It pays to be king. Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks easily topped the salary report for last Friday's Bellator 136 event, pocketing $72,000 for his successful title defense over season seven tournament winner Dave Jansen, according to information released to MMAFighting.com by the California State Athletic Commission.
Fighting for the first time as the undisputed Bellator lightweight champion, Brooks overcame a slow start to capture a unanimous decision over Jansen, extending his current win streak to seven straight. Jansen took home $12,000 in the losing effort.
World-ranked American kickboxer Joe Schilling ended up falling to a distant second to Brooks in the earnings department.