UFC 86 salaries: Forrest Griffin earns $250K, Quinton Jackson gets $225K

[D-Bo Dre]

Main-event winner and new UFC lightweight champion Forrest Griffin earned a base salary of $250,000 at UFC 86, and opponent Quinton Jackson picked up $225,000. The two fighters earned the show's highest base salaries -- and more than half the total payroll.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today obtained the list of official salaries from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Total payroll for the pay-per-view event, which took place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events in Las Vegas, was $943,000.

Griffin and Jackson accounted for 50.4 percent of the payroll.

Also worth noting is that Gabriel Gonzaga earned the event's third-highest payout ($100,000) despite appearing in an un-aired preliminary card.

The full list of salaries included:

Forrest Griffin: $250,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus) def.
Quinton Jackson: $225,000

Patrick Cote: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus) def.
Ricardo Almeida: $23,000

Joe Stevenson: $60,000 ($30,000 win bonus) def.
Gleison Tibau: $11,000

Josh Koscheck: $70,000 ($35,000 win bonus) def.
Chris Lytle: $14,000

Tyson Griffin: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus) def.
Marcus Aurelio: $40,000

Gabriel Gonzaga: $100,000 ($50,000 win bonus) def.
Justin McCully: $5,000

Cole Miller: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def.
Jorge Gurgel: $ 10,000

Melvin Guillard: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def.
Dennis Siver: $7,000

Justin Buchholz: $8,000 ($4000 win bonus) def.
Corey Hill: $8,000


*** Now, the usual disclaimer: the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income. They also do not include any other "locker-room" or special bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays. In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.***

[BTM0085]

thats all these guys get paid?? are you kidding....BTW. RAMPAGE CLEARLY WON that fight.

[zimmy]

lol clearly won it...by getting out worked... :P

[Pooks]

Just shows if you are good at it.. U can make a very good living.
These Win bonuses are awesome, they can really make a persons year.


Koscheck for example has prolly fought 3 times already this year.. with win bonuses, he has prolly picked up close to 200grand for the year..

pretty damn solid.. it takes an average person 4 years of no-glitz work to get that loot.

[200byjune]

thats ridiculous imo. rampage got paid 125,000 dollars more then griffen when he lost?

[firmechicano831]

I'll fight them for $200,000.

[yannick35]

Its good money but for how long, i really hope that theses guys get a good pension plan.

Has much has i love to see them fight its quit sad because when the fighting is done the money is gone.

[D-Bo Dre]

i heard Dana White has a nice 401k set up for them

[jonny101]

Its good money but for how long, i really hope that theses guys get a good pension plan.

Has much has i love to see them fight its quit sad because when the fighting is done the money is gone.

Dont forget alot of the fighters coach and have gyms,alot of them have college degrees so theyh will be alright lol dont feel to sorry for them
if there smart they will invest it

[sphincter]

thats ridiculous imo. rampage got paid 125,000 dollars more then griffen when he lost?

why is it ridiculous for the champ to get paid more than the contender as a base salary going into the fight? the champ is the champ for a reason.. he has proven himself to be the best and therefore should be the highest paid IMO. the contender should be well paid but why should someone who has never held a title get paid close to or the same as the champion who has defeated all comers and held a title??



In your chosen career field, would you expect the new guy or mid-level guy to get paid as much as a seasoned veteran who knows the ropes and has proven himself to be a top performer? Even at McDonalds.. the newer people get paid less and then get paid more as they prove themselves to be able to handle more responsibililty and be a consistent performer.. as you continue to do this, they make you shift leader and whatever their titles are and give you more money.. would you expect the shift leader to make as much as the regional manager?

[slamman119]

i mean they make decent money, but for the audiences they pull in they should be making more. at least 350k

[WARMachine]

Just for the record, noone gets into MMA for the money.

At least, anyone who has half a brain.

[gooer]

Just for the record, noone gets into MMA for the money.

At least, anyone who has half a brain.

apparently tito ortiz did, it's all he talks about anymore.

[Stock]

apparently tito ortiz did, it's all he talks about anymore.

Becaues that is all he can do, talk...

[WARMachine]

Like i said, half a brain....

Tito is 50cents short of a dollar...

And though he isnt a top ten caliber fighter anymore, he can still kick some ass...

He's beat some of the best EVER! Though his prime is long gone, hes the prime example of a guy who has all the talent in the world, and none of the heart...

Injuries, time off, and a big mouth killed his career...