Lesnar rewarded with hefty payday

By MMAWeekly.com

Brock Lesnar (top) was awarded with $650,000 on Saturday, while Randy Couture earned $250,000. Greg Choat/SI  Martin: Lesnar TKOs Couture for title  Roop: George Roop's TUF 8 blog  Martin: Condit joins new team

MMAWeekly.com has obtained the fighter salary information from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for UFC 91 featuring Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar, which took place on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.

MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS

-- Brock Lesnar ($450,000/win bonus was $200,000) def. Randy Couture ($250,000/win bonus would have been $250,000)

MAIN CARD FIGHTERS

-- Kenny Florian ($80,000/win bonus was $40,000) def. Joe Stevenson ($35,000/win bonus would have been $35,000)

-- Gabriel Gonzaga ($110,000/win bonus was $55,000) def. Josh Hendricks ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)

-- Dustin Hazelett ($28,000/win bonus was $11,000) def. Tamdan McCrory ($10,000/win bonus would have been $10,000) *Hazelett also earned an extra $60,000 for "UFC 91 Submission of the Night"

-- Demian Maia ($40,000/win bonus was $20,000) def. Nate Quarry ($25,000/win bonus would have been $25,000)

PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS

-- Aaron Riley ($8,000/win bonus was $4,000) def. Jorge Gurgel ($10,000/win bonus would have been $10,000) *Each fighter also earned an extra $60,000 for "UFC 91 Fight of the Night"

-- Jeremy Stephens ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Rafael Dos Anjos ($4,000/win bonus would have been $4,000) *Stephens also earned an extra $60,000 for "UFC 91 Knockout of the Night"

-- Mark Bocek ($18,000/win bonus was $9,000) def. Alvin Robinson ($7,000/win bonus would have been $7,000)

-- Matt Brown ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Ryan Thomas ($3,000/win bonus would have been $3,000)

UFC 91 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,118,000

UFC 91 AWARDS AND BONUSES

UFC 91 Fight of the Night
Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel

UFC 91 Knockout of the Night
Jeremy Stephens

UFC 91 Submission of the Night
Dustin Hazelett

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