Dan Henderson gets biggest pay day at UFC 157, but disclosed sums don’t tell the whole story

The California Athletic Commission announced reported salaries for UFC 157 over the weekend. Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson made the biggest sums of reported money.

Ronda Rousey: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus) def. Liz Carmouche: $12,000
Lyoto Machida: $200,000 (no win bonus) def. Dan Henderson: $250,000
Urijah Faber: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) def. Ivan Menjivar: $17,000
Court McGee: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Josh Neer: $16,000
Robbie Lawler: $105,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Josh Koscheck: $78,000

On paper, Rousey and Carmouche made much less money than Henderson and Machida, but there are a few things to consider. The money disclosed here is what promoters are required to report by law.

It does not include money the fighters make of pay-per-view sales. Quite often, fighters at the top of the card will make a percentage of the pay-per-view profits. Early reports have UFC 157 with 400-500,000 pay-per-views, so it could mean a good pay day.

The UFC also is known to give out "locker room bonuses," or extra money because of a good performance that they are not required to report to the athletic commissions.

During the run-up to UFC 157, Carmouche talked about how she didn't have much furniture in her home and drove a rundown car. UFC president Dana White promised after the fights that her furnitureless days are over.

"She going to have a kitchen table, and a couch, and whatever else the [expletive] she wants," White said.

Also, Henderson and Machida are UFC veterans whose payouts are decided by their contracts well in advance of their fights. Rousey and Carmouche were the main event because the UFC standard is to put the championship fight as the main event. Henderson and Machida taking home more listed money is akin to Mike Trout making $480,000 and Vernon Wells making $23 million. Trout finished second in National League MVP voting.