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What's the story?
Despite a turbulent December, UFC ended 2018 on a high with one of the best cards of the year. Amanda Nunes created history by destroying Cris Cyborg to become the first women's dual champion in UFC while Jon Jones reclaimed the Light Heavyweight title in a TKO win against Alexander Gustafsson in the main event.
The California State Athletic Commision have now released the official pay sheet for the event with seven fighters taking home seven-figure base salaries.
In case you didn't know...
All the negative press that hounded UFC 232 didn't hamper the quality of the card as the fans witnessed a host of great fights throughout the night. The entire card – including Early Prelims on UFC Fight Pass and Prelims on FS1 – had 10 finishes (6 KO/TKOs, 4 Submissions) and 3 decision results.
It was a historic night, to say the least, as The Lioness became the first woman to defeat Cyborg in 13 years in the penultimate fight of the night. The monumental victory was followed by Bones sending out a strong message to his detractors by stopping Gustafsson in the third round in what was a highly methodical performance by the polarising star. Elsewhere in the card, Ryan Hall earned the distinction of becoming the first fighter to submit BJ Penn.
All in all, UFC 232 was a perfect way to end 2018, both in terms of the in-cage action as well as the financial returns.
The heart of the matter
According to data released by the California State Athletic Commision via MMAJunkie, the aggregate disclosed payout closely exceeded $3.5 Million.
It should be noted that the figures do not reflect the changes that are witnessed after tax cuts, insurance and licenses fees, sponsorship money and promotional guidelines compliane pay. The figure also does not include additional money or PPV cuts that the UFC has reserved for the big name fighters. Given below are the base salaries without undisclosed compensation benefits that all the fighters pocketed from the event as mentioned on the CSAC pay sheet:
Main Card
Jones ($500,000 without Win Bonus) def. Gustafsson ($500,000)
Nunes ($350,000 + $50,000 Performance of the Night Bonus) def. Cyborg ($500,000)
Michael Chiesa ($48,000 + $48,000 Win Bonus) def. Carlos Condit ($115,000)
Alex Volkonovski ($65,000 + $60,000 Win Bonus) def. Chad Mendes ($87,000)
Corey Anderson ($65,000 + $65,000 Win Bonus) def. Ilir Latifi ($90,000)
Prelims in FS 1
Ryan Hall ($38,000 + $50,000 Performance of the Night Bonus) def. BJ Penn ($150,000)
Megan Anderson ($30,000 + $30,000 Win Bonus) def. at Zingano ($50,000)
Petr Yan ($26,000 + $26,000 Win Bonus) def. Douglas Silva de Andrade ($21,000)
Walt Harris ($36,000 + $36,000 Win Bonus) def. Andrie Arlovski ($300,000)
Early Prelims on UFC Fight Pass
Curtis Milender ($18,000 + $18,000 Win Bonus) def. Siyar Bahadurza ($33,000)
Nathanial Wood ($12,000 + $12,000 Win Bonus) def. Andre Ewell ($12,000)
Monetl Jackson ($6,000 + $10,000 Win Bonus) def. Brian Kelleher ($27,000)
Uriah Hall ($55,000 + $55,000 Win Bonus) def. Bevon Lewis ($12,000)
What's next?
The next UFC event, Fight Night 143, will see a much-anticipated Champion vs. Champion fight come to fruition pitting two of the best fighters from the lower weight classes of the promotion.
Henry Cejudo will put his Flyweight title on the line against UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw on January 20th, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
