How much did Arlovski get paid to eat fist? Here are some facts from Fox Sports on MSN:
Andrei Arlovski pocketed $1.5 million to lead official paydays for Saturday's Affliction: Day of Reckoning, courtesy of figures released by the California State Athletic Commission.
However, these salaries do not account for undisclosed bonuses, hence Fedor Emelianenko's relatively small financial compensation.
Emelianenko's official payday does not include a win bonus, while Arlovski would have pocketed an extra $250,000 had he claimed the WAMMA heavyweight title.
The second highest earner was Josh Barnett, who took home $500,000 with no bonus for his third-round victory over Gilbert Yvel. Meanwhile, Yvel made $30,000 in his losing effort.
The total disclosed fighter payroll was $3.31 million.
Here are the full salary figures provided by the athletic commission:
Main Card:
- Fedor Emelianenko $300,000 (no win bonus) def. Andre Arlovski $1,500,000 (win bonus would have been $250,000)
- Josh Barnett $500,000 (no win bonus) def. Gilbert Yvel $30,000 (win bonus would have been $9,300)
- Vitor Belfort $200,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus) def. Matt Lindland $225,000 (win bonus would have been $75,000)
- Renato "Babalu" Sobral $90,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou $50,000 (win bonus would have been $50,000)
- Paul Buentello $90,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Kiril Sidelnikov $10,000 (win bonus would have been $25,000)
- Dan Lauzon $12,000 (no win bonus) def. Bobby Green $4,000 (win bonus would have been $4,000)
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira $150,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Vladimir Matyushenko $50,000 (win bonus would have been $30,000)
- L.C. Davis $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Bao Quach $7,000 (win bonus would have been $6,000)
- Albert Rios $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Antonio Duarte $3,000 (win bonus would have been $2,000)
- Brett Cooper $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Patrick Speight $2,000 (win bonus would have been $3,000)
- Jay Hieron $45,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Jason High $10,000 (win bonus would have been $5,000)
Besides the main event, a few of my favorite fights were:
"Babalu" vs Sokoudjou - The MMA community has been praising Sokoudjou for being "the next big thing" in mixed martial arts. However, this fight took Babalu to 32-7, which is quite impressive, and left Sokoudjou at 5-4. Will we see him fight again?
Lindland vs Belfort - I was on a "B" streak Saturday night; I rooted for Babalu, Belfort, and Barnett. Belfort, as usual, did not disappoint! After only 37 seconds in the ring, Belfort landed an overhand left hook that left Lindland's leg twitching. What an awesome knockout!
Yvel vs Barnett - Barnett took Yvel in the third round by tapout. Barnett's punch count saw that he landed 121 of 183 in those three rounds.
If you missed Lindland/Belfort or Arlovski/Emelianenko, you have got to check out MMATKO.com for the video. MMAPain also has it here.
Finally, if all of that made you miss Pulver vs Faber on Sunday, check out that fight video here.
What a crazy weekend!
