The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its full-event debut on the Worldwide Leader in Sports on Sunday, February 17 with UFC on ESPN 1 at Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The main event featured a heavyweight clash between Francis Ngannou and Cain Velasquez, with Ngannou needing just 26 seconds to knockout the former champion.
But despite the fact that Velasquez lasted just 26 seconds, he came away with the largest chunk of the $1,871,000 payroll.
The Arizona Department of Gaming Boxing and MMA Commission released the full list of fighter salaries from the event and Velasquez led the way with a whopping $450,000. Ngannou earned $220,000 for his big win.
Aljamain Sterling was the only other fighter to top six figures ($140,000), while Paul Felder ($92,000) and Cynthia Calvillo ($88,000) were close behind.
The figures released do not include any money from outside sponsors, Reebok outfitting numbers or outside sponsorships for the athletes. UFC on ESPN 1 purses also exclude any locker room bonuses which include the $50,000 for Fight of the Night and Performance of the night bonuses.
The complete list of fighter salaries from UFC on ESPN 1 can be seen below.
UFC on ESPN 1 Fighter Salaries
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Francis Ngannou: $220,000 (includes $110,000 win bonus)
def. Cain Velasquez: $450,000
Paul Felder: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus)
def. James Vick: $65,000
Cynthia Calvillo: $88,000 (includes $44,000 win bonus)
def. Courtney Casey: $50,000
Kron Gracie: $52,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. Alex Caceres: $55,000
Vicente Luque: $82,000 (includes $41,000 win bonus)
def. Bryan Barbarena: $35,000
Andre Fili: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus)
def. Myles Jury: $36,000
Aljamain Sterling: $140,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Jimmie Rivera: $68,000
Manny Bermudez: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)*
def. Benito Lopez: $12,000
Andrea Lee: $28,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus)
def. Ashlee Evans-Smith: $30,000
Nik Lentz: $106,000 (includes $53,000 win bonus)
def. Scott Holtzman: $33,000
Luke Sanders: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus)
def. Renan Barao: $53,000**
Emily Whitmire: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Alexandra Albu: $12,000
* Bermudez missed weight and was fined 30 percent of his purse
** Barao missed weight and was fined 20 percent of his purse
