According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the UFC paid out a total of $630,000 in disclosed fighter salaries and bonuses for The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on Saturday night.

The total payout is a huge jump from The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale, where the total payout including bonuses was $289,000. The fact that six fighters received “Fight of the Night” bonuses, as opposed to the normal two fighters, obviously attributed to a large part of the increase.

Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez took home the largest chunk of the payout, receiving $115,000 ($45,000 base salary, $45,000 win bonus, and $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus). Joe “Daddy” Stevenson was second on the list, taking home $95,000 ($35,000 base salary, $35,000 win bonus, and $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus).

With an estimated live gate of $500,000, the UFC actually paid their fighters more money than they made for the event, for the first time in recent history. Handing out Fight of the Night bonuses for three fights was also a first for the UFC.

The full fighter payday breakdown after the jump…

TUF 9 Finale fighter salaries-

Diego Sanchez: $115,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus and $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Joe Stevenson: $95,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus and $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Chris Lytle: $61,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus and $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Clay Guida: $48,000 (includes $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Nate Diaz: $45,000 (includes $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Jason Dent: $41,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus and $25,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
Tomasz Drwal: $40,600 (includes $7,000 win bonus, $25,000 Knockout of the Night bonus, and $1,600/20% of Mike Ciesnolevicz’s $8,000 base salary)
Kevin Burns: $34,000 (includes $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Melvin Guillard: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
Brad Blackburn: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
Gleison Tibau: $17,000
James Wilks: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Ross Pearson: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Nick Osipczak: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
DaMarques Johnson: $8,000
Andre Winner: $8,000
Frank Lester: $8,000
Cameron Dollar: $8,000
Mike Ciesnoleviscz: $6,400 (reflects $1,600/20% of base salary for missing weight)
Edgar Garcia: $5,000

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