"So all the whining about fighter pay was about fake numbers?" - Chael Sonnen's disclosed UFC payouts shocks fans

Chael Sonnen's now-disclosed UFC payouts have seemingly taken MMA fans by surprise. Considering that the UFC has long been the world's premier MMA organization, certain sections of the combat sports community have consistently accused the organization of underpaying its fighters.

However, the numbers reported in a tweet by the Bloody Elbow X social media handle appear to contradict the claims that UFC fighters are underpaid. The tweet comprises information about the payouts Sonnen secured from three of his many UFC fights.

The fights in question were Sonnen's UFC middleweight title rematch against Anderson Silva in July 2012, a UFC light heavyweight title clash against Jon Jones in April 2013, and a light heavyweight matchup against Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in August 2013.

Sonnen lost to Silva via second-round TKO and was beaten by Jones via first-round TKO. He followed up the pair of defeats by beating Rua via first-round submission. The tweet read as follows:

"Chael Sonnen's pay against Silva, Jones, and Shogun: $1,050,000 vs. Anderson Silva 2 — Disclosed Purse: $50,000. $1,050,000 vs. Jon Jones. $400,000 vs. Shogun Rua — Disclosed Purse: $150,000 (100K + 50K bonus)"

Most of the criticism against UFC salaries is based on the publicly disclosed payouts. However, as indicated in the tweet above, the UFC accords its fighters additional undisclosed payouts that could be significantly higher than the publicly disclosed payouts.

The three aforesaid fights are counted among Sonnen's most high-profile UFC matchups, given his and his opponents' synergy of star power and each bout's stakes. Ergo, the belief is that 'The Bad Guy' might have been paid lesser for most of his other UFC fights.

Regardless, many MMA fans have suggested that the Chael Sonnen UFC payouts show that the criticism against UFC salaries is unwarranted. An X user implied that Sonnen was a box office draw, courtesy of his trash-talking and fight promotional prowess, which is why he deserved higher payouts than most others.

One fan tweeted:

"So all the whining about fighter pay was about fake numbers?"

Check out the screenshots of a few fan reactions below:

Screenshots of fan reactions

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Chael Sonnen's UFC payouts stand in stark contrast to the notion of low UFC fighter pay

Earlier this year (2023), UFC parent company Endeavor acquired the WWE sports entertainment organization. The UFC and WWE were then officially merged as TKO Group Holdings, considerably increasing Endeavor's revenues. It notably secured more than $610 million in revenues in the first half of 2023.

Endeavor's official announcement of the revenues collected elicited severe backlash from a number of MMA fans. They opined that the UFC fighters aren't getting a fair share of the company's revenues.

On that note, the Chael Sonnen UFC payouts currently stand in stark contrast to the notion of UFC fighters being underpaid. As of this time, Sonnen hasn't confirmed or denied the reports pertaining to his pay for the three aforementioned UFC fights.

Screenshots of fan tweets criticizing Endeavor have been displayed below:

Screenshots of fan tweets against Endeavor