UFC San Antonio: Media producer discloses fight week incentive pay for Marlon Vera, Holly Holm, Cory Sandhagen, and more
Media producer Jed Goodman has shared the fight week incentive pay for Marlon Vera, Holly Holm and Cory Sandhagen, as well as other fighters who'll feature in this weekend's UFC on ESPN 43.
Saturday night's card is set to be headlined by bantamweight contenders Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen as they each look to stake their claim for a shot at the 135-pound belt.
Vera is also looking to extend his fine form, which has seen him rack up an impressive four-fight win streak. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Sandhagen returned to winning ways when he defeated Song Yadong at UFC Vegas 60 in September last year.
Elsewhere on the card, 41-year-old Holly Holm, who recently penned a new six-fight contract, will face Yana Santos in a women's bantamweight clash.
All fighters on the card have their own personal contracts. However, they are all due fight week incentive pay. The pay is based on how many fights they have had in the organization.
Based on the figures shared by Goodman (@jedigoodman), Marlon Vera is taking home an extra $16,000, making him the top earner. Vera is categorized as Tier 6, as he has already fought in 20 bouts under the UFC banner.
1-3 UFC fights $4K
4 or 5 UFC fights $4.5K
6-10 UFC fights $6K
11-15 UFC fights $11K
16-20 UFC fights $16K
Over 20 UFC fights $21K
Challenger $32K
Champion $42K
(this is not their purse, this is separate money)
Holly Holm and Cory Sandhagen have been placed in Tier 4, meaning their 11-15 fights in the organization have them earning an additional $11,000 during fight week.
Check out the full breakdown of fighters and their incentive pay below:
Tier 1:
Duraev
Lutz
Alexander
Parsons
Salvador
Altamirano
Tier 2:
Lingo
Njokuani
Vergara
da Silva
Tier 3:
Santos
Landwehr
Barber
Lee
Kape
Perez
Pineda
Peterson
Tier 4:
Sandhagen
Holm
Giles
Tier 6:
Vera
Marlon Vera believes Henry Cejudo's return to the octagon is fueled by money
Marlon Vera has stated that Henry Cejudo's UFC return has been fueled by money and not by extending his legacy, as he has claimed.
'Triple C' walked away from MMA in 2020, 11 months after achieving the feat of a two-division champion. At the time, Cejudo claimed he had done everything he wanted to in MMA, but many fans saw the move as a failed attempt to secure a better UFC contract.
With Cejudo now set to return to the octagon and face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title, 'Chito' has weighed in on the situation. Speaking to TMZ Sports, the 30-year-old claimed that Henry Cejudo has only returned to MMA because he has run out of money:
"Seems like he ran out of cash and gotta get back on it. It seems like he's a little desperate to come back, you know. Hopefully it's not just for the money because if you just come back for the wrong reasons, you might find out it wasn't a good idea. Hard to know what's going on in people's life, but he got a title shot, we'll see what he could do with that."
Catch Marlon Vera's full interview here (4:05):