MMA Fighting reports the salaries from Saturday night’s UFC 189. Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes made $500,000 each for their main event fight.
Notably, McGregor did not have a win bonus although it’s being reported that he is receiving a part of the PPV sales. Thus, the speculation is that he’ll clear $3-$4 million after all is said and done. Mendes may receive a part of the PPV cut as well. Mendes signed a new 8-fight deal with the UFC in May.
The salaries were disclosed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The reported salaries do not include bonuses, Reebok sponsorship money or any other discretionary bonuses. Notably, Jeremy Stephens forfeited 20% of his purse due to not making weight.
The total reported salaries for UFC 189 was $1,952,000.
Via MMA Fighting:
Conor McGregor ($500,000) def. Chad Mendes ($500,000)
Robbie Lawler ($150,000 + $150,000 = $300,000) def. Rory MacDonald ($59,000)
Jeremy Stephens ($32,000 + $40,000 = $72,000) def. Dennis Bermudez ($34,000)
Gunnar Nelson ($29,000 + $29,000 = $58,000) def. Brandon Thatch ($22,000)
Thomas Almeida ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000) def. Brad Pickett ($30,000)
Matt Brown ($46,000 + $46,000 = $92,000) def. Tim Means ($23,000)
Alex Garcia ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Mike Swick ($48,000)
John Howard ($21,000 + $21,000 = $42,000) def. Cathal Pendred ($10,000)
Cody Garbrandt ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Henry Briones ($10,000)
Louis Smolka ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Neil Seery ($15,000)
Cody Pfister ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Yosdenis Cedeno ($13,000)
Payout Perspective:
Interesting that Robbie Lawler at $300K and Rory MacDonald at $59K plus his $50 Fight of the Night bonus were the only other fighters to reach 6 figures. The average fighter payout was $88,000 although much of that was the $1 million combined from McGregor-Mendes. In fact, if you take out the payouts from the top two fights, the average salary drops to $33,000.
Mendes did get a cut of the ppv according to Jeremy Botter of Bleacher Report.
Lol @, these pay days.
The entire payroll, including the supposed back room bonuses, probably doesn’t reach $10mm.
Dana spending money having artists sing crap songs when he could’ve just given that million to the fighters
Joe, what is to laugh about? How much money do you estimate Zuffa made here? It really depends on how much they paid for the event and how many buys it does.
The UFC made 7.2 millions at the gate and according to early reports at least 1 million PPV buys at $55 each on average ($50 SD, $60 HD), that’s 55 millions $, for a total of around $62 in revenues.
I don’t know how much it costs to rent the arena, to pay ALL the crews, technicians, octagon girls, license fees, publicity, PPV shares given to some fighters, the PPV cut given to all the broadcasters etc etc etc…. Add to this the cost of actually running a huge business like the UFC and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the notion that the UFC swims in cash flow while the fighters struggle to eat is ludicrous.
Obviously they have other incomes, TV deals, merchandising, Fight Pass, but they must barely be breaking even on most events.
JF,
D and I already proved that they could DOUBLE their fighter pay and still be profitable here:
http://mmapayout.com/2015/05/coker-comments-on-ufc-reebok-sponsor-policy/
IMO, the pay of the athletes is the one thing that they can’t compromise on. Why pay Rihanna $1mm appearance fee and have laser graphics projected into the stage and record the most expensive ads ever when what’s really important is the fighters in the cage?
JF,
Joe is delusional and I have never agreed with him on anything related to this subject. He doesn’t comprehend overhead and exaggerates every statistic given.
They didn’t pay Rihanna anything so that point is moot.
You still don’t grasp how a business is run.
The headliners should be paid somewhat more, but not a ton. If the fighters were to promote their fights on their own, they wouldn’t draw a fraction of what they would with the UFC banner. That means the leverage is with the UFC’s name, not as much the fighter.
Joe also contradicts himself because he is claiming this UFC is going to lose money and then counters by saying the fighters should get paid more. Makes no sense.
JF,
You’re a big boy. You can see the numbers.
D,
You can’t find 1 post where I claimed the UFC was going to lose money. Maybe you truly are, Delusional
The truth is for a fight like this it is hard to say how much they made. They have to pay the cable companies 60% of the ppv revenue with the exception of the streaming buys. 50% for satellite ppv buys. If the ppv did 1m buys, after the ppv providers get their cut, the UFC has roughly 25m. The gate did 7.2m and they did not have to rent out the MGM, they were probably paid a site fee especially because of the Fan Expo which brought in a ton of money. Sponsorship money may have been a few million. Foreign tv contracts-notably Ireland and the UK brought in money, merchandise etc, bar contracts, closed circuit movie theaters, etc. probably brought the total around 36m for the entire event.
Then you have to pay the fighters- probably around 8m, you have to pay for insurance, licensing/NSAC fees, the production cost for this was probably around 4m considering how much everything looked different and the fact that they had to pay live singers, etc. They promoted the shit out of this too with ads, a massive press tour, that expensive commercial, they have to pay for the travel/lodging for the fighters and their trainer, They had to pay taxes. They should have still profited, but by how much is anyone’s guess. We don’t know exactly what they put into it, but I doubt they made a killing considering that.
Joe, you repeatedly point out how the UFC had to make 2m buys for this to be a success. If that is the case, wouldn’t you be implying a 1m draw would be a loss? Or are you delusional in your ability to draw a conclusion with basic math?
You’re drawing the wrong conclusion from my comment because you’re really defensive about the UFC.
I never said they would’t turn a profit.
But to justify their additional investment in marketing as a company I’d expect additional sales as well. How else would you measure ROI?
Another cheapie pay promotion….any news how much they spent marketing the event….hahahaha
“You’re drawing the wrong conclusion from my comment because you’re really defensive about the UFC.
I never said they would’t turn a profit.
But to justify their additional investment in marketing as a company I’d expect additional sales as well. How else would you measure ROI?”
I don’t feel like looking it up, but I’m fairly certain you said they would break even at 1m. Either way, your argument is illogical and you don’t comprehend business.
Topps hates it. It is sinking in to him how much of a success this fight was and the massive fight coming up with McGregor and Aldo.
How much did they spend for marketing? They cant afford to cancel even when the champ is injured….must really be big hahahaha….
Hahaha. He’s self destructing.
OH boy the UFC had a decent show so now they can cover the last 4 that lost a fortune. bahahahah ppv gross and ppv net are 2 different worlds, but according to D since the ufc is an llc they don’t pay taxes bahahahahah they spent millions on that stupid tour that amounted to nothing bahahahahaha may[ac 2 for late 2016 or 17 hahahahah
d,
you can’t look it up because it doesn’t exist. you’re delusional and made it up in your mind.
Like I said…if you double of triple the amount you spent on advertising..you better show great sales or it was money down the drain.
Joe, I know you really hate it when people point out the reality that you don’t comprehend the business of this sport(or business in general) and that you are completely delusion & full of shit, but just accept the truth. The extra promotion is what help sell more seats and ppvs and was worth it most likely.
Stop contradicting yourself and form a rational argument for once.
Rosetta Stone can’t decipher Sal’s ramblings.