Torres Earns $44,000 for WEC Victory

The little guy made off with some big winnings.

Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres netted $44,000 for his rock-solid title defense against Manny Tapia at WEC 37 on Wednesday inside The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Torres (35-1) took out the scrappy, but outmatched Tapia with vicious punches at three minutes into the second round. Tapia earned $6,000 for his first loss in ten fights.

Hot-prospect debuters were also compensated handsomely for their coming-out performances in the Zuffa-owned promotion. Former IFL featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano took home $22,000 for his third-round submission over Akitoshi Tamura ($6,000), while Urijah Faber’s star pupil Joseph Benavidez earned $17,000 for his competent unanimous decision victory against bantamweight Danny Martinez ($2,000) in the televised portion’s opener.

Mark Munoz also came out on top in his second WEC appearance. The former Oklahoma State University wrestler was paid $20,000 for his 2:26 stoppage against Ricardo Barros in their light heavyweight contest.

WEC 37 Salaries

Miguel Torres: $44,000 (including $22,000 win bonus)
Manny Tapia: $6,000
Wagnney Fabiano: $22,000 (including $11,000 win bonus)
Akitoshi Tamura: $6,000
Brian Bowles: $16,000 (including $8,000 win bonus)
Will Ribeiro: $4,000
Joseph Benavidez: $17,000 (including $8,500 win bonus)
Danny Martinez: $2,000
Johny Hendricks: $16,000 (including $8,000 win bonus)
Justin Haskins: $3,000
Mark Munoz: $20,000 (including $10,000 win bonus)
Ricardo Barros: $3,000
Diego Nunes: $6,000 (including $3,000 win bonus)
Cole Province: $3,000
Bart Palaszewski: $8,000 (including $4,000 win bonus)
Alex Karalexis: $8,000
Cub Swanson: $10,000 (including $5,000 win bonus)
Hiroyuki Takaya: $5,500
Shane Roller: $16,000 (including $8,000 win bonus)
Mike Budnik: $4,000