UFC 249 certainly brought the entertainment value. Despite the initially jarring absence of a live audience, each and every fighter showed up like it was game day all the same. Highlights included everything from Francis Ngannou’s 20-second blitz, to the intense slug fest between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje – a brutal affair which pretty much went to the final minutes (to the detriment of the former). But in terms of the dollar figure, how was each fighter compensated? Here are the UFC 249 salaries as revealed by The Sports Daily.
- Justin Gaethje (C) – $380,000 ($250,000 to show + $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus + $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus + $30,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Tony Ferguson – $380,000 ($350,000 to show + $30,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Henry Cejudo (C) – $390,000 ($350,000 to show + $40,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Dominick Cruz – $280,000 ($250,000 to show + $30,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Francis Ngannou – $320,000 ($130,000 to show + $130,000 win bonus + $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus + $10,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik – $22,000 ($18,000 to show + $4,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Calvin Kattar – $65,100 ($20,000 to show + $20,000 win bonus + $20,100 from Stephens for missing weight + $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Jeremy Stephens – $66,900 ($67,000 to show, $20,000 fight week incentive pay) [$20,100 fine for missing weight]
- Greg Hardy – $175,000 ($85,000 to show + $85,000 win bonus + $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Yorgan De Castro – $15,500 ($12,000 to show + $3,500 fight week incentive pay)
- Anthony Pettis – $330,000 ($155,000 to show + $155,000 win bonus + $20,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Donald Cerrone – $220,000 ($200,000 to show + $20,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Aleksei Oleinik – $170,000 ($80,000 to show + $80,000 win bonus + $10,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Fabricio Werdum – $340,000 ($325,000 to show + $15,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Carla Esparza – $111,000 ($53,000 to show + $53,000 win bonus, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Michelle Waterson – $75,000 ($70,000 to show + $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Vicente Luque – $104,000 ($47,000 to show + $47,000 win bonus + $10,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Niko Price – $27,000 ($22,000 to show + $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Bryce Mitchell – $36,000 ($16,000 to show + $16,000 win bonus + $4,000 fight week incentive pay + those damn camo shorts)
- Charles Rosa – $27,000 ($22,000 to show + $5,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Ryan Spann – $36,000 ($16,000 to show + $16,000 win bonus + $4,000 fight week incentive pay)
- Sam Alvey – $65,000 ($50,000 to show + $15,000 fight week incentive pay)
**All sums are USD
Observations
Interesting to note that despite being the larger draw in terms of co-main events – as well as being the better “value-for-money” bout if we consider the duration and action received – neither Ferguson nor Gaethje were the highest paid fighters. Though to be fair, Cejudo is the champ-champ (regardless of what we think about him otherwise).
Ngannou being paid US$320,000 for that twenty-second blitz essentially equates to US$16,000 a second. Or if he view it through the lens of strikes, approximately US$53,333 for every strike landed. Certainly not a bad effort.
And finally, while I’m not entirely sure about the monetary value of Reebok camo shorts, at this point in his career, Mitchell deserves a pay bump. Cerrone too – but then again, when in the last few years has the UFC ever treated Cerrone correctly?
Now that you’ve gotten the inside scoop on the UFC 249 salaries, why not relive the definitive moment the world – once again – realised that Tony Ferguson is not human?
