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UFC Seattle payouts: Song Yadong earns the highest amid the main card controversy

The UFC Seattle Fight Night 252, held on 22nd February, saw controversy and heated debates. The main fight between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong ended with an eye poke incident favoring Yadong. The Washington State Department of Licensing released the official fighter payouts, with Song Yadong earning $320,000 and Henry Cejudo receiving $160,000 among others.
UFC Seattle payouts: Song Yadong earns the highest amid the main card controversy
Song Yadong and Henry Cejudo. Image by Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
The UFC Seattle has remained one of the most controversial fixtures within the MMA circuit. The main card between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong itself ended with a controversial eye poke, which resulted in the match favoring Song over Cejudo. Fans and critics have stated how the referee totally misjudged the match by not taking a point for the eye poke. Had there been a deduction of points, the match would have probably ended with a majority draw. The fight handed Cejudo his third straight loss along with a medical restriction to not fight until he completely heals from the injury. The UFC Fight Night 252 that took place on 22nd February at the Climate arena featuring 12 clashes, garnered attention yet again, due to another reason—releasing the official payouts of the fighters.

WSDL releases the UFC fighters’ salaries and payouts from the Fight Night 252

Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong
Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong. Image by UFC

The salaries and payouts made to the fighters across different promotions are mostly confidential and are not easily available to know. However, the Washington State Department of Licensing (WSDL) decided to do otherwise and released the payouts as well as salaries of the UFC fighters who took part at Seattle. Song Yadong, who won the main card against Henry Cejudo, took home an amount of $320,000 while the latter took an amount of $160,000. These two fighters were joined by seven other professionals who could take home a six-figure amount after Seattle got over: Anthony Hernandez, Brendan Allen, Rob Font, Alonzo Menifield, Ion Cutelaba, Andre Fili, and Ricky Simon.
It is however, to be noted that the amount revealed is not inclusive of side-letter payments, sponsorships, or discretionary/performance bonuses. The amount is purely for the show and win. The detailed amount received by each player has been mentioned below:
  • Song Yadong: $320,000 (includes $160,000 win bonus)
  • Henry Cejudo: $150,000
  • Anthony Hernandez: $144,000 (includes $72,000 win bonus)
  • Brendan Allen: $210,000
  • Rob Font: $320,000 (includes $160,000 win bonus)
  • Jean Matsumoto: $26,000
  • Jean Silva: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
  • Melsik Baghdasaryan: $35,000
  • Alonzo Menifield: $240,000 (includes $120,000 win bonus)
  • Julius Walker: $12,000
  • Ion Cutelaba: $190,000 (includes $95,000 win bonus)
  • Ibo Aslan: $35,000
  • Melquizael Costa: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
  • Andre Fili: $110,000
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
  • Nick Klein: $10,000
  • Ricky Simon: $160,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus)
  • Javid Basharat: $30,000
  • Austin Vanderford: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
  • Nikolay Veretennikov: $12,000
  • Nursulton Ruziboev: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus)
  • Eric McConico: $12,000
  • Modestas Bukauskas: $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus)
  • Raffael Cerqueira: $10,000
Also read: Connor McGregor and Ronda Rousey set to feature in ‘The Grudge’ series
The above-mentioned amount does not include taxes or miscellaneous deductions either.
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