Bellator 226 salaries: Victorious Emmanuel Sanchez earns top payday

On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to our screens with Bellator 226.

This stacked card was topped by a heavyweight title fight between reigning champ Ryan Bader and Bellator staple Cheick Kongo. Elsewhere on the card, we witnessed four of the quarterfinal bout for Bellator’s 16-man Featherweight World Grand Prix, in addition to a number of other exciting matchups.

The salaries for the fighters on the Bellator 226 main card have now been revealed, and surprisingly, main card winner Emanuel Sanchez actually earned the most money once win bonuses were factored in. Sanchez was paid $55,000 to show, and another $55,000 to win, which means he pocketed $110,000 for his main card victory over Tywan Claxton.

Headliners Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo were the next biggest earners of the night, and would have out-earned Sanchez had he not won. Both fighters, who previously enjoyed success in the UFC’s Octagon, earned $100,000 flat with no win bonuses.

See a rundown of all the Bellator 226 main card salaries, via The Sports Daily, below. Win bonuses for victorious fighters have already been factored in. These figures do not include sponsorship amounts or undisclosed bonuses.

• Emmanuel Sanchez:   $110,000 ($55,000 to show, $55,000 win bonus)
• Ryan Bader:   $100,000
• Cheick Kongo:   $100,000
• Derek Campos:   $60,000
• Pat Curran:   $60,000
• Tywan Claxton:   $60,000
• Daniel Straus:   $55,000
• Adam Borics:   $50,000 ($25,000 to show, $25,000 win bonus)
• Pedro Carvalho:   $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 win bonus)
• Sam Sicilia:   $30,000
• Daniel Carey:   $17,000 ($8,500 to show, $8,500 win bonus)
• Gaston Bolanos:   $10,000

What do you think of these Bellator 226 main card salaries?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/10/2019.