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"TUF 9" Salaries Announced
June 22, 2009
By Tim Ngo, FightLine.com Staff
The Ultimate FighterToday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced the salaries for all of the contestants that participated in this past Saturday’s The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Diego Sanchez walked away with the evening’s largest purse as he took home a total of $125,000 for his 15-minute bout against Clay Guida.

The numbers below do not include the additional $25,000 in fight bonuses that were given to eight lucky contestants for putting on special performances inside the Octagon at The Palms Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In addition, the U.K.’s Ross Pearson and James Wilks each walked away with highly coveted six-figure deals with the UFC for winning their respective TUF tourneys.

Here is the breakdown of the night’s paydays:

Preliminary Bouts:

Jason Dent: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) Defeated Cameron Dollar: $8,000
Nick Ospiczak: $16,000 ($8000 win bonus) Defeated Frank Lester: $8,000
Tomasz Drwal: $15,600 ($7,000 win bonus) Defeated Mike Ciesnolevicz: $6,400*
Brad Blackburn: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus) Defeated Edgar Garcia: $5,000
Melvin Guillard: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) Defeated Gleison Tibau: $17,000

Main Bouts:

Joe Stevenson: $70,000 ($35,000 win bonus) Defeated Nate Diaz: $20,000
Ross Pearson: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) Defeated Andre Winner: $8,000
Chris Lytle: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus) Defeated. Kevin Burns: $9,000
James Wilks: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) Defeated DaMarques Johnson: $8,000
Diego Sanchez: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus) Defeated Clay Guida: $23,000

Fight of the Night:

Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida ($25,000/each)
Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz ($25,000/each)
Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns ($25,000/each)

Knockout of the Night:

Tomasz Drwal ($25,000)

Submission of the Night:

Jason Dent ($25,000)

* Drawl took home 20% of Ciesnolevicz’ purse after he failed to make weight. The totals for both fighters reflect Ciesnolevicz’ penalty.


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