Originally Posted by Heatwaves

The bulk of what lower tier fighters (and some mid tier) make isn't from their fight purses but rather from their sponsorships. A typical fighter will generally make a living wage ($30-40K) from sponsorships alone.

Prior to joining the UFC or turning pro, many of these fighters fight for FREE.

Also remember that pay in the UFC is largely incentive based. Every fighter can DOUBLE their guaranteed purse by winning. In addition to that, every fighter has a chance to earn an additional $30K if they have the KO, submission or fight of the night. I'd rather have the fighters earn their pay like that then have two well-paid fighters like Arlovski and Werdum sit on their asses against each other.

Lastly, there's also a number of bonuses that the public doesn't even know about. That's why MOST fighters don't bitch about the pay. Karo Parysian, for instance, commented that he received a nice little "thank you" check from Dana in his last fight that wasn't a part of public record.