Marlon Moraes may be a free agent, but there are six-figures worth of reasons for him to stay in World Series of Fighting.
The WSOF bantamweight champion handily led the disclosed payroll for WSOF 32, earning $180,000 for his successful title defense over Josh Hill, according to information released Wednesday to MMA Fighting by the Washington State Department of Licensing.
Moraes, the promotion's only ever bantamweight champion, defended his title with a sizzling second-round head kick knockout of Hill in WSOF 32's main event, which took place July 30 at the Xfinity Arena in Everett, Washington. The fight was the last of Moraes' WSOF contract, and earned Moraes a purse that equaled nearly half of the event's $365,950 total payroll.
Moraes, 28, now enters free agency as one of the most talented athletes fighting outside of the UFC. He holds a 10-0 record under the WSOF umbrella and trains alongside UFC luminaries Eddie Alvarez, Frankie Edgar, and Edson Barboza under head coach Mark Henry.
A complete breakdown of WSOF 32's salaries can be seen below, although these figures do not represent a fighter's total earnings, as sponsorship money and supplementary income are not publicly disclosed.
Main Card (NBC Sports Network)
Marlon Moraes ($90,000 + $90,000 = $180,000) def. Josh Hill ($10,000)
Lance Palmer ($28,000 + $28,000 = $56,000) def. Alexandre Almeida ($12,000)
Caros Fodor* ($18,000 + $15,000 = $33,000) def. Phoenix Jones* ($12,000)
Louis Taylor ($6,000 + $6,000 = $12,000) def. Phil Hawes ($5,000)
Preliminary Card
Hakeem Dawodu ($6,000 + $6,000 = $12,000) def. Marat Magomedov ($3,000)
Rex Harris ($3,000 + $3,000 = $6,000) def. Nicolai Salchow ($3,000)
Andrews Nakahara ($4,000 + $4,000 = $8,000) def. Travis Doerge ($1,500)
Matt Kovacs ($1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000) def. Bill Widler ($1,500)
Brett Malone ($750 + $750 = $1,500) def. Patrick Benson ($750)
Matt Coble ($1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000) def. Colt Hausauer ($700)
Tycen Lynn ($1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000) def. Justin Hugo ($1,000)
Joe Elzea ($1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000) def. Marcos Lopez ($1,000)
*Fodor received 20-percent of Jones' purses due to Jones missing weight