One fighter makes over 5k of Reebok money on Saturday
Fabricio Werdum was the sole fighter to make over $5,000 at UFC Fight Night 127 in London, England.
Late last year the much-reviled Reebok deal got a little sweeter. Under the old plan, apparel sponsorships were based on tenure as defined by number of fights:
1-5 $2,500
6-10 $5,000
11-15 $10,000
16-20 $15,000
21+ $20,000
Title Challenger $30,000
Champion $40,000
Now the seven-tier structure has the first tier split, so that fighters get $3,500 initially, and $5,000 after three fights, rather than after five fights. While this might at first glance seem minor, over half the contracted fighters are at the under six fights level, so many of them are seeing their Reebok money doubled.
However, for many fighters, $5,000 is now effectively the cap. At UFC Fight Night 127, only one fighter realized over $5,000:
Alexander Volkov: $5,000
def. Fabricio Werdum: $15,000
Jan Blachowicz: $5,000
def. Jimi Manuwa: $5,000
Tom Duquesnoy: $3,500
def. Terrion Ware: $3,500
Leon Edwards: $5,000
def. Peter Sobotta: $5,000
Charles Byrd: $3,500
def. John Phillips: $3,500
Danny Roberts: $5,000
def. Oliver Enkamp: $3,500
Danny Henry: $3,500
def. Hakeem Dawodu: $3,500
Paul Craig: $5,000
def. Magomed Ankalaev: $3,500
Kajan Johnson: $5,000
def. Stevie Ray: $5,000
Dmitriy Sosnovskiy: $3,500
def. Mark Godbeer: $5,000
Total: $96,500. By way of comparison, the 2010 Tenpin Bowling National Masters championship at the Rooty Hill Club in Brisbane, Australia received a $100,000 sponsorship.
Figures courtesy of MMAjunkie.