A giant novelty check with a very real prize awaits the winner of
the Bellator MMA featherweight grand prix on Saturday.
Bellator 263, which takes place on July 31 at The Forum in
Inglewood, Calif., will conclude the organization’s featherweight
tournament. To the victor belong the spoils – the winner of the
Patricio
Freire vs. A.J. McKee
clash will earn a tournament title, the promotion’s featherweight
championship strap and a $1 million check. Both finalists will also
earn large payouts simply for competing in this bout, as the only
two on the card that will clear six figures no matter the result.
Current two-division king Freire will take home $250,000 to show,
and his win bonus is $1 million; his opponent McKee will earn
$150,000, plus the possible $1 million prize. The California State
Athletic Commission released the event salaries, as first reported
by
MMA Junkie on Friday.
The next top earner of the card is two-time 145-pound title
challenger Emmanuel
Sanchez, who will collect a $61,000 purse, with the possibility
of taking home an extra $30,000 with a victory. After that, three
other fighters in Bellator stalwart Georgi
Karakhanyan ($70,000), ex-lightweight champ Brent
Primus ($50,000) and Kiefer
Crosbie ($50,000) will reach the mid-five figure mark
regardless of the result. Of note, Primus, Crosbie, Luis Muro and
Karakhanyan all maintain contracts that do not offer win bonuses,
instead earning their full shares upfront.
Other Bellator 263 competitors that can cross the $50,000 salary
threshold with wins include Mads
Burnell ($26,000 to show, $26,000 to win), who will be meeting
the aforementioned Sanchez. The unbeaten Usman
Nurmagomedov will make $30,000, plus a possible win bonus of an
extra $30,000, by taking on Muro. Lastly, Goiti
Yamauchi ($32,000 to show, $32,000 to win) and Christopher
Gonzalez ($31,000 to show, $31,000 to win) can also eclipse
that mark by defeating the other – their salaries are nearly equal,
despite this being Yamauchi’s 16th Bellator outing compared to
Gonzalez’ sixth.
Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic
commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary
bonuses that may be awarded to a fighter by the promotion.
Additionally, the reported figures do not reflect any deductions
made by the commission for taxes, insurance, etc., and do not
include any sponsorship money that a fighter may acquire for their
performance.
Bellator 263 Salaries:
Patricio
Freire ($250,000 show, $1 million win)
A.J.
McKee ($150,000 show, $1 million win)
Emmanuel
Sanchez ($61,000 show, $30,000 win)
Mads
Burnell ($26,000 show, $26,000 win)
Usman
Nurmagomedov ($30,000 show, $30,000 win)
Luis
Muro ($26,000 show, $0 win)
Brent
Primus ($50,000 show, $0 win)
Islam
Mamedov ($10,000 show, $10,000 win)
Goiti
Yamauchi ($32,000 show, $32,000 win)
Christopher
Gonzalez ($31,000 show, $31,000 win)
Vanessa
Porto ($15,000 show, $15,000 win)
Ilara
Joanne ($13,000 show, $13,000 win)
Gadzhi
Rabadanov ($25,000 show, $25,000 win)
Daniel
Carey ($10,000 show, $10,000 win)
Khasan
Magomedsharipov ($25,000 show, $25,000 win)
Jonathan
Quiroz ($10,000 show, $10,000 win)
Johnny
Cisneros ($4,000 show, $4,000 win)
Joshua
Jones ($4,000 show, $4,000 win)
Georgi
Karakhanyan ($70,000 show, $0 win)
Kiefer
Crosbie ($50,000 show, $0 win)
Brian
Moore ($25,000 show, $25,000 win)
Jordan
Winski ($10,000 show, $10,000 win)