There’s a hell of a difference between appearing on the Fight Pass prelims and headlining the card.
The fighters’ salaries from UFC 189 have been revealed and there’s no surprise that Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes are the top earners, coming out with $500,000 (€453,000) each for the fight but that’s not including the win bonus that The Notorious is eligible for.
McGregor’s payday means that he earned €6,757 for each of the 74 strikes that he landed on Chad Mendes.
Fellow Irishmen Neil Seery and Cathal Pendred came away with $15,000 (€13,600) and $10,000 ($9,000) respectively while co-main event winner Robbie Lawler earned $300,000 (€271,000) which includes his win bonus.
Gunnar Nelson’s submission victory means the Icelandic fighter goes home with $58,000 (€53,000) in his pocket.
These figures do not include any sponsorship money nor the bonuses received by McGregor, Lawler, Rory MacDonald and Thomas Almeida.
The full list of earners is as follows.
Conor McGregor: $500,000 (excluding win bonus)
def. Chad Mendes: $500,000
Champ Robbie Lawler: $300,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus)
def. Rory MacDonald: $59,000
Jeremy Stephens: $72,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus)
def. Dennis Bermudez: $34,000 [Stephens was fined 20% of his purse for missing weight]
Gunnar Nelson: $58,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus)
def. Brandon Thatch: $22,000
Thomas Almeida: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Brad Pickett: $30,000
Matt Brown: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus)
def. Tim Means: $23,000
Alex Garcia: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Swick: $48,000
John Howard: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus)
def. Cathal Pendred: $10,000
Cody Garbrandt: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Henry Briones: $10,000
Louis Smolka: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Neil Seery: $15,000
Cody Pfister: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Yosdenis Cedeno: $13,000
