Alistair Overeem nearly earned more than the salaries of every preliminary fighter combined according to the UFC on ESPN 8 payouts released by the Florida State Boxing Commission, which was in charge of overseeing the final UFC fight card of the that took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 16.
Overeem raked in $400,000 for his second-round stoppage of Walt Harris after overcoming a nearly disastrous first round that saw the emotional Harris on the cusp of securing a knockout. Overeem would rally late in the first round and take control in the second frame, where he earned a TKO after a head kick and punch combination that dropped Harris — who was fighting for the first time since the tragic loss of his stepdaughter late last year. Overeem finished off Harris with ground and pound as the Dutch fighter celebrated his 40th birthday with his 11th UFC victory in 18 tries.
Harris made $75,000 despite being ranked one spot behind Overeem on the official UFC rankings. Harris entered the fight ranked ninth, and has a UFC record of 6-5 (1 No Contest).
Overeem nearly outpaced the combined salary of the entire preliminary card ($518,000) with his near half-million payday. The top earner from the UFC on ESPN 8 prelims was women's flyweight Courtney Casey ($100,000), who fought in the second fight of the night and won her flyweight debut with a first-round submission of Mara Romero Borella ($20,000). Casey also added an extra $50,000 with a "Performance of the Night" bonus.
Claudia Gadelha ($108,000) narrowly escaped her co-main event showdown with Angela Hill ($54,000) with a split decision to tie Krzysztof Jotko for the second-highest payout on the card. Bringing up the rear is Don'Tale Mayes ($10,000), who lost his second straight fight by submission and is now 0-2 in the UFC after getting a contract for his performance on Dana White's Contender Series.
Here are the full UFC on ESPN 8 fighter payouts. The figures do not include deductions such as insurances, licenses or taxes, nor do they include any PPV cuts, sponsorship payouts or UFC 249 Promotional Guidelines pay. These are simply base salaries. Discretionary bonuses are not included but are noted by an asterisk.
UFC on ESPN 8 fighter salaries
- Alistair Overeem: $400,000
- Walt Harris: $75,000
- Claudia Gadelha: $108,000
- Angela Hill: $54,000
- Dan Ige: $100,000
- Edson Barboza: $79,000
- Krzysztof Jotko: $108,000
- Eryk Anders: $61,000
- Song Yadong: $96,000*
- Marlon Vera: $65,000*
- Miguel Baeza: $24,000**
- Matt Brown: $85,000
- Kevin Holland: $52,000
- Anthony Hernandez: $12,000
- Giga Chikadze: $28,000
- Irwin Rivera: $14,000
- Nate Landwehr: $26,000
- Darren Elkins: $62,000
- Cortney Casey: $100,000**
- Mara Romero Borella: $20,000
- Rodrigo Nascimento: $20,000
- Don’Tale Mayes: $10,000
*Does not include $50,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night"
**Does not include $50,000 bonus for "Performance of the Night"