UFC 197 salary report – Jon Jones remains one of UFC’s highest paid

By Russell Ess - April 25, 2016

UFC 197 took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.

ufc interim light heavyweight title fight

The card was headlined with a UFC interim light heavyweight title fight between former champion Jon Jones and number six UFC ranked contender Ovince Saint Preux. Jones took the win in a five-round unanimous decision and ranked at the top of the pay scale of the card at $500,000 with no win bonus.

Demetrious Johnson took the second biggest paycheck of $195,000, which included a $60,000 win bonus after defeating Henry Cejudo in a flyweight title fight. Johnson put Cejudo away in the first round by TKO.

The full UFC 197 payouts via MMA Junkie included:

Jon Jones: $500,000 (no win bonus)
def. Ovince Saint Preux: $55,000

Demetrious Johnson: $195,000 (includes $60,000 win bonus)
def. Henry Cejudo: $60,000

Edson Barboza: $88,000 (includes $44,000 win bonus)
def. Anthony Pettis: $80,000

Robert Whittaker: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Rafael Natal: $41,000

Yair Rodriguez: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus)
def. Andre Fili: $18,000

Sergio Pettis: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
def. Chris Kelades: $12,000

Danny Roberts: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Dominique Steele: $12,000

Carla Esparza: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Juliana Lima: $14,000

James Vick: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Glaico Franca: $17,000

Walt Harris: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Cody East: $10,000

Marcos Rogerio de Lima: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Clint Hester: $12,000

Kevin Lee: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
def. Efrain Escudero: $18,000

The disclosed payroll for UFC 197 was $1,470,000.

These figures do not include deductions for items such as licenses, insurance, and taxes. In addition, the figures do not include sponsor pay, such as the official UFC-Reebok sponsorship program. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays to their fighters.

Demetrious Johnson and Yair Rodriguez took an additional $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus home while Danny Roberts and Dominique Steele each took home a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus.


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