spencer Fisher)

Main Card Fighters
-Jon Fitch: $36,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Roan Carneiro)
-Drew McFedries: $14,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Jordan Radev)
-Jordan Radev: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Drew McFedries)
-Roan Carneiro: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Jon Fitch)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Pete Spratt: $12,000 (7th fight in UFC; lost to Tamdan McCrory)
-Thiago Tavares: $10,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Jason Black)
-Gleison Tibau: $10,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Jeff Cox)
-Luigi Fioravanti: $8,000 (5th fight in UFC; lost to Forrest Petz)
-Tamdan McCrory: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Pete Spratt)
-Forrest Petz: $8,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Luigi Fioravanti)
-Nate Mohr: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Luke Caudillo)
-Anthony Johnson: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Chad Reiner)
-Jason Black: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Thiago Tavares)
-Jeff Cox: $3,500 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Gleison Tibau)
-Luke Caudillo: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Nate Mohr)
-Chad Reiner: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Anthony Johnson)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $175,500


Ultimate Fighter 5 Live Finale Fighter Salaries
Event took place on June 23, 2007

Main Event Fighters
-BJ Penn: $100,000 (11th fight in UFC; defeated Jens Pulver)
-Jens Pulver: $30,000 (9th fight in UFC; lost to BJ Penn)

Main Card Fighters
-Roger Huerta: $24,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Doug Evans)
-Nate Diaz: $16,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Manny Gamburyan)
-Thales Leites: $14,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Floyd Sword)
-Manny Gamburyan: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Nate Diaz)
-Floyd Sword: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Thales Leites)
-Doug Evans: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Roger Huerta)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Joe Lauzon: $16,400 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Brandon Melendez) (original purse was $16,000 and he also received $400 from Brandon Melendez' fine)
-Cole Miller: $16,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Andy Wang)
-Matt Wiman: $16,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Brian Geraghty)
-Brian Geraghty: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Matt Wiman)
-Allen Berube: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Leonard Garcia)
-Andy Wang: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Cole Miller)
-Robert Emerson: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; fought to a no contest with Gray Maynard)
-Gray Maynard: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; fought to a no contest with Robert Emerson)
-Brandon Melendez: $7,200 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Joe Lauzon) (original purse was $8,000 and he was fined $800 for failing to make weight)
-Leonard Garcia: $4,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Allen Berube)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $297,600

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Sunday, July 08, 2007
 
Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC & WEC Fighters Pass Drug Tests
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

A total of thirty-six fighters competed at UFC 71 and WEC 27, of which twelve fighters were drug tested. Of the fighters who were drug-tested, all twelve have passed their tests for steroids, stimulants, and recreational drugs.

At UFC 71, which took place on May 26th in Las Vegas, the six fighters who were drug-tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission were Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Karo Parisyan, Josh Burkman, Alan Belcher, and Sean Salmon. All six of those fighters tested negative for all banned substances. The other twelve fighters on the card were not drug-tested.

The NSAC spent a total of $1,670 on drug testing for UFC 71. The total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card would have been an additional $3,341.

At UFC 69 (which took place on April 7th in Houston, Texas) and UFC 70 (which took place on April 21st in Manchester, England), there was no drug-testing of any kind. The UFC has said that there would be drug testing at UFC 72 (which took place on June 12th in Belfast, Nortern Ireland). The same claim was also made prior to UFC 70.

At WEC 27, which took place on May 12th in Las Vegas, the six fighters who were drug-tested by the NSAC were Doug Marshall, Justin McElfresh, Manny Tapia, Brandon Foxworth, Ed Ratcliff, and Johnny Sampaio. Those six fighters tested negative for all banned substances. As with UFC 71, the other twelve fighters on the card were not drug-tested.

The NSAC spent a total of $1,670 on drug testing for WEC 27, the same as UFC 71. The total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card also would have been an additional $3,341.

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