UFC Fight Night 79 Reebok-sponsor pay: Henderson, Kim get $15K each

SEOUL – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 79 event at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul took home UFC Athlete Outfitting (Reebok sponsorship) pay totaling $92,500.

In the UFC Fight Pass headliner, Benson Henderson (23-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC), who earned an event-high $15,000,  picked up a split-decision victory over fellow welterweight Jorge Masvidal (29-10 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who earned $10,000.

Co-main-event winner Dong Hyun Kim (21-3-1 MMA, 12-3 UFC), who scored a first-round knockout of late-replacement welterweight Dominic Waters (9-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC), also earned $15,000.

Henderson, who’s registered eligible fights with both the UFC and Zuffa-owned WEC, has 20 total bouts that qualify for the UFC Athlete Outfitting pay. That’s one short of the 21 needed to get in the top ($20,000) non-champion pay tier. It remains to be seen if the now-free agent will get that final fight under the UFC banner or if he’ll take his talents to another promotion.

The full UFC Fight Night 79 UFC Athlete Outfitting (Reebok sponsorship) payouts included:

Benson Henderson: $15,000
def. Jorge Masvidal: $10,000

Dong Hyun Kim: $15,000
def. Dominic Waters: $2,500

Alberto Mina: $2,500
def. Yoshihiro Akiyama: $5,000

Doo Ho Choi: $2,500
def. Sam Sicilia: $5,000

Dongi Yang: $2,500
def. Jake Collier: $2,500

Mike De La Torre: $2,500
def. Yui Chul Nam: $2,500

Tae Hyun Bang: $2,500
def. Leo Kuntz: $2,500

Seo Hee Ham: $2,500
def. Cortney Casey: $2,500

Fredy Serrano: $2,500
vs. Yao Zhikui: $2,500

Marco Beltran: $2,500
def. Ning Guangyou: $2,500

Dominique Steele: $2,500
def. ”Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim: $2,500

Under the new UFC Athlete Outfitting program’s payout tiers, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce (April 2011 and later) fights. Competitors 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 2015 UFC-Reebok sponsorship payouts:

• “UFC Fight Night 79: Henderson vs. Masvidal” –$92,500
• “UFC Fight Night 78: Magny vs. Gastelum” – $130,000
• “UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm” – $245,000
• “UFC Fight Night 77: Belfort vs. Henderson 3” – $160,000
• “UFC Fight Night 76: Holohan vs. Smolka” – $62,500
• “UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson” – $192,500
• “UFC Fight Night 75: Barnett vs. Nelson” – $102,500
• “UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson 2” – $192,500
• “UFC Fight Night 74: Holloway vs. Oliveira” – $142,500
• “UFC Fight Night 73: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux” – $107,500
• “UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia” – $202,500
• “UFC on FOX 16: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2” – $212,500
• “UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs. Leites” – $110,000
• “UFC Fight Night 71: Mir vs. Duffee” – $137,500
• “The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale: Ellenberger vs. Thompson” – $90,000
• “UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor” – $235,000

Year-to-date total: $2,415,000

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 79, check out the UFC Events section of the site.