The CSAC has released the fighter payouts for Strikeforce “Evolution.” Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional undisclosed bonuses or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.
The biggest draw on the card, Cung Le, took home the biggest paycheck in his shocking loss to Scott Smith. He earned a cool $150,000 which should keep him afloat until his next big movie check comes in. Jacare Souza, Scott Smith, Gilbert Melendez and Matt Lindland rounded out the top five taking home $65k, $55k, $55k and $50k, respectively.
The one number that really stuck out like a sore thumb was Daisuke Nakamura’s whopping $200. Either that’s a typo or he’s being compensated in some other fashion. There’s no way he only made $200.
And last but not least, King Mo may have earned himself $20,000 for beating a bloated Mike Whitehead, but he gave 10% of it right back to the CSAC in the form of a fine for splashing his Rockstar Energy drink all over the cage. Kinda lame if you ask me. I’d feel better if the California taxpayers could fine the CSAC every time they screw up or do something stupid. It would add up quick.
Payouts
Courtesy of MMA Junkie:
- Scott Smith: $55,000 (no win bonus)
Cung Le: $150,000 - Gilbert Melendez: $55,000 (no win bonus)
Josh Thomson: $30,000 - Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza: $65,000 ($55k + $10k win bonus)
Matt Lindland: $50,000 - Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal: $20,000 ($10k + $10k)
Mike Whitehead: $30,000 - Antwain Britt: $10,000 ($5k + $5k)
Scott Lighty: $5,000 - Justin Wilcox: $5,000 (no win bonus)
Daisuke Nakamura: $200 - Alex Crispim: $4,000 ($2k + $2k)
A.J. Fonseca: $2,000
Total Payout
A disclosed total of $481,200, including bonuses, was paid out to the fighters.
Leave a comment
Subscribe to MMAConvert
Share on Facebook
Submit to StumbleUpon
Submit to Digg
What do you guys think about the payout numbers? Is this a good pace for Strikeforce or not?
Scott Smith: $55,000 (no win bonus)
Cung Le: $150,000
Gilbert Melendez: $55,000 (no win bonus)
Josh Thomson: $30,000
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza: $65,000 ($55k + $10k win bonus)
Matt Linland: $50,000
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal: $20,000 ($10k + $10k)
Mike Whitehead: $30,000
Nothing really sticks out as ridiculous like Affliction so I think they’re doing alright. A lot of these numbers like Le’s, Smith’s and Jacare’s for instance would probably be lower in the UFC, but SF has to offer some kind of incentive.
For this show they pulled in $634,000 at the gate so that covers their disclosed payroll. Without knowing exactly what their revenues from Showtime and sponsorships are and their costs are it’s hard to say how well they did, but I imagine they at least made a small profit on this show. That’s probably the case for most of their events without Fedor. He comes at a high price tag and that whole co-promotion deal with M-1 is complicated. No telling if they lose money or manage to make a little when he fights.
Cool, thanks for in 411!
I mean…the 411
The only other thing I would say is Strikeforce is going to have to find success on pay-per-view before they can ever be considered a true competitor to the UFC. I mean Showtime and CBS are nice, turning relatively small profits are nice, but the real money for now at least is on pay-per-view and right now the UFC makes all of it.
I think they have a shot, at least more so than the WEC does.