Bellator 220 fighter salaries: Rory MacDonald leaves as highest earner

Bellator 220 went down on Saturday night as it was headlined by two big title fights in the respective welterweight and flyweight divisions.

In the co-main event, we saw “The Ilimanator” Ilima-Lei Macfarlane extend her perfect record to 10-0 as she picked up her third title defense by finishing Veta Arteaga in the third-round by TKO (doctor’s stoppage). Macfarlane landed a vicious elbow to the forehead of her opponent that opened a cut that was too severe for the fight to continue.

The main event followed when seasoned veteran and former World Series of Fighting champion, Jon Fitch took on the current Bellator welterweight titleholder, Rory MacDonald.

The two UFC vets fought a hard-fought fight over the course of five rounds that saw both men come out with their hands raised as the fight was declared a majority draw. Because MacDonald didn’t lose, he remains champion and will now advance through the welterweight Grand Prix to face the undefeated BJJ ace, Neiman Gracie in the semifinals. That fight is likely to take place at Bellator 222 on June 14.

Although he didn’t get the win, when it comes to paychecks, MacDonald wound up being the night’s biggest winner (numbers courtesy of MMA Fighting).

Main Card (DAZN)
Rory MacDonald ($200,000) vs. Jon Fitch ($140,000)
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane ($75,000 + no win bonus = $75,000) def. Veta Arteaga ($40,000)
Benson Henderson ($100,000 + no win bonus = $100,000) def. Adam Piccolotti ($22,000)
Phil Davis ($80,000 + $80,000 = $160,000) def. Liam McGeary ($75,000)
Gaston Bolanos ($15,000 + no win bonus = $15,000) def. Nathan Stolen ($10,000)

Preliminary Card (MMA Fighting)
Aviv Gozali ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Travis Crain ($1,200)
Brandon Faumui ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Chris Avila ($5,000)
Matt Perez ($1,200 + $1,200 = $2,400) def. Justin Tenedora ($3,000)
Cass Bell ($5,000 + $5,000 = $10,000) def. Peter Ishiguro ($1,200)
Chuck Campbell ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Bruno Casillas ($1,500)
Hyder Amil ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Paradise Vaovasa ($1,750)
Josh San Diego ($2,000 + $2,000 = $4,000) def. Brandon Laroco ($1,500)
Jordan Williams ($1,750 + $1,750 = $3,500) def. Diego Herzog ($2,500)
Abraham Vaesau ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Justin Roswell ($2,000)
Chris Inocencio ($1,200 + $1,200 = $2,400) def. Boris Novachkov ($1,200)
Tom Ponce de Leon ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Jamario Mulder ($1,200)
Ignacio Ortiz ($1,500) vs. Roger Severson ($1,500)
Jon Adams ($1,200) vs. Erick Gunha ($1,200)

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/29/2019