Bellator 142 Salaries: Tito Ortiz Earns 6 Times More Than the Man Who Beat Him

Behold the power of celebrity.

On Wednesday MMA Junkie reported the fighter salaries (provided by the California State Athletic Commission) from Bellator 142, and the information was pretty revealing. 

For one thing, 40-year-old light heavyweight Tito Ortiz pocketed $300,000 for appearing in the main event, which he lost by submission in the first round. That is six times more than the champion who defeated him, Liam McGeary, who took home a reported $50,000.  

Ortiz's salary also comprised nearly half of the reported payouts on the evening.

The second-largest reported earner on the night was another light heavyweight, Phil Davis, who netted a total of $130,000 on the evening. The total includes a win bonus, which Davis collected for winning two fights in one evening, the second of which earned him a shot at McGeary and a belt for winning the evening's light heavyweight tournament.

Yet Davis certainly worked hard for the money, submitting Emanuel Newton in the tournament's first round and then knocking out Francis Carmont in the first round of the final. Even so, the total far exceeded what he earned in his last fight for the UFC, in which he took in $30,000 after a split-decision loss to Ryan Bader, according to Jeff Fox at MMA Manifesto.

Other salaries on the night stood out for not including a bonus despite a fighter win. Lightweight Josh Thomson and light heavyweight King Mo Lawal, along with McGeary, did not take home a bonus for victories earned Saturday night.

I don't even blame Bellator for these salaries. These fighters' managers are clearly doing a terrible job for their clients.

— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) September 23, 2015

Bellator 142 included several Glory kickboxing matches in addition to MMA contests. Though the event drew interest from hardcore fans and pundits, the broadcast, which aired on Spike TV, attracted a fairly disappointing rating of about 800,000 viewers.

The other reported earnings on the night include:

Francis Carmont: $17,000
Josh Thomson: $10,000 
Mike Bronzoulis: $10,000
Emanuel Newton: $70,000
Muhammed Lawal: $15,000
Linton Vassell: $30,000
Gabriel Carrasco: $4,000
Joe Neal: $2,000
Adam Piccolotti: $4,000
Salvador Becerra: $1,750
Thomas Diagne: $3,000 
Mike Malott: $2,000
Anthony Ruiz: $5,000

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