K-1 Dynamite Salaries!!!!

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  • K-1 DYNAMITE FIGHTER SALARIES Friday, June 08, 2007 - by Ivan Trembow - MMAWeekly.com

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for K-1 Dynamite USA, which took place on Saturday, June 2nd in Los Angeles, California. The event was co-promoted by Showtime/EliteXC and FEG, the parent company of K-1.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that FEG and Showtime/EliteXC are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions.

Although MMA 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 FEG and Showtime/EliteXC also pay their fighters, but do not disclose to the athletic commissions, are not included in the figures below.

All of the fighters on this particular card had flat salaries with no win bonuses, with the exception of the four fighters who competed on the live Showtime broadcast (Jake Shields, Ido Pariente, Jonathan Wiezorek, and Tim Persey). Shields and Wiezorek each won their bouts, so they are the two fighters on this card who had win bonuses.

Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti was fined 20% of his purse for failing to make the contracted weight of 155 pounds. This fine amounted to $9,000, half of which went to the California State Athletic Commission, and half of which went to Calvancanti's opponent, Nam Phan.

Johnnie Morton's entire purse of $100,000 is being withheld for the time being by the California State Athletic Commission, as a result of Morton's refusal to take a post-fight drug test. Morton has also been indefinitely suspended by the CSAC for refusing to take his drug test.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Preliminary Match Fights" are fights that are taped before a television or pay-per-view show goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those fights aired on the telecast or pay-per-view broadcast.

Main Event Fighters

-Brock Lesnar: $500,000 (defeated Min Soo Kim; no win bonus)

-Min Soo Kim: $30,000 (lost to Brock Lesnar)

Main Card Fighters

-Royce Gracie: $300,000 (defeated Kazushi Sakuraba; no win bonus)

-Johnnie Morton: $100,000 (lost to Bernard Ackah; purse is being withheld for the time being due to refusal to take drug test)

-Melvin Manhoef: $50,000 (lost to Dong Sik Yoon)

-Jonathan Wiezorek: $40,000 (defeated Tim Persey; includes $25,000 win bonus)

-Kazushi Sakuraba: $30,000 (lost to Royce Gracie)

-"Mighty" Mo Siliga: $30,000 (defeated Ruben Villareal; no win bonus)

-Ruben Villareal: $30,000 (lost to "Mighty" Mo Siliga)

-Jake Shields: $24,000 (defeated Ido Pariente; includes $12,000 win bonus)

-Dong Sik Yoon: $20,000 (defeated Melvin Manhoef; no win bonus)

-Tim Persey: $20,000 (lost to Jonathan Wiezorek)

-Bernard Ackah: $5,000 (defeated Johnnie Morton; no win bonus)

-Ido Pariente: $2,500 (lost to Jake Shields)

Preliminary Match Fighters

-Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti: $36,000 (defeated Nam Phan; original purse was $45,000 and he was fined $9,000 for failing to make weight)

-Nam Phan: $29,500 (lost to Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti; original purse was $25,000 and he also received $4,500 from Calvancanti's fine)

-Hideo Tokoro: $15,000 (defeated Brad Pickett; no win bonus)

-Katsuhiko Nagata: $15,000 (defeated Isaiah Hill; no win bonus)

-Brad Pickett: $8,000 (lost to Hideo Tokoro)

-Isaiah Hill: $2,500 (lost to Katsuhiko Nagata)

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $1,287,500

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I'm guessing that Sakuraba is getting big money under the table. Also, K-1 greatly overestimated Lesnar's ability to draw an audience.

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Would a win bonus helped push the pace for Gracie/Sakuraba?

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Why did Tim Persey get 20,000? I'd never heard of him.

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"those arent the total salaries...lol@saku getting 30k..."

Prove it instead of talking out of your ass with no facts. People always claimed that Pride fighters were making more then UFC guys but they couldnt prove that either. Chuck said he talked to his friends in Pride and he knew it was all bullshit.

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"-Kazushi Sakuraba: $30,000 (lost to Royce Gracie)"

Yeah I bet :)

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Lesnar was overpaid, he sold no tickets

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HAHA, exactly, resort to insults because you have no facts to back up your claims

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"People always claimed that Pride fighters were making more then UFC guys but they couldnt prove that either"

Sam Sheridan, during his convos with Mario Sperry was told that Pride fighters make more than any other fighters in the world. This was during the time of Fedor/Nog 3, as documented in his book 'A Fighter's Heart"

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BIG PERM

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"Chuck said he talked to his friends in Pride and he knew it was all bullshit."

Give me a few minutes, I'll find the interview and you get me the facts on Sak making tons more in Japan on the backside

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I made nothing nor paid nothing but saw some decent fights in a great atmosphere.

At one point the crowd starting chanting in Korean!

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While Im still looking for the Chuck interview here is an excerpt from a Saikakabara interview on the subject. Still waiting on your proof by the way that they get big payments once they go back to Japan

"Pride fighters love the organization," added Sakakibara. "However, when other promotions offer 30%-40% more money, it's possible that fighters may leave. We do our best to stay competitive..."

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Bill-

Do you seriously think Sakuraba, who has starred in commercials for PS2 Games and VISA, has his own bottle of liquor, has his own lunchbox and a legion of loyal fans... made 30 k to rematch Royce Gracie?

Sakuraba's agent is an agent for many big name Japanese athletes, do you think he'd bother with Saku if he was making 30 k a fight?

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That was during the end of Pride, Bill.

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I find it hard to believe that Sakuraba was only paid $30,000 for that fight.

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""Pride fighters love the organization," added Sakakibara. "However, when other promotions offer 30%-40% more money, it's possible that fighters may leave. We do our best to stay competitive...""

LOL this was like when Pride was on its last legs.

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""Pride fighters love the organization," added Sakakibara. "However, when
other promotions offer 30%-40% more money, it's possible that fighters
may leave. We do our best to stay competitive...""

reatard. you cant compare the payouts when the org was dying

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Some decent paydays for some fighters. And Saku got 30k, sure. That's what they reported so he can pay taxes but we all know with a Japanese fighter and promotion he is getting more than the stated amount.

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There are reasons they wouldn't report all the money - to avoid taxation, etc. So it's not like they're going to publish the real numbers or talk about it in interviews just to placate a few guys on an internet forum.