STRIKEFORCE FIGHTER SALARIES AND ATTENDANCE

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STRIKEFORCE FIGHTER SALARIES AND ATTENDANCE
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - by MMAWeekly.com Staff

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information from the California State Athletic Commission for Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson, which took place on Friday, June 27, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.

Gross receipts for Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson totaled $355,487 based on a total attendance of 7,288. The actual paid attendance was 6,750, according to the CSAC.


MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS

– Josh Thomson ($35,000/win bonus was $15,000) def. Gilbert Melendez ($50,000)


MAIN CARD FIGHTERS

– Eric Lawson ($8,000/KO-Sub Bonus of $1,000) def. Jesse Gillespie ($3,500)

– Miesha Tate ($1,500/win bonus was $500) def. Elaina Maxwell ($4,000)

– Bobby Southworth ($25,000/win bonus was $10,000) def. Anthony Ruiz ($200)*
*Ruiz received most of his pay in an advance prior to the fight.

– Jeremiah Metcalf ($8,500/win bonus was $5,000) def. Raymond Daniels ($10,000)

– Chris Cariaso ($6,000/no win bonus) def. Anthony Figueroa ($5,000)

– Billy Evangelista ($14,000/win bonus was $7,000) def. Nam Phan ($10,000)

– Brian Caraway ($3,000/win bonus was $1,000) def. Alvin Cacdac ($3,000)


PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS

– Cyrillo Padhilo ($2,500/win bonus was $750) def. Jesse Jones ($2,000)

– Jorge Interiano ($1,500/win bonus was $500) def. Travis Johnson ($2,000)

– Alexander Trivino ($1,500/win bonus was $500) def. Eric Jacob ($1,000)

– Bobby Stack ($3,000/win bonus was $1,000) def. Jose Palacios ($3,000)


STRIKEFORCE DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $203,200



STRIKEFORCE: MELENDEZ VS. THOMSON AWARD BONUS
(as disclosed by the CSAC)

KO/Submission of the Night ($1,000 bonus):
– Eric Lawson

[AWANT2FIGHT]

what? gilbert melendez got as much money as thomson did even though he lost?

[WC_Lun]

For what these guys go through, it just doesn't seem very much.

[TRIANGLEFROMGAURD]

You think the Melendez thing sucks. Jardien got payed $14,000 to beat Chuck Liddel. Chuck got paid $500,000 plus a piece of the door. LOL now that sucks.

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Well, people came to see Chuck fight, not Jardin. If Jardin fight someone else, it's not a main event but if Chuck fights anybody, it's a main event.

MMA pay is not relative to their skill level (eventually down the line) but since it's also entertainment, more popular the fighter chances are they will get more money.

Melendez got more money than Thompson, even though Thompson was the better fighter that night because Melendez WAS the champion. Also, it's whatever is in your contract.

Triangle,
How much do your fighters get paid? I assume it's all probably less than $10K unless they are fighting for one of the larger organizations.

[Zaraki Kenpachi]

If it were enough for me to pay my bills I wouldnt care what I got paid. I dont have a family for that very reason. When you have mouths to feed you have to sacrifice a lot more. When its just you then you can make due.

If I were healthy I'd be fighting a whole lot while I was low earner, well as much as I could schedule anyway.

[AWANT2FIGHT]

im beginning to think melendez was paid to lose.

[TRIANGLEFROMGAURD]

Originally Posted by complete

Well, people came to see Chuck fight, not Jardin. If Jardin fight someone else, it's not a main event but if Chuck fights anybody, it's a main event.

MMA pay is not relative to their skill level (eventually down the line) but since it's also entertainment, more popular the fighter chances are they will get more money.

Melendez got more money than Thompson, even though Thompson was the better fighter that night because Melendez WAS the champion. Also, it's whatever is in your contract.

Triangle,
How much do your fighters get paid? I assume it's all probably less than $10K unless they are fighting for one of the larger organizations.

LOL way less, depending on the organization my pro fighters make anywhere from $500 to $2000.

[Zaraki Kenpachi]

TFG, how often could they fight barring injuries?

[TRIANGLEFROMGAURD]

We are fighting June, August and September, then we are off until November unless something major comes up. Generally if everyone is healthy they can fight once a month if pay is right sometimes a fighter will fight twice a month. It's up to them ultimately since it is their body. Since we cut weight one of my fighters really can not fight more then twice a month.

I forgot July, and July as well.

[Zaraki Kenpachi]

That sounds like a reasonable schedule. So you take the first 6 months of the year off?

[TRIANGLEFROMGAURD]

Originally Posted by drallig9399

That sounds like a reasonable schedule. So you take the first 6 months of the year off?

No not really it's just in the summer there are a lot of shows going on. Ussually in the winter months we will do more grappling tournaments and Thai matches to keep sharp.