UFC 173 salaries: Lawler, Cormier earn biggest payouts, top disclosed payroll

Main-card victor Robbie Lawler ($200,000) and co-main-event winner Daniel Cormier ($170,000) were the top earners at this past weekend’s UFC 173 event.

MMAjunkie today obtained the list of disclosed paydays from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the May 24 pay-per-view event at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

In the headliner, T.J. Dillashaw upset Renan Barao to take the UFC bantamweight title. Dillashaw earned a disclosed $34,000 payout for his win. Barao earned $74,000.

The total disclosed payroll for the pay-per-view event was an even $1 million.

The full UFC 173 payouts included:

T.J. Dillashaw: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus)
def. Renan Barao: $74,000

Daniel Cormier: $170,000 (includes $85,000 win bonus)
def. Dan Henderson: $100,000

Robbie Lawler: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
def. Jake Ellenberger: $68,000

Takeya Mizugaki: $58,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus)
def. Francisco Rivera: $15,000

James Krause: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Jamie Varner: $17,000

Michael Chiesa: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Francisco Trinaldo: $12,000

Tony Ferguson: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Katsunori Kikuno: $10,000

Chris Holdsworth: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Chico Camus: $12,000

Mitch Clarke: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Al Iaquinta: $14,000

Vinc Pichel: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Anthony Njokuani: $20,000

Sam Sicilia: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Aaron Phillips: $8,0000

Jingliang Li: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. David Michaud: $8,0000

Now, the usual disclaimer: The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter’s income. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays. Additionally, they don’t include any pay-per-view revenue some top fighters receive.

For example, as previously reported, UFC officials handed out additional $50,000 UFC 173 bonuses to Dillashaw (“Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night,” worth $100,000 total), Barao (“Fight of the Night”) and Clarke (“Performance of the Night”).

In other words, the above figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

For complete coverage of UFC 173, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Robbie Lawler)