UFC The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale fighter paydays and salaries for ‘Sanchez vs Guida’
By: Jesse Holland
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today released the official fighter purses for those who competed at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale 9: “Sanchez vs. Guida” this past Saturday night (June 20) from “The Pearl” at the Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Two former TUF champions — Diego Sanchez and Joe Stevenson — were the big winners of the night, taking home an event-leading $90,000 for “Nightmare” and $70,000 for “Daddy.” Both fighters experienced similar results inside the Octagon — Sanchez was rewarded for his slugfest split decision win over Clay Guida while Stevenson went home a little richer after overwhelming Nate Diaz en route to a unanimous decision victory.
New UFC lightweight and welterweight additions Ross Pearson and James Wilks also took home a TUF-leading $16,000 apiece after besting their opposing “US vs. UK” finalists to capture the TUF crown and a six-figure contract.
UFC veteran and Octagon workhorse Chris Lytle was the third biggest earner of the night when he pocketed $36,000 for throwing leather with Kevin Burns for three rounds in a performance that also garnered each brawler one of three “Knockout of the Night” bonuses.
Here is the complete list of TUF 9 Finale payouts:
Diego Sanchez — $90,000 ($45,000 to show, $45,000 to win)
Clay Guida — $23,000
Sanchez defeated Guida via split decision
James Wilks — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
DaMarques Johnson — $8,000
Wilks defeated Johnson via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Chris Lytle — $36,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 to win)
Kevin Burns — $9,000
Lytle defeated Burns via unanimous decision
Ross Pearson — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Andre Winner — $8,000
Pearson defeated Winner via unanimous decision
Joe Stevenson — $70,000 ($35,000 to show, $35,000 to win)
Nate Diaz — $20,000
Stevenson defeated Diaz via unanimous decision
Melvin Guillard — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Gleison Tibau — $17,000
Guillard defeated Tibau via split decision
Brad Blackburn — $18,000 ($9,000 to show, $9,000 to win)
Edgar Garcia — $5,000
Blackburn defeated Garcia via split decision
Tomasz Drwal — $15,600 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win, $1600 of opponent’s purse for Ciesnolevicz’s failure to make weight)
Mike Ciesnolevicz — $6,400 ($8,000 to show, $1600 penalty for failure to make weight)
Bradley defeated Ciesnolevicz via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Nick Osipczak — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Frank Lester — $8,000
Osipczak defeated Lester via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Jason Dent — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Cameron Dollar — $8,000
Dent defeated Dollar via submission (anaconda choke) in round one
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 TUF 9 Finale go here.
The total base fighter payroll for the blockbuster The Ultimate Fighter live Finale, which attracted an unofficial crowd of nearly 1,800 attendees and a solid gate of approximately $500,000, was $430,000.
For complete results and coverage of “Sanchez vs. Guida” click here and here.
74 Comments »
I think Sanchez and Quida should have gotten a little bit more. I understand contracts, but dear god i hope they recieved fat locker room bonuses for putting on possibly the best fight in years. Such an awesome fight!
I think everbody should have gotten more.
What’s wrong with making 90 k for a nights work. These guys fight 3-4 times a year and they are supposed to make even more than the reported income. It’s a big improvent than what it used to be like, like when sherk had to quit cause he lost money by fighting. In an economy like this, man there is nothing wrong with this outlay.
agreed, i dont get the complaining, i mean even just 15 grand 4 times a year is 60k a year, more than what most americans make, and this is including bonuses, endorsements, etc. which probably brings it to more than 100k… quit crying for these guys!
The UFC makes literally 100s of millions a year. There are only 3 owners. If you do the math they make a little more than the fighters. Thats why I think the fighters should get paid more.
most americans do not fight/train MMA for a living..
these guys deserve a hell of alot more than they make, Diego should recieve 300k atleast, he was the biggest star of the night and has been one of UFC’s biggest stars at LW/WW for a long time..
around 500k would be better…
Strikeforce pays their fighters so much better and the revenue much less then the UFC. For the level of talent and abuse their bodies take the pay is insulting. Strikeforce paid shamrock nearly 300k fro getting smashed by nick diaz, which i saw from my floor seats.
hey u guys check out the comercial for the ultimate fighter 10 they really use kimbo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idkn1Pn_ezQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebloodyelbow%2Ecom%2F2009%2F6%2F22%2F921215%2Fkimbo%2Dslice%2Din%2Dthe%2Dultimate&feature=player_embedded
LMAO, love the little snip where he’s movin his hands in front of his waste like he’s going to go after the UFC HW belt.. yea right..
the ratings are going to be off the charts with this one.
Sad but true..
***FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT***
aleks emelienenko vs. Blagoi Ivanov on September 29 for the Fighter Mania Championship (FMC) promotion in Seoul, South Korea.
dream 11:
JZ vs. Eddie Alvarez (not sure why mania is refusing to make a thread about this)
i guess mANIA WONT MAKE A thread for the eddie vs. JZ fight because another site is saying that the fight is dountful. sO far, 3 sites have it going down, one announced it as well but is saying its doubtful.
Stay tuned!
aleks looked pretty bad in his last fight and that eddie vs jz news is in like every thread today
Comment by JOhn G
2009-06-18 07:18:06
u already messed up a pick! No shot in hell that Gleison loses to Melvin!
Hey John G….. does the G stand for g@y? Anyway I’ll tell you again, your an @sshole and a douche!
have you actually watched that fight? Melvin didnt beat Tibau, the judges beat Gleison. it was one of the worst judges decisions I have seen in a while, and there have been many!
I love it when someone thinks so highly of you, that they go dig up stuff you posted days ago. Hell I even had someone take the time to dig up something I said literally over 6 months ago…a little creepy if you ask me. lol I dont even remember half the stuff I did yesterday, let alone what you guys say days or weeks ago.
Stop hanging on to my every word…Its flattering, yet a little creepy! U sure as hell wont get me to waste a second of my life digging up anything you posted in the past (no disrespect intended to the bloggers that I really respect around here, just saying how I am)…
This will be the last time this summer that you catch me respnding to a troll. Stop Tarnishing Bas’s great name, with your troll antics!
John-
Truth!
Anybody get sub of the night?
Dent
Thanks.
melvin made more than nate? LAMEEE.
Melvin won dumbass
Yea but if he’d lost he’d still have made more than Nate
take a look again, Melvin’s pay day was 12 to show and not 20
How do you figure O damn? If Nate’s base is 20k and Melvin’s is 12k?
ooo, yea I stand corrected; damn, gotta watch it around here, damn posters circling me like a school of pirahna…
No- Melvin’s base is a lot less than Nate’s. Melvin’s 12k is little more than that of a TUF noob and that’s just about right I think.
Very.
Melvin is the biggest punk MMA has ever seen, and for that he gets more money than another better fighter AND a decision in a fight he wasnt even CLOSE to winning.
Fcking judges…
Yeah Tibau got robbed in that fight. It was close, but Tibau won the first and 3rd.
I disagree. I know he controlled him, but I think the judges are giving less points to guys that hold the other fighter down for a while. He didn’t score any points in my book for getting mount if he couldn’t do anything with it. Melvin landed all the best shots.
what about that stupid gash that scored the fight for Guida? I wish what you said was true, but the reality is that most judges still give MORE points to guys that hold the other fighter down for awhile. Something needs to change before someone’s record takes real damage. Could you imagine if Guida would have gotten that decision?? That would have been “travesty of the year!!” Thank god the other two judges knew what they were doing………
Only because he won and nate lost..
melvins gets $12,000 to show, $12,000 to win
Nate gets $20,000 to show, $20,000 to win
Plus nate got $25,000 for FOTN so he really did make more than melvin anyway.
I can’t imagine Melvin could pull what Nate does in sponsorships either.
Good call pot smoker.
There was like 3 fight of the night and that meant 25 K more for each combatent. Thus a lot of fighters were making more than their base salary add on knock out and sub and you had 8 fighters making 25 K more then their base. Money was flowing.
Chris Lytle has got to be the most underpaid person in the UFC. Sure, he gets the FOTN bonuses but shouldn’t he be guaranteed more?
I think thats pretty damn good, he went through like a 2 mnth training camp, then 1 fight; thats 2 months worth of work for 36k + fotn bonus; there are people that don’t make that inside of an entire year.
However I guess when you factor in all the years where he didn’t make squat, all the wars he’s been in, the ups and downs and all the hard work he’s put in to actually being able to make that 36k + fotn bonus in one fight; yea he’s probably under paid if I look at it like that lol.
Minus travel, training fees- who knows how much they really take home at the end of it all.
Yea.
wow, not to many people complaining about fighters salaries after they sign contracts. goof to see Guillard win, I didn’t see the fight, but always root for him.
Off to take a nap guys, after 10 weeks off, I need to get back to work tonight, will be posting less! I know it breaks some hearts! I may start up my “morning conversations” to get things off my chest and then return later in the day to check out what you guys think
thanks to all the regulars for your good thoughts and opinions, and I can 100% tell it’s summer vacation…lots of haters and negative douche bags on lately!
