Tito Ortiz may be far from his MMA prime but the ‘Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ can sure cash in like it.
Ortiz got a smooth $300,000 for his lacklustre victory over Stephan Bonnar. The fight itself left a lot to be desired, but the hype around the fight was enough to carry Bellator 131 and give Ortiz the huge payday.
To put his payday into perspective, it would be in the top 3 of UFC purses given this year and higher than any Ronda Rousey or Chris Weidman fight to date. The UFC will soon feel the pressure if they can’t explain how promotions are giving out these paydays without PPV revenue or huge sponsorships.
Ortiz and Bellator may have just changed MMA & they don’t even know it.
Here’s the rest of the Bellator 131 Payouts courtesy of Sherdog:
Tito Ortiz: $300,000
Stephan Bonnar: $100,000
Ortiz def. Bonnar via split decisionWill Brooks: $62,000 ($31,000 to show, $31,000 to win)
Michael Chandler: $25,000
Brooks def. Chandler via technical knockoutJoe Schilling: $25,000
Melvin Manhoef: $10,000
Schilling def. Manhoef via knockoutMike Richman: $30,000 ($20,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Nam Phan: $5,600
Richman def. Phan via knockoutMuhammed Lawal: $10,000
Joe Vedepo: $10,000
Lawal def. Vedepo via technical knockoutJoao Faria: $5,000 ($2,500 to show, $2,500 to win)
Ian Butler: $1,500
Faria def. Butler via submissionA.J. Matthews: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Kyle Bolt: $2,000
Matthews def. Bolt via knockoutJonathan Santa Maria: $4,000 ($2,000 to show, $2,000 to win)
Ron Henderson: $2,000
Santa Maria def. Henderson via split decisionAndy Murad: $8,000 ($4,000 to show, $4,000 to win)
Bubba Pugh: $2,000
Murad def. Pugh via split decisionNicolas Garcia: $8,000 ($4,000 to show, $4,000 to win)
Matthew Ramirez: $2,000
Garcia def. Ramirez via submissionJordan Bailey: $5,000 ($2,500 to show, $2,500 to win)
Alex Higley: $1,500
Bailey def. Higley via submissionRolando Perez: $2,000
Mark Vorgeas: $2,000
Perez fought Vorgeas to a split draw
Check out Highlights of the Ortiz Fight: