MMAJunkie.com reports the following for the recent EliteXC:  Street Certified event. 

 

The total disclosed payroll for the event was $479,001.
Kevin Ferguson ($175,000) def. David Abbott ($126,000)
Antonio Silva ($80,000) def. Ricco Rodriguez ($20,000)
Scott Smith ($12,000) def. Kyle Noke ($3,000)
Yves Edwards ($6,000) def. Edson Berto ($6,000)
Brett Rogers ($4,000) def. James Thompson ($25,000)
Rafael Feijao ($6,000) def. John Doyle ($2,5O0)
Yosmany Cabezas ($2,000) def. Jon Kirk ($2,500)
Dave Herman ($1,500) def. Mario Rinaldi ($2,000)
Eric Bradley ($1,000) def. Mikey Gomez ($1,500)
Lorenzo Borgomeo ($1,000) def. Mike Bernhard ($1,500)
Moyses Gabin ($1) def. Jirka Hlavati ($500)

 

(No one knows why Gabin got paid just a buck).  Now, when I look at the above, all I can say is that if I were a fighter, I'd fight tooth and nail to be in the UFC.  This is just one data point, but based on this, I cannot understand fighters complaining about unfairness of UFC pay.  Look at the numbers!  Tank got KFO'd, and deserves his six-figure retirment.. i mean, salary.  Kimbo, well, I guess he is the main draw.  But, the "top" heavyweight (by supposed skill), Silva, got almost $100,000 less than Kimbo.  And, after Silva, no one topped $20k (and only a couple of fighters topped $10k).  Below are the last 2 (reported) UFC event fighter salaries for comparison.  Also, don't forget that fighers on UFC have more opportunities to make money off promotions, etc., which are not included in any official figures. 

 

UFC 81:  The total disclosed payroll for the event was $892,000.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($200,000) def. Tim Sylvia ($100,000)
Frank Mir ($80,000) def. Brock Lesnar ($250,000)
Nate Marquardt ($52,000) def. Jeremy Horn ($25,000)
Ricardo Almeida ($40,000) def. Rob Yundt ($5,000)
Tyson Griffin ($36,000) def. Gleison Tibau ($11,000)
Chris Lytle ($24,000) def. Kyle Bradley ($4,O00)
Tim Boetsch ($12,000) def. David Heath ($6,000)
Marvin Eastman ($14,000) def. Terry Martin ($12,000)
Rob Emerson ($16,000) def. Keita Nakamura ($5,000)

 

UFC 79:  The total disclosed payroll for UFC 79 was a hefty $1,199,000.
Georges St. Pierre ($160,000) def. Matt Hughes ($100,000)
Chuck Liddell ($500,000) def. Wanderlei Silva ($150,000)
Eddie Sanchez ($46,000) def. Soa Palelei ($5,000)
Lyoto Machida ($60,000) def. Rameau Sokoudjou ($40,0O0)
Rich Clementi ($28,000) def. Melvin Guillard ($10,000)
James Irvin ($16,000) def. Luis Cane ($5,000)
Manny Gamburyan ($20,000) def. Nate Mohr ($6,000)
Dean Lister ($22,000) def. Jordan Radev ($5,000)
Roan Carneiro ($10,000) def. Tony DeSouza ($7,000)
Mark Bocek ($6,000) def. Doug Evans ($3,000)

 

Even in televised Fight Night 6, 11 out of 18 fighters were paid more than $10k.  And this was free cable channel Spike TV, not premium Showtime. 

 

Yes, top dogs like Randy can go around in search of a million dollar pay day, especially when all they are looking for is 1 more fight.  But, it would seem, at least just from the numbers, unfair to say that UFC takes care of its fighter to any lesser degree than others do.  At least EliteXC doesn't, and they did claim for some time that they "treat" their fighters so much better than UFC.   Maybe they give them a sponge bath after the fights...