Brock Lesnar was paid a king’s ransom to appear at UFC 200, a guaranteed $2.5 million guaranteed. That’s the highest single payday ever offered by the mixed martial arts giant, more than double the previous high paid to Conor McGregor for his UFC 196 loss to Nate Diaz.
Lesnar, not known for spending a long time in the Octagon, went the full three rounds on July 9, defeating the No. 8 ranked heavyweight in the world by unanimous decision. This is only the second time a Brock Lesnar fight has not ended in a finish.
Lesnar’s legendary payday won’t end with the UFC’s guaranteed check. He’s also going to receive a pay-per-view bonus on the back-end, which would easily add another seven-figures to Brock’s pockets.
One company who won’t be paying Brock the big bucks? Reebok.
Brock will earn a paltry $5000 from the UFC’s cage apparel sponsor. This is not a reflection on Lesnar’s worth to the card, but is because the larger-than-life athlete was in his eighth UFC fight. That amount goes up as a fighter records more fights, according to MMAfighting.com
“Fighters who have between one and five fights in the UFC will make just $2,500 per fight under the tiered system. Fighters with six to 10 UFC bouts will make $5,000; 11 to 15 will get fighters $10,000; 16 to 20 fights earns $15,000; and 21 bouts and up gets a fighter $20,000. Title challengers will make $30,000 and champions will pull in $40,000.”
With his $2.5 million guarantee, his pay-per-view bonus and his WWE contract pay, the question of whether or not the small Reebok payday will impact Lesnar is not valid. It’s more of a question as to whether or not he will bother to cash the check.
Brock Lesnar’s UFC future is undetermined, but you can bet Dana White will make every attempt to schedule another fight for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Wrestling fans can look forward to Lesnar’s advertised appearance at July 19’s WWE Draft, as well as his announced SummerSlam showdown with a returning Randy Orton.
