Bellator Champions Series salaries: Who made the most & the least in San Diego?
By Amy Kaplan
It's rare we get to see the official payouts for MMA fight cards anymore because most US states have changed the rule about what they consider public information. California is one of the few states who still allow payouts to be revealed and we're always greatful to get a bit of insight into fighter pay.
Bellator hosted a fight card from San Diego on Saturday, Sept. 7 where Usman Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title and Lorenz Larkin had a highlight reel win over a tough up-and-comer. Those two men topped the pay scale on Saturday night with $100,000 payouts each.
What about those with the lowest pay? Sean Rose got just $2,000 to fight. He lost his bout so got no win bonus. Ashley Thiner was the fighter with the lowest pay for a winner. She got just $2,000 to show and another $2,000 to win. Her opponent got a flat $10,000. View the full payout list below.
Full Bellator Champions Series purses
Usman Nurmagomedov (W) $100,000
Alexandr Shabliy $50,000
Lorenz Larkin (W) $100,000
Levan Chokheli $41,000
Aaron Jeffery (W) $60,000
Douglas Lima $50,000
Sumiko Inaba (W) $82,000
Mackenzie Stiller $13,000
Jora Ayvazyan (W) $40,000
Yancy Medeiros $25,000
Jordan Newman (W) $36,000
Imamshafi Aliev $30,000
Masayuki Kikuiri (W) $26,000
Herman Terrado $7,500
Bryce Meredith (W) $30,000
John MaCalolooy $5,000
Josh Hokit (W) $26,000
Sean Rose $2,000
Ashley Thiner (W) $4,000
Aysia Cortez $10,000
The disparage between some of the women's payouts versus the men's or even the wide margin between opponents is eye-opening and it's no wonder that more payouts are not made public.
The next Bellator event takes place on Sept. 14 in London and is headlined by Leah McCourt and Sara Collins. The card was supposed to be headlined by a rematch between Fabian Edwards and Johnny Eblen but the fight was rescheduled.