UFC Fight Night 82 salaries: Nelson, Benavidez earn top disclosed payouts

Co-main-event winner Roy Nelson ($125,000) and main-card victor Joseph Benavidez ($118,000) were the top earners at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 82 event.

MMAjunkie today requested and obtained the list of official disclosed payouts from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

UFC Fight Night 82 took place Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

In the headliner, welterweight contender Stephen Thompson (12-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) upset former champion Johny Hendricks (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) via dominant first-round knockout. Thompson earned $48,000 (half of which was a win bonus), and Hendricks pocketed $100,000.

Nelson (21-12 MMA, 8-8 UFC), who scored a unanimous-decision victory over fellow heavyweight Jared Rosholt (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in the co-headliner, earned $75,000 to show and $50,000 as a win bonus. Rosholt picked up $33,000.

In addition to Benavidez, Mike Pyle ($106,000) and Ovince Saint Preux ($102,000) also pocketed six-figure disclosed paydays.

The total disclosed payroll for the event was $1,054,000.

The full list of UFC Fight Night 82 payouts included:

Stephen Thompson: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
def. Johny Hendricks: $100,000

Roy Nelson: $125,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)
def. Jared Rosholt: $33,000

Ovince Saint Preux: $102,000 (includes $51,000 win bonus)
def. Rafael Cavalcante: $42,000

Joseph Benavidez: $118,000 (includes $59,000 win bonus)
def. Zach Makovsky: $19,000

Misha Cirkunov: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Alex Nicholson: $10,000

Mike Pyle: $106,000 (includes $53,000 win bonus)
def. Sean Spencer: $17,000

Josh Burkman: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
def. K.J. Noons : $34,000

Derrick Lewis: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. Damian Grabowski: $17,000

Justin Scoggins: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)
def. Ray Borg: $18,000

Diego Rivas: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Noad Lahat: $17,000

Mickey Gall: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Jackson: $10,000

Alex White: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Artem Lobov: $13,000

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, including the official UFC Athlete Outfitting sponsorship program pay. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays.

For example, as previously reported, UFC officials handed out additional $50,000 UFC Fight Night 82 fight-night bonuses to Thompson, Rivas, Pyle and Spencer. Thompson and Rivas earned “Performance of the Night” awards while Pyle and Spencer picked up “Fight of the Night” honors.

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 more on UFC Fight Night 82, check out the UFC Events section of the site.