T.U.F. 8 final payroll nears $290K

MMAWeekly.com has obtained the fighter salary information from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale featuring Efrain Escudero vs. Phillipe Nover and Ryan Bader vs. Vinicius Magalhaes, which took place on Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Pearl Theater in Las Vegas, Nev.

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.

-- Efrain Escudero ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Phillipe Nover ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)

-- Ryan Bader ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Vinicius Magalhaes ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)

-- Anthony Johnson ($18,000/win bonus was $9,000) def. Kevin Burns ($7,000/win bonus would have been $7,000) *Johnson also earned an extra $25,000 for "The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale Knockout of the Night"

-- Wilson Gouveia ($36,800/win bonus was $18,400) def. Jason MacDonald ($35,200/win bonus would have been $26,000) *Gouveia was originally scheduled to receive $23,000 show/$23,000 win, but was forced to forfeit $9,200 of his total purse when he failed to make weight for the fight ($4,600 of his show/$4,600 of his win). MacDonald's original show money was scheduled to be $26,000 before the penalty was imposed on Gouveia.

-- Junie Browning ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Dave Kaplan ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000) *Browning and Kaplan also earned an extra $25,000 each for "The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale Fight of the Night"

-- Krzysztof Soszynski ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Shane Primm ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000) *Soszynski also earned an extra $25,000 for "The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale Submission of the Night"

-- Eliot Marshall ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Jules Bruchez ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)

-- Tom Lawlor ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Kyle Kingsbury ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)

-- Shane Nelson ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. George Roop ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)

-- Rolando Delgado ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. John Polakowski ($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)

DISCLOSED FIGHTERPAYROLL: $289,000

Fight of the Night: Junie Browning and Dave Kaplan

Knockout of the Night: Anthony Johnson

Submission of the Night: Krzysztof Soszynski