It's no surprise that the UFC is blowing up, it's my favorite sport and to be honest the only sport I really follow. MMA is pretty much universal if you think about it. You don't have to worry about the ridiculous rules of curling or put on an all day affair like Super G or an NFL playoff game (although totally awesome) to settle a bet. But have you ever wondered what's the price those athletes pay for the limelight?
Take for example one of the bigger past events, where it took place in a state that releases the disclosed salaries for an event.
Lyoto Machida: $200,000 (no win bonus)
def. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: $155,000
Cain Velasquez: $70,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus)
def. Ben Rothwell: $50,000
Gleison Tibau: $38,000 ($19,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Neer: $14,000
Joe Stevenson: $94,000 ($47,000 win bonus)
def. Spencer Fisher: $26,000
Anthony Johnson: $30,0000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida: $12,000
Ryan Bader: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Eric Schafer: $13,000
Pat Barry: $14,000 ($7,000 win bonus)
def. Antoni Hardonk: $16,000
Chael Sonnen: $54,000 ($27,000 win bonus)
def. Yushin Okami: $18,000
Jorge Rivera: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Rob Kimmons: $9,000
Kyle Kingsbury: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
def. Razak Al-Hassan: $3,000
Stefan Struve: $14,000 ($7,000 win bonus)
def. Chase Gormley: $10,000
Straight up, seems like a lot right? But while it starts high, that douche Chase Gormley didn't get paid much did he?
Take into consideration that these guys need to dedicate their lives to training a solid 1-3 months in advance for one of these events (on top of their regular training) and they on make out with say $10k for getting their brains bashed in for a couple of minutes. Worth the $60 you pay to watch it in HD?
| Size Total Roster | % of Roster paid over $1million per/year | % of Roster paid under $1million per/year |
| UFC 219 | 8.2% | 91.8% |
| NBA 452 | 83.6% | 16.4% |
| NHL 700 | 57.6% | 42.4% |
Put that in your pipe and smoke it slowly and sensually. While the top UFC athletes get paid very well, the others seem to get compensated alright for their troubles as a professional athlete. Maybe something to think about before thinking you take on Big Nog after your next so called BJJ class.
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