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[Sakara=Excitement]

WEC 47 fighter salaries: Joseph Benavidez leads $264K payroll with $29K payday | MMAjunkie.com

Not only did Joseph Benavidez submit favorite Miguel Torres and stake claim to a likely bantamweight title shot, he also earned an event-high $29,000 payday at this past weekend's WEC 47 event.

MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) on Sunday requested and today received the list of salaries from the Ohio Athletic Commission.

The total disclosed payroll for the event was $236,500.

WEC 47 took place March 6 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and aired live on Versus. Dominick Cruz defeated Brian Bowles and won the WEC bantamweight title in the night's main event.

Cruz earned $18,000 ($9,000 of which was a win bonus) for the effort; Bowles earned $12,000. Torres could have doubled his $26,000 salary with a win but tapped out from a guillotine choke to Benavidez.

The full payouts included:

Dominick Cruz: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Brian Bowles: $12,000

Joseph Benavidez: $29,000 ($14,500 win bonus)
def. Miguel Torres: $26,000

Javier Vazquez: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Jens Pulver: $14,000

L.C. Davis: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Deividas Taurosevicius: $9,000

Bart Palaszewski: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Karen Darabedyan: $4000

Scott Jorgensen : $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
def. Chad George: $3,000

Chad Mendes: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
def. Erik Koch: $3,000

Anthony Pettis: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus)
def. Danny Castillo: $9,500

Leonard Garcia: $14,000*
vs. George Roop: $3,000*

Fredson Paixao: $4,000 ($2,000 win bonus)
def. Courtney Buck: $3,000

Ricardo Lamas: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Bendy Casimir: $3,000

* - Fight declared split draw; neither fighter issued win bonus

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 that are not disclosed by the organization.

They also do not include the WEC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. For example, the WEC 47 bonuses were worth $10,000 each and went to Garcia and Roop (Fight of the Night), Pettis (Knockout of the Night) and Benavidez (Submission of the Night).

In other words, the above salary figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

Damn Jens made 14 k? Damn.....

[Rambo]

I make more money than Jens.

[Repenter]

i hope 3,000 is enough for chad george to buy a new neck

[BUKKAKALYPSE]

Originally Posted by Rambo

I make more money than Jens.

You make more than $14K/FIGHT?

[Sakara=Excitement]

Originally Posted by BUKKAKALYPSE

You make more than $14K/FIGHT?

Apparently McDonalds has bumped up their minimum wage.

[Rambo]

14K per fight.
2 fights per year
14K x 2 fights = 28K per year from fighting
Also subtract training expenses, taxes, etc.

So basically he's making peanuts for a professional sportsman who competes in the cage. You'd think he'd make a lot more for a guy with his name recognition and...popularity?