The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today released the official fighter purses for those who competed at UFC 98: "Evans vs. Machida" this past Saturday night (May 23) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Two former champions -- Rashad Evans and Matt Hughes -- were the big winners of the night, taking home an event-leading $200,000 apiece. However, both fighters experienced very different results inside the Octagon -- Hughes was rewarded for his grudge match win over Matt Serra, while "Sugar" went home a little richer but without his 205-pound crown.
New UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida pocketed a cool $140,00 in base salary for his electrifying performance, which also earned him an extra $60,000 for "Knockout of the Night."
Here is the complete list of UFC 98 payouts:
Lyoto Machida — $140,000 ($70,000 to show, $70,000 to win)
Rashad Evans — $200,000
Machida defeated Evans via technical knockout (strikes) in round two
Matt Hughes -- $200,000 ($100,000 to show, $100,000 to win)
Matt Serra — $75,000
Hughes defeated Serra via unanimous decision
Drew McFedries — $34,000 ($17,000 to show, $17,000 to win)
Xavier Foupas-Pokam — $6,000
McFedries defeated Foupas-Pokam via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Chael Sonnen — $50,000 ($25,000 to show, $25,000 to win)
Dan Miller — $15,000
Sonnen defeated Miller via unanimous decision
Frank Edgar — $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Sean Sherk — $40,000
Edgar defeated Sherk via unanimous decision
Brock Larson — $42,000 ($21,000 to show, $21,000 to win)
Mike Pyle — $15,000
Larson defeated Pyle via submission (arm triangle choke) in round one
Tim Hague — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Pat Barry — $7,000
Hague defeated Barry via submission (guillotine choke) in round one
Kyle Bradley — $8,000 ($4,000 to show, $4,000 to win)
Phillipe Nover — $10,000
Bradley defeated Nover via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Krzysztof Soszynski — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Andre Gusmao — $5,000
Soszynski defeated Gusmao via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Yoshiyuki Yoshida — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Brandon Wolff — $3,000
Yoshida defeated Wolff via submission (guillotine choke) in round one
George Roop — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Dave Kaplan — $8,000
Roop defeated Kaplan via split decision
Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. It also does not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc.
For example, the UFC often hands out extra cash for "Fight of the Night," "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the Night." To check out these figures for UFC 98 go here.
The total base fighter payroll for the blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event, which attracted an unofficial crowd of nearly 13,000 attendees and a solid gate of $3.4 million, was $957,000.
For complete results and coverage of "Evans vs. Machida" click here and here.