UFC 183 Salaries: Anderson Silva & Nick Diaz Top List With Huge Payouts

anderson silva/nick diaz failed drug tests

Following a two-year hiatus after he lost to former welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158, Nick Diaz said he would only return to the Octagon for a big fight and a big payday.

It appears that the polarizing Stockton slugger got just that, as Diaz netted an insane 0,000 base salary for his somewhat one-sided loss to all-time great Anderson Silva in the main event of last Saturday’s (Jan. 31, 2014) UFC 183 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Silva earned $800,000, which included a $600,000 base salary and a $200,000 win bonus, for his comeback win, his first since he stepped in on short notice to face Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 back in October 2013.

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Both Silva and Diaz will likely receive back-end revenue based on pay-per-view (PPV) percentages that could past their total compensation packages well past $1 million.

The next biggest earner was top-ranked welterweight Tyron Woodley, who took home 9,000 for his close split decision win over TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum, who missed weight by an unprecedented nine pounds. Woodley was set to receive a whopping 30% of Gastelum’s purse, but the classy “Chosen One” said that receiving his first loss and being forced to move back up to middleweight was punishment enough for the 23-year-old Gastelum.

Here is the full rundown of UFC 183 salaries courtesy of MMAJunkie.com:

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Anderson Silva: $800,000 (includes $200,000 win bonus)

def. Nick Diaz: 0,000

Tyron Woodley: $139,000 (includes $65,000 win bonus)*

def. Kelvin Gastelum: $21,000*

Al Iaquinta: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus)

def. Joe Lauzon: $36,000

Thales Leites: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)

def. Tim Boetsch: $52,000

Thiago Alves: $84,000 (includes $42,000 win bonus)

def. Jordan Mein: $22,000

Miesha Tate: ,000 (includes ,000 win bonus)

def. Sara McMann: $25,000

Derek Brunson: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)

def. Ed Herman: $47,000

John Lineker: $35,700 (includes $21,000 win bonus)+

def. Ian McCall: $22,300+

Rafael Natal: $58,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus)

def. Tom Watson: $16,000

Ildemar Alcantara: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)

def. Richardson Moreira: $8,000

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Thiago “Marreta” Santos: $26,000 (includes $13,000 win bonus)

def. Andy Enz: $8,000

* – After missing weight Gastelum fined 30 percent of purse, which was awarded to Woodley

+ – After missing weight, Lineker fined 30 percent of purse, which was awarded to McCall

Disclaimer: The above 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 discretionary bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays. Additionally, they don’t include any pay-per-view revenue some top fighters receive.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports