Curtis Blaydes may have dominated Alexander Volkov and put himself into title contention in the main event of UFC on ESPN 11 on Saturday, but neither fighter took home more money than an unranked lightweight who opened the show.
Jim Miller tied Donald Cerrone for most fights in the UFC with his 35th career bout and needed less than three minutes to submit Roosevelt Roberts in the first bout of the main card. That victory earned Miller a reported $208,000 ($104,000 show, $104,000 win) to outpace the rest of the card. The No. 3-ranked Blaydes earned a $180,000 payday ($90,000 show, $90,000 win) for the second-highest reported payout of the night.
Josh Emmett ($152,000), Raquel Pennington ($126,000) and Belal Muhammad ($100,000) rounded out the top five payouts from the card that took place at the UFC Apex.
Bringing up the rear was Max Rohskopf with a $12,000 payday for his UFC debut. Rohskopf ended up being the biggest talking point of the event when he quit on the stool between Round 2 and 3 in his fight with Austin Hubbard. Rohskopf was being urged to continue by his coach Robert Drysdale, who refused to call the fight despite his fighter telling him that he couldn't continue.
Emmett and Shane Burgos earned an extra $50,000 each for their Fight of the Year-candidate bout, which Emmett won via unanimous decision. Miller earned an additional $50,000 with a Performance of the Night bonus for his submission of Roberts. UFC newcomer Justin Jaynes added $50,000 to his payout with a stunning 41-second knockout of Frank Camacho.
Here are the full UFC on ESPN 11 fighter payouts. The figures do not include deductions such as insurance, licenses or taxes, nor do they include any PPV cuts. These are simply base salaries. Discretionary bonuses are not included but are noted by asterisks.
UFC on ESPN 11 fighter salaries
- Curtis Blaydes: $180,000
- Alexander Volkov: $80,000
- Josh Emmett: $152,000*
- Shane Burgos: $75,000*
- Raquel Pennington: $126,000
- Marion Reneau: $38,000
- Belal Muhammad: $100,000
- Lyman Good: $28,000
- Jim Miller: $208,000**
- Roosevelt Roberts: $25,000
- Bobby Green: $72,000
- Clay Guida: $73,000
- Tecia Torres: $96,000
- Brianna Van Buren: $14,000
- Marc-Andre Barriault: $28,000
- Oskar Piechota: $20,000
- Gillian Robertson: $50,000
- Cortney Casey: $53,000
- Justin Jaynes: $24,000**
- Frank Camacho: $25,000
- Lauren Murphy: $76,000
- Roxanne Modafferi: $50,000
- Austin Hubbard: $50,000
- Max Rohskopf: $12,000
* Does not include $50,000 bonus for Fight of the Night.
** Does not include $50,000 bonus for Performance of the Night.