Bellator 199 salaries: Ryan Bader, ‘King Mo,’ Cheick Kongo cash $150,000 purses

[La Paix]

Ryan Bader earned $150,000 for his KO win over “King Mo” Lawal.
Bellator MMA


A trio of heavyweight fighters led the disclosed payroll for Bellator 199, each earning $150,000 for their respective performances this past weekend. The California State Athletic Commission released the event’s finalized salary information Wednesday to MMA Fighting.

Main card (Paramount Network)
Ryan Bader ($150,000 + no win bonus = $150,000) def. Muhammed Lawal ($150,000)
Jon Fitch ($60,000 + $60,000 = $120,000) def. Paul Daley ($30,000)
Aaron Pico ($35,000 + $35,000 = $70,000) def. Lee Morrison ($12,000)
Cheick Kongo ($150,000 + no win bonus = $150,000) def. Javy Ayala ($30,000)
Adam Piccolotti ($18,000 + $18,000 = $36,000) def. Carrington Banks ($14,000)

Preliminary Card (MMA Fighting)
Deron Winn ($1,200 + $1,200 = $2,400) def. Ahmed White ($1,200)
Justin Tenedora ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. David Rivera ($1,200)
Gaston Bolanos ($5,000 + no win bonus = $5,000) def. Malcolm Hill ($1,200)
James Terry ($3,000 + $3,000 = $6,000) def. Danasabe Mohammed ($1,500)
Amber Leibrock ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Janay Harding ($10,000)
Jordan Williams ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Brandon Hester ($1,750

https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/5/...bader-king-mo-cheick-kongo-cash-150000-purses

 

[Ted Williams' head]

That's great, I'm glad to hear guys can make over 100k in a night somewhere other than the UFC. It's good that guys have options.

150k for Cheick and Bader... wonder if they ever made that kind of money in the UFC?

EDIT: to answer my own question, Bader's last UFC fight..

UFC Fight Night: Bader vs Nogueira 2 – Nov 29/16 – W (Nogueira) – $137,000 ($61,000 to show, $61,000 win bonus, $15,000 Reebok sponsorship)*

What a great deal he got with Bellator. 150k guaranteed, win or lose, plus his Sponsorship which I have to imagine is more than 15k Reebok.

 

[La Paix]

That's great, I'm glad to hear guys can make over 100k in a night somewhere other than the UFC. It's good that guys have options.

150k for Cheick and Bader... wonder if they ever made that kind of money in the UFC?

I was pretty impressed with Picos 70k as well. Better than I thought.

 

[Ted Williams' head]

70k for a squash match, can't complain at all.

 

[ECC170]

1200 smh

 

[member 3289]

People talk about UFC payouts but this is just wow

• Ryan Bader $150,000 (no win bonus)
  def. Muhammed Lawal: $150,000 (no win bonus)
  
  
• Jon Fitch $120,000 (includes $60,000 win bonus)
  def. Paul Daley $30,000
  
  
• Aaron Pico $70,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus)
  def. Lee Morrison $12,000
  
  
• Cheick Kongo $150,000 (no win bonus)
  def. Javy Ayala $30,000
  
  
• Adam Piccolotti: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus)
  def. Carrington Banks $14,000
  
  
• Deron Winn $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus)
  def. Ahmed White $1,200
  
  
• Justin Tenedora $3,000 (includes $1,500 win bonus)
  def. David Rivera $1,200
  
  
• Gaston Bolanos $5,000 (no win bonus)
  def. Malcolm Hill $1,200
  
  
• James Terry $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Danasabe Mohammed $1,500

• Amber Leibrock $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
  def. Janay Harding $10,000
  
  
• Jordan Williams $3,000 (includes $1,500 win bonus)
  def. Brandon Hester $1,750
  
  
• Hyder Amil $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus)
  def. Elias Anderson $1,200
  
  
• Ignacio Ortiz $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus)
  def. Matt Aragoni $1,200
  
  
• Mark Climaco $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus)
  def. Daniel Oseguera $1,200
  
  
• J.J. Okanovich $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus)
  def. Hugo Lujan $1,200
  
  
• Thomas Ponce de Leon $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus)
  def. Dominic Sumner $1,200
  
  
• Hohelin Hernandez $3,000 (includes $1,500 win bonus)
  def. Josh San Diego $2,000
  
  
• Josh Paiva $5,000 (includes $2,500 win bonus)
  def. Adam Antolin $2,500
  
  
• Cass Bell $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus)
  def. Khai Wu $1,200

Bellator 199 salaries: Ryan Bader, 'King Mo' Lawal, Cheick Kongo lead $852K payroll

 

[Joemacka]

Wow that is truly disgusting! Fuck Bellator.

 

[member 3289]

Bellator fighters be like

 

[FrankieNYC]

Bellator fighters be like

More like ...

But in all seriousness ... a company as big as Viacom should not have fighters selling tickets
The pay for a company their size (that loses money) i have less issue with.
UFC is an ATM & they pay fighters only 17% of revenue
Bellators finances are a bit tougher to gauge since they are owned by Viacom so bookkeeping can be skewed on %, but having a fighter pay out of pocket if they do not sell X amount so they can be a card at the level the promotion is on, is sad IMO.

 

[Freeloading Rusty]

Considering most of these (more than 60%) were non televised prelim fights, I dont see what the big deal is.

