Chuck Liddell Top Earner at UFC 79

Chuck Liddell confirmed his position as the UFC’s highest earner by pocketing over half a million dollars for his fight with Wanderlei Silva.

Nevada State Athletic Commission have released the fighter payouts for UFC 79: Nemesis from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for the event held on December 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Georges St Pierre earned $160,000 for his Interim Welterweight title victory: $80,000 to show, $80,000 to win. His opponent, Matt Hughes, took home $100,000. Georges St Pierre defeated Hughes with an arm bar submission in the second round. GSP can expect to pick up an extra few bucks in his next UFC fight after re-establishing himself with this win. St Pierre also took the “Submission of the Night” bonus, worth a further $50,000

Chuck Liddell came back from two defeats to take a unanimous decision over his long time rival Wanderlei Silva. For a long time, Liddell was the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His position as top earner may well be under threat as he is not in immediate title contention. Having said that, the enthusiastic reaction that his fight with Wanderlei Silva received from the crowd means that both will sell plenty more tickets in the future. Wanderlei Silva was paid $150,000 for his part in the fight. The long awaited match turned into a slug fest - which was voted “Fight of the Night”, earning the two old warriors a further $50,000 each.

The other reported bonus winner was Eddie Sanchez. Sanchez took the “Knockout of the Night” bonus for his stoppage of Soa Palelei. Sanchez was paid $46,000 ($23,000 to show, $23,000 to win) for his night’s work. On top of this - he received the $50,000 KO bonus. Many will think that Sanchez was fortunate that there was a lack of KO’s in the rest of the show. He stopped his opponent with strikes in the third round of a pedestrian contest. Soa Palalei was highly touted before he entered the Octagon, but his performance was way below expectations. Eddie Sanchez controlled the match before finishing him in the last round.

Ryoto Machida established himself as a live title contender with his victory at UFC 79: Nemesis. Chuck Liddell against Wanderlei Silva may have been the lightheavyweight bout everyone was talking about, but Machida’s dismantling of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou may have more long term significance. In comparison to the earnings Chuck and Wand, Ryoto Machida's salary of $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 to win) looks small. In the future, he may expect to earn a great deal more. Machida has long been derided as a boring fighter - but his domination of Sokoudjou proved he is able to entertain as well as win. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou picked up $40,000 for his trouble.

In the other PPV fight, Rich Clementi took home $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win) for his victory over Melvin Guillard. Melvin Guillard received $10,000. Clementi choked out his bitter rival in the first round. The affair was marred by the bad feeling between the two fighters, which continued after the fight was over.