There was nothing ordinary about UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee, not even the fighter payroll.
The event took place on the heels of the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, a shooting that took place in the UFC 216 host city. Contrasting the pall that hovered over the lead-up to the event and the event itself, was the record-setting performance of Demetrious Johnson and Tony Ferguson capturing the interim lightweight title in the main event.
As is frequently the case for a main event fighter, Ferguson led the charge on the UFC 216 payroll, earning half a million dollars for his victory over Ray Borg.
Though former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was second on the list, Johnson netted $370,000 in disclosed pay for becoming the first fighter in history to defend his title 11 times.
There were several major changes leading up to UFC 216, however. A fight between Nik Lentz and Will Brooks was canceled, when Lentz fell ill before the weigh-in. Then, just hours before fight time, Derrick Lewis had to withdraw from his fight with Werdum due to a back injury that flared up.
With Lewis off the card, prelim fighter Walt Harris was removed from his bout with Marc Godbeer and instead fought Werdum.
Godbeer was paid his disclosed show money of $15,000, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Lentz, Brooks, and Lewis were not paid via the athletic commission, and the UFC has not commented on the status of any possible payment to them.
The figures below represent the disclosed payroll as managed by the NSAC. Any other discretionary bonuses, pay-per-view points, etc., are not disclosed to the athletic commission.
UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee took place on Saturday, Oct. 7, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee Fighter Salaries
- Tony Ferguson: $500,000 (includes $250,000 win bonus) vs. Kevin Lee: $250,000
- Demetrious Johnson: $370,000 (no win bonus) def. Ray Borg: $100,000
- Fabricio Werdum: $400,000 (includes $125,000 win bonus) def. Walt Harris: $28,000
- Mara Romero Borella: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Kalindra Faria: $12,000
- Beneil Dariush: $48,000 drew with Evan Dunham: $40,000
- Cody Stamann: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Tom Duquesnoy: $23,000
- Lando Vannata: $25,000 drew with Bobby Green: $24,000
- Poliana Botelho: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Pearl Gonzalez: $10,000
- Matt Schnell: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Marco Beltran: $14,000
- John Moraga: $68,000 (includes $34,000 win bonus) def. Magomed Bibulatov: $17,000
- Brad Tavares: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus) def. Thales Leites: $57,000
- Marc Godbeer: $15,000*
*Fight was canceled.
