Despite suffering a brutal knockout loss in his return to mixed martial arts, UFC legend Chuck Liddell led the finalized payroll for Liddell vs. Ortiz 3, cashing a flat $250,000 purse for his trilogy fight against Tito Ortiz. The California State Athletic Commission released the event’s finalized salary information to MMA Fighting over the weekend.
Liddell suffered a first-round knockout loss to Ortiz in the night’s main event, losing his comeback bid in devastating fashion after spending the past eight years sidelined in retirement. Liddell earned a $250,000 salary in defeat, while Ortiz cashed a flat $200,000 purse with no win bonus for his performance. Both fighters are expected to earn more from pay-per-view sales and other sources of income related to the event, which marked the debut MMA show for Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 took place Nov. 24 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The night’s main card aired live on pay-per-view.
Aside from the main event competitors, no other fighter on the card approached the six-figure mark in earnings. UFC veterans Tom Lawlor ($25,000) and Gleison Tibau ($20,000) led the rest of the pack in regards to salaries for their respective main card matchups.
A complete list of the Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 salaries can be seen below. As always, these figures do not represent a fighter’s total earnings, as sponsorship incomes, pay-per-view earnings and other undisclosed incomes are not publicly disclosed.
Main card (Pay-per-view)
Tito Ortiz ($200,000 + no win bonus = $200,000) def. Chuck Liddell ($250,000)
Deron Winn ($5,000 + $5,000 = $10,000) def. Tom Lawlor ($25,000)
Gleison Tibau ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Efrain Escudero ($10,000)
Ricardo Palacios ($5,000 + $5,000 = $10,000) def. Walel Watson ($5,000)
James Barnes ($2,500 + $2,500 = $5,000) def. Albert Morales ($2,500)
Jay Silva ($5,000 + $5,000 = $10,000) def. Oscar Cota ($5,000)
Preliminary card
Fernie Garcia ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Joe Roye ($1,250)
Francisco Estrada ($1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000) def. Jose Huerta ($1,250)
Joseph Henle ($3,000 + $3,000 = $6,000) def. Keith Berry ($3,000)
Joshua Jones ($1,500 + $1,500 = $3,000) def. Craig Wilkerson ($1,500)
Johnny Cisneros ($2,000 + $2,000 = $4,000) def. Dave Terrel ($2,500)