EliteXC tops $1.3M in fighter salaries and bonuses at 'Heat'

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Oct 7, 2008

MMAWeekly.com has obtained the fighter salary information from the Florida State Boxing Commission for EliteXC "Heat" featuring Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. Seth Petruzelli, which took place on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.

MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS

-- Seth Petruzelli ($50,000/win bonus was $15,000) def. Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson ($500,000/win bonus would have been $100,000)

MAIN CARD FIGHTERS

-- Jake Shields ($50,000/win bonus was $10,000) def. Paul Daley ($12,000)

-- Andre Arlovski ($500,000) def. Roy Nelson ($80,000)

-- Gina Carano ($25,000/win bonus was $10,000) def. Kelly Kobold-Gavin ($6,000)

-- Benji Radach ($30,000/win bonus was $15,000) def. Murilo Rua ($35,000)

PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS

-- Cristiane Santos ($8,000/win bonus was $4,000) def. Yoko Takahashi ($2,000)

-- Conor Heun ($5,000/win bonus was $2,500) def. Edson Berto ($5,000)

-- Mikey Gomez ($4,000/win bonus was $2,000) def. Lorenzo Borgomeo ($1,500)

-- Nicolae Curry ($1,500/win bonus was $750) def. Jorge Boechat ($1,000)