TUF 26 Finale salaries: Nicco Montaño, Roxanne Modafferi bank $100,000 apiece

It pays to be in title fights these days in the UFC.

Nicco Montaño and Roxanne Modafferi each earned $100,000 purses for their TUF 26 Finale main event and inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title fight last Friday night in Las Vegas. he Nevada Athletic Commission on Monday released the event’s salary information to MMA Fighting.

Montaño beat Modafferi, a women’s MMA pioneer, by unanimous decision in a bloody, back-and-forth affair. Modafferi has been a professional fighter since 2003 and this was the highest payout figure of her long, storied career. She was put into the main event title fight one day before the card when Sijara Eubanks, who beat her in the TUF 26 semifinals, withdrew due to hospitalization from a bad weight cut.

In addition to the disclosed purses, Montaño and Modafferi took home another $50,000 apiece for Fight of the Night.

The TUF 26 Finale took place Dec. 1 at Park Theater in Las Vegas, Nev. The night’s main card aired live on FOX Sports 1.

Aside from the two women in the main event, Joe Soto racked up the next best purse with $31,000 in show money. He fell via first-round submission to Brett Johns. Johns earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for the finish. Gerald Meerschaert got the other $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus with a second-round TKO of Eric Spicely.

Main card (FOX Sports 1)

Nicco Montaño ($100,000) def. Roxanne Modafferi ($100,000)

Sean O’Malley ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Terrion Ware ($10,000)

Lauren Murphy ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Barb Honchak ($10,000)

Gerald Meerschaert ($14,000 + $14,000 = $28,000) def. Eric Spicely ($14,000)

DeAnna Bennett ($10,000) and Melinda Fabian ($10,000) fought to draw

Brett Johns ($14,000 + $14,000 = $28,000) def. Joe Soto ($31,000)

Preliminary card (FOX Sports 1)

Montana De La Rosa ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Christina Marks ($10,000)

Ryan Janes ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000) def. Andrew Sanchez ($28,000)

Rachael Ostovich ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Karine Gevorgyan ($10,000)

Shana Dobson ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Ariel Beck ($10,000)

Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)

Gillian Robertson ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Emily Whitmire ($10,000)