UFC 84 Fighter Payouts (Salaries)

Lightweight champion BJ Penn earned nearly a quarter of UFC 84’s total payroll pocketing a cool $250,000 for his title defense against Sean Sherk on Saturday.

Although the fight didn’t live up to the hype according to some, BJ proved his dominance in the 155lb division and got paid accordingly. To add insult to injury, Sean Sherk walked away from the main event with a mere $35,000. Peanuts compared to his counter part and at least $5,000 less than three of the fighters on the undercard made.

It was a packed house at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for UFC 84 which drew a live gate of $3.7 million. 14,773 screaming fans were there for the mayhem and carnage that ensued.

Tito Ortiz, no stranger to big paydays, walked away from what could be his final bout in the UFC with the second biggest payout of the night, $210,000. Wanderlei Silva was next pocketing $150,000 for his total obliteration of Keith Jardine.

Total payroll for UFC 84 was $1,098,000 according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

UFC 84 "Ill Will" Payout’s

• BJ Penn ($250,000) def. Sean Sherk ($35,000)
• Wanderlei Silva ($150,000) def. Keith Jardine ($10,000)
• Goran Reljic ($6,000) def. Wilson Gouveia ($18,000)
• Lyoto Machida ($100,000) def. Tito Ortiz ($210,000)
• Thiago Silva ($50,000) def. Antonio Mendes ($4,000)
• Rousimar Palhares ($10,000) def. Ivan Salaverry ($20,000)
• Rameau Sokoudjou ($80,000) def. Kazuhiro Nakamura ($20,00O)
• Rich Clementi ($40,000) def. Terry Etim ($10,000)
• Yoshiyuki Yoshida ($12,000) def. Jon Koppenhaver ($8,000)
• Dong Hyun Kim ($40,000) def. Jason Tan ($3000)
• Shane Carwin ($12,000) def. Christian Wellisch ($10,000)

UFC 84 Bonuses

• Wanderlei Silva ($75,000) - Knockout of the Night
• Rousimar Palhares ($75,000) - Submission of the Night
• Wilson Gouveia ($75,000) - Fight of the Night
• Goran Reljic ($75,000) - Fight of the Night

Each of the winning fighters received 50% to show and 50% as a win bonus with the exception of Wanderlei Silva, who got paid a flat rate of $150,000.

As usual, the payout’s listed above do not include deductions for insurance licenses, taxes etc. Nor do they include money paid by sponsors which can make up for a large part of the fighters income. These are base salaries as reported by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Numbers courtesy of MMAJunkie.com