UFC 86 Salaries Released; Griffin and Jackson Paid Like Champions

(“No matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you.”)

The official payouts for “Jackson vs. Griffin” are below, courtesy of MMA Weekly. Unless otherwise noted, each winning fighter’s salary represents a doubling of their base salary.

Forrest Griffin: $310,000 ($100,000 base salary, plus $150,000 win bonus, plus $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus)

Quinton Jackson: $285,000 ($225,000 base salary, plus $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus)

Gabriel Gonzaga: $100,000

Melvin Guillard: $80,000 (includes $60,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus)

Cole Miller: $80,000 (includes $60,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus)

Josh Koscheck: $70,000

Joe Stevenson: $60,000

Tyson Griffin: $40,000

Marcus Aurelio: $40,000

Patrick Cote: $32,000

Ricardo Almeida: $23,000

Chris Lytle: $14,000

Gleison Tibau: $11,000

Jorge Gurgel: $10,000

Justin Buchholz: $8,000

Corey Hill: $8,000

Dennis Siver: $7,000

Justin McCully: $5,000

Total disclosed payroll: $943,000

Underpaid: Chris Lytle, who was paid a mere $1,000 for every pint of blood he lost against Josh Koscheck. The UFC likely rewarded his gruesome effort with one of those undisclosed “locker room bonuses,” but his base salary still seems a bit low for someone who’s been through so many high-profile wars for the company. Buchholz, McCully, and Siver’s base salaries are hardly worth the time they spent training for their fights — though one could argue that Siver and McCully should have trained a little harder.

Overpaid: Tyson Griffin. As long as you’re unable to finish a fight, you should be getting Jorge Gurgel money.