Damn Kev! Less posting on mania, Facebook and poker? How are you going to adjust? What am I gonna do all day? J/k- take it easy. See you around cyberspace. I’ll be glad when school is back in session myself btw.
“I may start up my “morning conversations” to get things off my chest”
Why’s it always gotta be about you?
and
please god no….
cmon o damn, we’ve been agreeing lately!
wow, not to many people complaining about fighters salaries after they sign contracts. goof to see Guillard win, I didn’t see the fight, but always root for him.
Off to take a nap guys, after 10 weeks off, I need to get back to work tonight, will be posting less! I know it breaks some hearts! I may start up my “morning conversations” to get things off my chest and then return later in the day to check out what you guys think
thanks to all the regulars for your good thoughts and opinions, and I can 100% tell it’s summer vacation…lots of haters and negative douche bags on lately!
Kevin, I thought I was the only Melvin Guillard fan, good to know! I wish his fight was televised. In my opinion Melvin has the best stand-up!
don’t push it! He’s exciting, thats it!
Go watch the fight online somewhere… i didnt think he won… Ill agree that he exiting but the kid is still a douche bag! doesnt suprise me at all that kevin likes him.
must not know me too well, I hete all the douche bag fighters. He seems to be the only one I care for and it’s all about excitement. Nice try though! Go read a few of my posts before you assume who I like!
by the way, I heard the same thing (that it was a bad decision)
Yeah it was a bad decision kev!
http://www.mma-core.com/videos/_Melvin_Guillard_vs_Gleison_Tibau_TUF_9_Finale?vid=10005365&tid=100
Big Melvin Fan. Suprised he won this, tho!
Didn’t Melvin get suspended for testing possitive for coke? I’m surprised the UFC let him back.
wow hopefully guida gets a big raise!
Truth!
Guida vs Joe “Daddy”
AND
Melvin vs Diaz
Sorry buddy but…
I am going to have to take you to task for using my (Truth tm) in such an irresponsible manner.
You use Truth! when most people actually agree on a set of ideas or facts to be representative of reality.
For example, “Guida has a great chin” = Truth!
“Guida has crazy hair and is a cardio machine” = Truth!
“hopefully Guida gets a big raise!” = Nut-huggery, not Truth!
Use (Truth tm) with knowledge or don’t use it at all !
Nice OJR!
Please,would you guys stop with the “awesome chin” of huggie!
Diego is not a powerful striker…never was one either…enough said!
Guida,would get KTFO against a guy,like BJ!
Truth!
Alpha: I’m no huggie fan but if you eat a shin like he did and jump straight back up again then even I will give him the Great Chin award, Although I’ve never been a big fan of guys with great chins, I prefere fighters who are elusive anyway.
Moon,have you ever see someone get KO by Diego’s head kick?
Or have you ever see Diego do actual damage with his kicks?
Good for Huggie that he,could get your award.
He won’t get it from me just for getting stun by a sissy head kick and getting back up to his feet hugging for his dear life!
I LOLed
Nutthuggery or not im stick’n with
“Hopefully Guida gets a big raise”-Truth
Guida should get bumped up on the next contract, at least to what Joe Daddy is making.
Well the sponsorships should be covering travel/training fees, thats what sponsors are for in the first place, so they can afford to train full time instead of having to work. thats what Baffles me about Mark Coleman, saying he couldn’t afford a training camp, he’s got a big enough name to get SOMEONE out there to sponsor him and put up the $$$; hell Tap Out would’ve done it, I almost guarantee it.
You should be managing him. Didn’t you get a raise recently? You should be working. What the hell does your boss have for brains, paying you to post on an mma board all day?
Mark Coleman sponsorship posibilities: Depends, Centrum Silver, LifeAlert, Quaker Oats, Werther’s Original Butter Candies, Matlock, Estelle Getty and the young punks who keep getting on his lawn.
lol, Nice list PW.
Adam T. is it that time of the month buddy? Whats my job to you? O thats right, none of your business.
Just a thought… What if they made a UFC event where the fight card consists of nothing but past fighters from the Ultimate Fighter Reality show. There have been 9 seasons covering all weight classes and they could have a 10 or 11 fight card including the best of the best that have remained.
What fighters do you think would be good to include if they designed an event with this theme? What would a good main event be?
would be coolyes, but it would screw up the competition as it is unless they make it a event outside the competition what costs too much money ofcourse. good idea but doubt it will be usefull for the moneywolves outthere cough dana cough
Sorry another add
Main event u say.. Serra vs Diaz could be fun to watch
Thumbs up for Guida. bad payment for such a real fighter.
Good for Diego and joe daddy . they got a nice check for just being a spike tv tuf finale.