UFC 203 fighter salaries and injury suspensions

Written by Derek Moody, September 13, 2016, at 1:50 a.m. Tweet To: @DerekMoody619

UFC 203 was considered lackluster, with the exception of the main event by the President of the UFC, Dana White. He didn’t seem too happy, and a major part may be the salaries paid for those performances. There were six finishes that took place out of the 10 fights, so it was hardly lackluster. It may be aimed at the weird situations that took place forcing three fights to be canceled and also the scuffle after the co-main event.

UFC 203 Brings Higher Salaries

It seems since UFC 196, fighters have been receiving more pay than usual. That’s great for the fighters because pay has been a common issue lately from some of the more popular fighters. Fighters may not be so thrilled to see how much CM Punk made having no martial arts experience prior to the event. Regardless of how fighters feel, CM Punk did bring majority of the pay per view buys to the event. He may even have filled most of the seats along with Stipe Miocic.

It’s a similar situation to Brock Lesnar’s purse for UFC 200 but that was a record setting salary for mixed martial arts. In CM Punk’s situation, he won’t be seeing that salary with the UFC again because his next fight most likely will not be with the promotion. That should be comforting for all of those who felt he didn’t belong but his popularity may continue to earn him heavy paydays elsewhere. If Bellator doesn’t sign him for his celebrity status, Punk should consider going to Legacy FC or Resurrection Fighting Alliance to gain some experience with fighters who are closer to his level.

Salaries by the Number

Here are the numbers, courtesy of the Ohio Athletic Commission:

Main Card

Stipe Miocic ($600,000 + no win bonus = $600,000) def. Alistair Overeem ($800,000)

Fabricio Werdum ($250,000 + $125,000 = $375,000) def. Travis Browne ($120,000)

Mickey Gall ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. CM Punk ($500,000)

Jimmie Rivera ($24,000 + $24,000 = $48,000) def. Urijah Faber ($160,000)

Jessica Andrade ($23,000 + $23,000 = $46,000) def. Joanne Calderwood ($25,000)

Preliminary Card

Bethe Correia ($25,000 + $25,000 = $50,000) def. Jessica Eye ($25,000)

Brad Tavares ($28,000 + $28,000 = $56,000) def. Caio Magalhaes ($20,000)

Nik Lentz ($38,000 + $38,000 = $76,000) def. Michael McBride ($12,000)

Drew Dober ($19,000 + $19,000 = $38,000) def. Jason Gonzales ($10,000)

Yancy Medeiros ($24,000 + $24,000 = $48,000) def. Sean Spencer ($17,000)

Here’s the full list of medical suspensions for UFC 203 as reported by MMAFighting:

Stipe Miocic: 45 day suspension also 15 days no contact

Alistair Overeem: Indefinite suspension requiring a neurological cat scan within five days in addition to an MRI after 5 days. Minimum 60 day suspension

Travis Browne: Indefinite suspension requiring orthopedic clearance for injury to right index finger.

CM Punk: 45 day suspension also 30 days no contact

Jimmie Rivera: Indefinite suspension requiring ophthalmology clearance

Bethe Correia: 30 days no contact

Jessica Eye: 45 day suspension also 30 days no contact

Brad Tavares: Indefinite suspension requiring clearance for lower back

Michael McBride: 45 day suspension also 30 days no contact

Jason Gonzalez: 45 day suspension also 30 days no contact

Sean Spencer: Indefinite suspension requiring clearance for left hand