An opportunity for a young fighter to earn a name for themselves within Bellator, fuck Scott Coker!

Also. its not like anyone forced them into a contract. These fighters agreed to fight at that rate based off what they felt their current worth was. You a bunch of fuckin' commies or something?

 

[MMAHAWK]

Christ are we going to do this again? These are locals that probably made 5x what they had ever made in any other fight.

 

[member 603]

Christ are we going to do this again? These are locals that probably made 5x what they had ever made in any other fight.

The difference between true fans/followers of the sport, and the trolls and shills is ridiculous. You either know or don't. Matt knows what's up, you people in here need to start listening.

 

[Ted Williams' head]

They're also giving Ryan Bader career high payouts, so I guess it evens out.

 

[member 3289]

The difference between true fans/followers of the sport, and the trolls and shills is ridiculous. You either know or don't. Matt knows what's up, you people in here need to start listening.

Lol you two dorks would be all over the UFC if they did shit like this

 

[member 3289]

They're also giving Ryan Bader career high payouts, so I guess it evens out.

Yeah I'm sure Khai Wu can sleep well at night knowing that Bader is well-paid lol

 

[ECC170]

More like ...

But in all seriousness ... a company as big as Viacom should not have fighters selling tickets
The pay for a company their size (that loses money) i have less issue with.
UFC is an ATM & they pay fighters only 17% of revenue
Bellators finances are a bit tougher to gauge since they are owned by Viacom so bookkeeping can be skewed on %, but having a fighter pay out of pocket if they do not sell X amount so they can be a card at the level the promotion is on, is sad IMO.

The sad part is was I made more than half these guys selling tickets to a local show in my home town getting a cut... you're exactly right the days of fighters selling tickets should be over once you get to the 2nd biggest promotion there is.

 

[aghof]

how else are you going to afford the 120k to electrify the crowd in the arena and watching at home with 15 minutes of Fitch?

 

[FrankieNYC]

The sad part is was I made more than half these guys selling tickets to a local show in my home town getting a cut... you're exactly right the days of fighters selling tickets should be over once you get to the 2nd biggest promotion there is.

That is the thing. I get it at a local level & support it.
But this is a national level & they have NINETEEN fights
So most of these "opportunities" are fighting in front of no people.
They have the added 7-9 fights so they can have 18 more people selling tickets to make the gate look better.
The payouts are not the issue (to me).
I understand they cannot afford to pay what UFC does to prelim guys.

I'm glad you chimed in.
How is your MMA career going?
Nothing but success to you man.

 

[Robbie Hart]

Could the op’s thread be considered shitposting?

 

[ECC170]

That is the thing. I get it at a local level & support it.
But this is a national level & they have NINETEEN fights
So most of these "opportunities" are fighting in front of no people.
They have the added 7-9 fights so they can have 18 more people selling tickets to make the gate look better.
The payouts are not the issue (to me).
I understand they cannot afford to pay what UFC does to prelim guys.

I'm glad you chimed in.
How is your MMA career going?
Nothing but success to you man.

Haven't fought in years now... turned pro very young and fought a lot.. just coach wrestling now. Thanks for asking

 

[FrankieNYC]

Haven't fought in years now... turned pro very young and fought a lot.. just coach wrestling now. Thanks for asking

Very cool
Continued success in coaching my man

 

[jimmy boogaloo]

Considering most of these (more than 60%) were non televised prelim fights, I dont see what the big deal is.

An opportunity for a young fighter to earn a name for themselves within Bellator, fuck Scott Coker!

Also. its not like anyone forced them into a contract. These fighters agreed to fight at that rate based off what they felt their current worth was. You a bunch of fuckin' commies or something?

VTFD

 

[Joemacka]

Considering most of these (more than 60%) were non televised prelim fights, I dont see what the big deal is.

An opportunity for a young fighter to earn a name for themselves within Bellator, fuck Scott Coker!

Also. its not like anyone forced them into a contract. These fighters agreed to fight at that rate based off what they felt their current worth was. You a bunch of fuckin' commies or something?

 

[nuraknu]

One reason I am not as upset about it is that I believe they only have a one-fight deal (someone can correct me?). If so, they have the ability to perform well and have fresh negotiations with Bellator or another promotion. A win in Bellator is probably meaningful to some of the regional promotions.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

After slam KO in pro debut, Bellator locks up Mike Kimbel with multi-fight deal

Bellator’s longtime strategy has been to fill its preliminary cards with local fighters.

For starters, the local fighters help sell tickets. And when the promotion returns to that market, it has a database of local talent to pluck from again.

Once in a while, though, the promotion finds a diamond in the rough that it separates from the rest of the pack. That happened at Bellator 194 earlier this month for Mike Kimbel (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).

Here was the fight, from Bellator 194:

View: https://youtu.be/K01PtiEho_I


Bellator now has rewarded Kimbel with a multi-fight deal, the promotion revealed to MMAjunkie. It won’t be just prelims at Mohegan Sun Arena for Kimbel now.

“It’s a blessing, truly,” Kimbel today told MMAjunkie. “A lot of people don’t even get to make their professional debut with an organization like Bellator, let alone get signed. Normally, they’ll bring them in for the ticket sales, then tell them, ‘All right, we’ll hit you up when we’re in the area,’ and then they’ll go and fight on the local scene. But I know what I’m capable of, and I think they got a little taste of it.”