USA TODAY: Donald Cerrone makes the most of UFC's compensation system

(This story appeared in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

UFC lightweight Donald Cerrone has developed a reputation as a fighter who works as hard as he plays. Considering how expensive his preferred methods of play can be, he has to.

On his sprawling ranch outside Albuquerque, Cerrone has built his own little playground, complete with a garage full of motorcycles and ATVs, a barn full of horses, and a front yard full of livestock.

From watersports to rock climbing, he lives what he gently refers to as “an active lifestyle,” and that’s just the fun stuff.

It doesn’t even include his full-time job as a professional fighter, which Cerrone (19-5-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who faces K.J. Noons (11-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 160 in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET, pay-per-view), approaches with a zealotry driven by financial ambition.

“My girlfriend told me yesterday, while we were out on the lake having fun and I said I had to go train, ‘What do you have to go and do that now for?’” Cerrone told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I said, ‘Because that’s the reason we get to do this.’ In order to live life how I like it, I have to go in and perform well.”

In eight fights with the UFC, Cerrone has done that. More important, he’s done it as ferociously and as often as his body will allow, since that’s the surest path to financial security as an MMA fighter, he said.

It seems like a relevant lesson now, after UFC lightweight John Cholish retired from active competition after a submission loss this last weekend. The New York-based fighter criticized the UFC’s fighter pay structure on his way out the door.

Whereas a lower-level UFC fighter like Cholish might make around $8,000 a fight (and another $8,000 as a win bonus), someone of Cerrone’s stature is likely to earn in the neighborhood of $30,000/$30,000 to $60,000/$60,000.

Cholish said that his job as a commodities trader gave him options most UFC fighters lack.

“I know the Zuffa higher-ups probably aren’t happy with what I’m saying, but I’d like to think I can speak for the lower portion of fighters,” Cholish said. “A lot of guys I’m sure would love to say the same thing but aren’t in a position where they have another source of income.”

On the flip side, Cerrone has yet to fight for a UFC title and currently sits just outside the top 10 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA lightweight rankings. But his aggressive style has earned him $410,000 in fight-night bonus money alone over the past two years.

“My thing is, for instance on Saturday, all I’ve got to do is go out there and throw down, and if I do an extra good job, they might give me a $100,000 bonus,” Cerrone said. “Usually they send you a bonus in the mail – a discretionary bonus – on top of everything else, too.”

Those paydays do come at a price. Cerrone’s fan-favorite style takes a toll on his body. When your financial well-being is tied to your willingness to make sure the night ends with blood on the mat, you can’t afford to think too far ahead.

“Never have I thought, I’m going to be sore tomorrow,” Cerrone said. “Being injured, that just means another shot of whiskey to me.”

For the latest on UFC 160, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.