One of the mysteries of fighter pay is the amount they are paid by sponsors. We only hear isolated numbers, so it is hard to get a real picture. Frank Mir made $85,000 in sponsorships against Brock Lesnar, Joe Lauzon made $52,000 in sponsorships against Kenny Florian, and Rich Franklin’s agent says Rich made $1 million in sponsorships for his 3 fights in 2007.
In an interview with MMA Weekly, Joe Riggs claims he made just under $300,000 over four fights in 2006, even though he only made $102,000 in fight salary:
Riggs said some of his post UFC problems halved his income, going from earning just under $300,000 in 2006 to $130,000 in 2007. Not bad for a guy who used to make $1,000 a fight, but a concern for a man with a family to support.
Still, Riggs said he topped out at $17,000 to show and win, while his Strikeforce purses go to $25,000 for the same. Sponsorship-wise, no one can compete with the UFC.
These numbers are higher than I thought mid level fighters were getting.