UFC 187 Fighter Salaries: Weidman, ‘Rumble’ Bank Big

The payout figures for this past weekend’s (Sat., May 23, 2015) UFC 187 pay-per-view (PPV) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, have been released by the Nevada Athletic Commission courtesy of MMA Fighting, and not surprisingly, middleweight champion Chris Weidman banked the biggest payday.

Weidman earned a cool $500,000 purse for his exhilarating first round TKO over Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort, who earned $300,000 for his efforts, which saw him nearly finish the champ with an early round flurry.

Formerly surging light heavyweight title contender Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson was the only fighter to match Weidman’s massive haul, banking $500,000 for himself on a rarely seen all-or-nothing upfront split. Newly crowned 205-pound champ Daniel Cormier banked a surprisingly low 0,000 total for his title-sealing victory.

Other notable names include Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, who banked $152,000 for his second round TKO of late replacement John Makdessi, who earned $30,000.

Heavyweight sluggers Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne earned $84,000 and $60,000, respectively, for their thrilling one round war that may just be one of the most revered slugfests in UFC history.

Rounding out the main card, multi-time flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez took home $106,000 for his unanimous decision victory over fellow former title challenger John Moraga, who earned $28,000.

Here are the full released UFC 187 fighter payouts:

Main Card (Pay-Per-View):

Daniel Cormier ($90,000 + $90,000 = $180,000) def. Anthony Johnson ($500,000)

Chris Weidman (0,000 + 0,000 = 0,000) def. Vitor Belfort (0,000)

Donald Cerrone (,000 + ,000 = 2,000) def. John Makdessi ($30,000)

Andrei Arlovski ($42,000 + $42,000 = $84,000) def. Travis Browne ($60,000)

Joseph Benavidez ($53,000 + $53,000 = $106,000) def. John Moraga ($28,000)

Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1):

John Dodson ($20,000 + $20,000 = $40,000) def. Zach Makovsky ($19,000)

Dong Hyun Kim ($58,000 + $58,000 = $116,000) def. Josh Burkman ($45,000)

Rafael Natal ($35,000 + $35,000 = $70,000) def. Uriah Hall (,000)

Colby Covington (,000 + ,000 = ,000) def. Mike Pyle ($51,000)

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):

Islam Makhachev (,000 + ,000 = ,000) def. Leo Kuntz ($10,000)

Justin Scoggins ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Josh Sampo ($13,000)

*Disclaimer: The above salaries do not comprise a fighter’s total earnings for the card. For example, fighters often receive extra sponsorship money, PPV revenue, discretionary post-fight “locker room” bonuses that are not disclosed to the athletic commission.

Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports