TORONTO — Rising star Conor McGregor made a minimum of US$200,000 for his weekend victory over Dustin (The Diamond) Poirier at UFC 178.
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the Irish featherweight made a basic purse of $75,000 with a matching win bonus for his first-round knockout. The UFC kicked in another $50,000 for a performance of the night bonus.
Poirier made $34,000, missing out on a win bonus of the same amount.
The commission figures do not tell the whole financial story since the UFC does not detail all its fighter bonuses.
Flyweight champion Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson collected $183,000, including a $54,000 win bonus, for submitting Chris Cariaso in the second round of the main event. The challenger picked up $24,000.
Co-main event winner Donald (Cowboy) Cerrone earned $126,000, including a $63,000 win bonus, for his unanimous decision over former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez ($100,000).
Yoel Romero and Tim Kennedy won fight of the night honours for their middleweight bout. Romero won by second-round TKO, making $108,000 including a $29,000 win bonus and $50,000 for fight of the night. Kennedy picked up $120,000, including the fight of the night bonus.
Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz earned $150,000, including a $50,000 win bonus and a $50,000 performance bonus, for his first-round TKO over Takeya Mizugaki ($32,000).
Montreal welterweight Patrick (The Predator) Cote made a basic purse of $32,000 in losing via decision to Stephen (Wonderboy) Thompson.
