How Much Money Did CM Punk Make For UFC 203?
Former WWE Champion paid well in Octagon debut.
CM Punk made his UFC debut at Saturday's UFC 203 event in Cleveland, falling to opponent Mickey Gall in a lopsided match. Now, news about the first-time fighter's salary has been made public.
MMA insider Front Row Brian is reporting that Punk earned $500,000 for his performance at the show, making him the highest-paid fighter on the card besides main-eventers Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem. Gall, by contrast, received a total of $30,000 for the match - $15,000 as a base salary and another $15,000 for scoring the victory.
Additionally, Punk could stand to make more far more money off of the show if he gets a cut of the PPV buys. FRB estimates that Punk could have gotten $2.50 for each buy over 250,000, meaning that if the show did 500,00 buys (a very high estimate, although online buzz - which is usually a good indicator - has been strong), Punk would make an additional $625,000.
Punk trained for two years prior to stepping into the Octagon against Gall, but he was outclassed by the more experienced fighter. Gall dominated Punk for the 2:14 seconds of action, finally finishing him off with a rear naked choke. After the fight, Punk - who was happy to have realized his dream - vowed to keep training and fighting, though UFC president Dana White said he "probably shouldn't have his next fight in the UFC."