‘TUF 26’ Finale Salaries: New Champ Nicco Montano, Roxanne Modafferi Pull Down $100K Paydays

Nicco Montano is the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s inaugural women’s flyweight titlist and she’s officially $100,000 richer now, too.

On Monday, the Nevada Athletic Commission released a full list of official paydays for “The Ultimate Fighter 26” Finale. The event took place this past Friday night at the Park Theater in Las Vegas.

In the main event, the underdog Montano knocked off 14-year MMA veteran Roxanne Modafferi to become the UFC’s first 125-pound women’s champion. Modafferi was the No. 1 seed on TUF 26, while the dark horse Montano was No. 14. Both women pulled down $100,000 for the inaugural championship contest.

Montano was originally set to face No. 12 seed Sijara Eubanks, who defeated Modafferi on the show via unanimous decision, but was unable to make weight and suffered from kidney failure in her attempt to the reach the 125-pound limit on Thursday morning.

Montano and Modafferi also earned an additional $50,000 for their “Fight of the Night” bonuses, while undercarders Brett Johns ($28,000) and Gerald Meerschaert ($28,000) supplemented their purses with $50K “Performance of the Night” payouts.

The vast majority of the card made $10,000 to show with the same for a win bonus, though TUF castmates DeAnna Bennett and Melinda Fabian fought to a draw and therefore each made their show money.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded to a fighter by the promotion. Additionally, the reported figures do not reflect any deductions made by the commission for taxes, insurance, etc., and do not include any sponsorship money that a fighter may acquire for their performance.

“The Ultimate Fighter 26” Finale Salaries:

Nicco Montano: $100,000

Roxanne Modafferi: $100,000

Sean O’Malley: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Terrion Ware: $10,000

Lauren Murphy: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Barb Honchak: $10,000

Gerald Meerschaert: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)

Eric Spicely: $14,000

DeAnna Bennett: $10,000

Melinda Fabian: $10,000

Brett Johns: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)

Joe Soto: $31,000

Montana De La Rosa: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Christina Marks: $10,000

Ryan Janes: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)

Andrew Sanchez: $28,000

Rachael Ostovich: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Karine Gevorgyan: $10,000

Shana Dobson: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Ariel Beck: $10,000

Gillian Robertson: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Emily Whitmire: $10,000