Wineland, Pyle make statements, big paydays

James Brydon June 13, 2012, 9:36 PM

Americans Eddie Wineland and Mike Pyle went into last Friday’s UFC event as fighters facing questions about where they stood in their respective divisions.

They came out of it with great answers — and it appears the two biggest paycheques.

At UFC on FX 3 in Sunrise, Fla., Wineland became the first man to ever TKO Scott Jorgensen, while Pyle stunned the red-hot Josh Neer, who was knocked out for the just the second time in his career and first time in over five years. Those are very nice distinctions for the 27-year-old bantamweight and 36-year-old welterweight, respectively.

Even sweeter: they each earned a $40,000 fight bonus, with Pyle getting the Knockout of the Night and Wineland settling for Fight of the Night honours with Jorgensen. Add that to their fighter purses and they likely came home with the biggest additions to their wallets among the 24 competitors on the night (barring undisclosed bonuses).

In salaries released by the Florida State Boxing Commission Tuesday, Pyle made the most coin, taking home $66,000 for the win (which included a handy $33,000 for the win) plus the above bonus for a tidy $106,000. Talk about a profitable right-hook that he planted in the final seconds of the first round.

Meanwhile, Wineland earned a second-best $60,000 — $10K for the show, $10K for the win, $40K for the entertaining nine minutes, 10 seconds of nonstop back-and-forth action with Jorgensen before he finally dropped him with a beautifully executed combo.

But more than the money, they were proud of the statements they made.

“With (Jorgensen) never being knocked out, that should put some fear in some people’s eyes,” Wineland said at the post-fight press conference regarding his status in the 135-pound class.

UFC president Dana White was quite complimentary of him too, especially the way he hung in despite suffering a nasty gash on the top of his head that was pouring blood down over his face and could have led to a doctor’s stoppage… had Wineland not executed with the sense of urgency that he did.

“There’s probably been like three cuts like that in the history of the UFC since we’ve owned it, and that’s one of them,” White said. “When a guy is cut like that, bleeding like crazy and still keeps going trying to win … He’s a stud.”

Pyle also believes other welterweights should take notice about what he’s been accomplishing in his last two fights, both TKO victories (he also stopped Ricardo Funch in 82 seconds in January).

“I’m mostly known for being a submission guy, but I do have good striking and in my last two fights I’ve made it a point to prove that I can knock people out and I will continue to,” Pyle said.

NOTES: Asked what he will do with the extra cash he got from the bonus, Wineland suggested there are a few things he could do but he’ll probably just put it in the bank. “I like money just like the next guy but I like to be smart with it,” Wineland said …

Demetrious Johnson and Mike Pierce each made base purses of $40,000 (including $20K win bonus) for their decision victories over Ian McCall ($9,000) and Carlos Eduardo Rocha ($8,000), respectively, but they didn’t earn fight bonuses. Erick Silva took home a total of $56,000 (including the Submission of the Night bonus) for his co-main event stoppage of Charlie Brenneman, who made $18,000 (more than the winning Silva would have made if not for getting top sub) …

Here is the full list of fighter salaries (not including fight bonuses):

Demetrious Johnson: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)

def. Ian McCall: $9,000

Erick Silva: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)

def. Charlie Brenneman: $18,000

Mike Pyle: $66,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus)

def. Josh Neer: $14,000

Eddie Wineland: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

def. Scott Jorgensen: $20,500

Mike Pierce: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)

def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: $8,000

Seth Baczynski: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)