In a recent episode of the JAXXON podcast, MMA legend Rampage Jackson spilled the beans on the substantial undisclosed payout he received for a memorable match.
MMA and BJJ icon Bas Rutten joined Rampage Jackson in a candid conversation on the JAXXON podcast. Among the array of topics discussed, the focus shifted to Rutten’s looking for a worthy opponent and the subsequent financial windfall he experienced.
Rutten candidly shared his struggle to secure a match and the eventual resolution that proved financially rewarding.
Rutten said: “That means you don’t want to fight, right? I mean you’re pricing yourself all the way out. And then he stepped up, and I told him, I said man I really appreciate that. Because that was $225,000. For me that was the biggest payday I ever had. Because my biggest payday was at UFC 55, which was an eight-man tournament was 60. So for me to come over and to get for a single fight 55 was considered good money at that time. Now it’s nothing, but I mean…”
In response, Rampage Jackson disclosed his earnings from a K-1 match and the subsequent Pride FC bout. He replies: “There was good money. I made 200k that fight. That was good money for me to fight… that was the most.”
Rutten then says: “Did it hurt a little bit, when I said 225?”
Rampage said that while he only made $100,000 for his K-1 match, the $200,000 purse for his next Pride bout seemed high at the time.
He continued: “Yeah it hurt a little bit because you know I’m going tell you why it hurt…. I didn’t even know till right now, cuz he was my manager at first. He stopped managing me to to be the promoter of that fight, right? And he knew how much I make. So in Pride my biggest purse was 100 grand, when I did K1. Cuz Pride was ripping me off but they paid me 100 Grand to go over to fight K1. So he doubled my purse. So he made it sound like I was the highest paid guy on the damn card.”
Rutten then boasts and talks about himself. He says: “And you weren’t. You know who was? This guy.”
Rampage then furtherexplains: “I’m going tell you what they did, though. What helped me out later, though. They gave me a crazy pay-per-view deal, cuz they knew they wasn’t going to do pay-per-views. And then Dana White, the UFC, they bought my contract. So when I fought Chuck, they had to give me the f**king…”
Rutten then answers: “Oh, you made good money.”
Rampage then reveals he made around $7 million from his match with Chuck Liddell. He stated: “I made like millions… I made about 7 million. Its my first time even telling about it.”
“I only made $100k for my K-1 fight, so the $200k purse for my next Pride fight seemed high.”
Jackson vs Liddell took place at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 where Jackson ended up winning via TKO. Rampage’s huge payday from Pride FC shows the earning potential for top contenders during the height of the the promotion’s popularity. His undisclosed $7 million payday was one of the largest payouts at that time.