UFC 196 Athlete Outfitting pay: Diaz, Sanchez, Miller top non-title pay

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 196 event took home UFC Athlete Outfitting pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok, totaling $220,000.

UFC 196 took place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The top earner from the UFC Athlete Outfitting pay, which is issued in addition to the fighters’ regular fight purses, was former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who ceded her belt to Miesha Tate (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the co-feature.

However, the top non-title earners included Nate Diaz (19-10 MMA, 14-8 UFC), who upset and submitted UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor (19-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in the headliner, as well as both Diego Sanchez (26-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) and Jim Miller (25-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC), who met in the night’s UFC Fight Pass featured contest, where Sanchez earned a decision win.

Each fighter earned $20,000.

The full UFC 196 UFC Athlete Outfitting payouts included:

Nate Diaz: $20,000
def. Conor McGregor: $5,000

Miesha Tate: $30,000
def. Holly Holm: $40,000

Ilir Latifi: $5,000
def. Gian Villante: $10,000

Corey Anderson: $5,000
def. Tom Lawlor: $10,000

Amanda Nunes: $5,000
vs. Valentina Shevchenko: $2,500

Siyar Bahadurzada: $2,500
def. Brandon Thatch: $2,500

Nordine Taleb: $2,500
def. Erick Silva: $10,000

Vitor Miranda: $2,500
def. Marcelo Guimaraes: $2,500

Darren Elkins: $10,000
def. Chas Skelly: $5,000

Diego Sanchez: $20,000
def. Jim Miller: $20,000

Jason Saggo: $2,500
def. Justin Salas: $5,000

Teruto Ishihara: $2,500
def. Julian Erosa: $2,500

Under the UFC Athlete Outfitting program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-5 bouts receive $2,500 per appearance; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2016 UFC-Reebok sponsorship payouts:

• “UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz” – $220,000
• “UFC Fight Night 84: Silva vs. Bisping” – $120,000
• “UFC Fight Night 83: Cowboy vs. Cowboy” – $125,000
• “UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson” – $145,000
• “UFC on FOX 18: Johnson vs. Bader” – $137,500
• “UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs. Cruz” – $230,000
• “UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit” – $172,500

Year-to-date total: $1,150,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $4,330,000

For complete coverage of UFC 196, check out the UFC Events section of the site.