Dana is going to be forced to loosen the purse strings. He would be wise to start restructuring contracts now instead of waiting until they are up. There is a website that posts purses somewhere (can't find it at the moment), but some of the purses in UFC were shockingly low. I remember Anderson Silva was guaranteed only $40k on a fight recently, he won, which doubled the purse and then won KO of the night for another $40k, but that is absurd. I will try to find it.
Here are some:
UFC 76 Salaries: Chuck Liddell Earns $500,000; Jardine Gets $14,000
by Dann Stupp on Sep 25, 2007 at 3:28 pm ET
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has obtained UFC 76 salary figures from the California State Athletic Commission.
UFC 76 took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 22, and featured Keith Jardine's upset split-decision victory over Chuck Liddell. Jardine earned $14,000 for the victory, and Liddell earned $500,000 in defeat.
Other top paydays included Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who earned $150,000 -- $106,000 more than Forrest Griffin, who submitted him in the third round. Additionally, Lyoto Machida earned $50,000 for a victory over Kazuhiro Nakamura ($20,000).
The total payroll for the event was $954,000 (though 68 percent of it went to Liddell and Rua).
The full amounts included:
Keith Jardine ($14,000) def. Chuck Liddell ($500,000)
Forrest Griffin ($44,000) def. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua ($150,000)
Jon Fitch ($44,000) def. Diego Sanchez ($22,000)
Lyoto Machida ($50,000) def. Kazuhiro Nakamura ($20,000)
Tyson Griffin ($24,000) def. Thiago Tavares ($9,000)
Rich Clementi ($24,000) def. Anthony Johnson ($5,000)
Jeremy Stephens ($6,000) def. Diego Saraiva ($3,000)<iframe src="http://www.activeathletevector.com/OAS/AA_300x250.cfm?pub=tas.mmajunkie&refresh_rate=60&refresh=yes" name="300x250" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" align="right" scrolling="no" width="300" frameborder="0" height="250"></iframe>
Christian Wellisch ($14,000) def. Scott Junk ($4,000)
Matt Wiman ($16,000) def. Michihiro Omigawa ($5,000)
All of the night's winning fighters earned 50 percent of their pay to "show" and an additional 50 percent as "win bonuses." (The only exceptions would have been Liddell, who would not have earned a win bonus, and Rua, whose win bonus would have been $50,000.)
Now, the usual disclaimer: the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighterâ??s income. They also don't include any bonuses the UFC sometimes pays for Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, and Submission of the Night -- which pay $40,000 each -- and other assorted pay-per-view and performance-based bonuses.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the CSAC and do not represent the total amounts earned by each fighter.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]UFC 77 SALARIES & ATTENDANCE FIGURES[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com[/FONT]
<hr> <center>
</center>MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information from the Ohio Athletic Commission for Ultimate Fighting Championship 77, which took place on Oct. 20 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati.
The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.
In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.
The official attendance for UFC 77, as recorded by the OAC, was 16,054. The live gate (total gross receipts from ticket sales) was $2,519,850. The total disclosed fighter payroll was $652,000.
MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS
– Anderson Silva: $120,000 (5th fight for UFC; defeated Rich Franklin; includes win bonus of $60,000)
– Rich Franklin: $45,000 (11th fight for UFC; lost to Anderson Silva; win bonus would have been $45,000)
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
– Tim Sylvia: $200,000 (12th fight for UFC; defeated Brandon Vera; includes win bonus of $100,000)
– Brandon Vera: $100,000 (5th fight for UFC; lost to Tim Sylvia; win bonus would have been $100,000)
– Stephan Bonnar: $44,000 (8th fight for UFC; defeated Eric Schafer; includes win bonus of $22,000)
– Alan Belcher: $22,000 (5th fight for UFC; defeated Kalib Starnes; includes win bonus of $11,000)
– Jorge Gurgel: $7,000 (4th fight for UFC; lost to Alvin Robinson; win bonus would have been $7,000)
– Kalib Starnes: $7,000 (4th fight for UFC; lost to Alan Belcher; win bonus would have been $7,000)
– Alvin Robinson: $6,000 (2nd fight for UFC; defeated Jorge Gurgel; includes win bonus of $3,000)
– Eric Schafer: $6,000 (3rd fight for UFC; lost to Stephan Bonnar; win bonus would have been $6,000)
PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS
– Yushin Okami: $24,000 (6th fight for UFC; defeated Jason MacDonald; includes win bonus of $12,000)
– Josh Burkman: $20,000 (7th fight for UFC; defeated Forrest Petz; includes win bonus of $10,000)
– Jason MacDonald: $17,000 (5th fight for UFC; lost to Yushin Okami; win bonus would have been $17,000)
– Demian Maia: $10,000 (1st fight for UFC; defeated Ryan Jensen; includes win bonus of $5,000)
– Jason Black: $8,000 (2nd fight for UFC; lost to Matt Grice; win bonus would have been $8,000)
– Forrest Petz: $6,000 (5th fight for UFC; lost to Josh Burkman; win bonus would have been $6,000)
– Matt Grice: $6,000 (2nd fight for UFC; defeated Jason Black; includes win bonus of $3,000)
– Ryan Jensen: $4,000 (2nd fight for UFC; lost to Demian Maia; win bonus would have been $4,000)
DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $652,000
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]UFC 79 SALARIES AND ATTENDANCE FIGURES[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sunday, January 06, 2008 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com[/FONT]
MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary and ticket information for UFC 79, which took place on Dec. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas.
The attendance for UFC 79 was 10, 968 accounting for total gate receipts of $4,934,500, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The Ultimate Fighting Championship also held a closed-circuit broadcast at inside Mandalay Bay, which was attended by 541 people and accounted for an additional $27,050 in revenue.
The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa, LLC (the UFC’s parent company) are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa and the UFC also pay its fighters (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses for the top pay-per-view main event fighters, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.
The following fighters received a $50,000 bonus from the UFC for the awards noted: Georges St-Pierre (Submission of the Night), Eddie Sanchez (Knockout of the Night), and Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva ($50,000 each for Fight of the Night).
In the listings below, " Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV broadcast.
MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS
-Chuck Liddell: $500,000 (20th fight in UFC; defeated Wanderlei Silva; no win bonus)
-Georges St-Pierre: $160,000 (11th; defeated Matt Hughes; includes win bonus of $80,000)
-Wanderlei Silva: $150,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Chuck Liddell; no win bonus)
-Matt Hughes: $100,000 (19th fight in UFC; lost to Georges St-Pierre; win bonus would have been $100,000)
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
-Lyoto Machida: $60,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou; includes win bonus of $30,000)
-Eddie Sanchez: $46,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Soa Palelei; includes win bonus of $23,000)
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $40,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Lyoto Machida; win bonus would have been $40,000)
-Rich Clementi: $28,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Melvin Guillard; includes win bonus of $14,000)
-Melvin Guillard: $10,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Rich Clementi; win bonus would have been $10,000)
-Soa Palelei: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Eddie Sanchez; win bonus would have been $5,000)
PRELIMINARY MATCH FIGHTERS
-Dean Lister: $22,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Jordan Radev; includes win bonus of $11,000)
-Manny Gamburyan: $20,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Nate Mohr; includes win bonus of $10,000)
-James Irvin: $16,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Luis Cane; includes win bonus of $8,000)
-Roan Carneiro: $10,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Tony DeSouza; includes win bonus of $5,000)
-Tony DeSouza: $7,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Roan Carneiro; win bonus would have been $7,000)
-Mark Bocek: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Doug Evans; includes win bonus of $3,000)
-Nate Mohr: $6,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Manny Gamburyan; win bonus would have been $6,000)
-Luis Cane: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to James Irvin; win bonus would have been $5,000)
-Jordan Radev: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Dean Lister; win bonus would have been $5,000)
-Doug Evans: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Mark Bocek; win bonus would have been $3,000)
DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,199,000
UFC 76 Salaries: Chuck Liddell Earns $500,000; Jardine Gets $14,000
by Dann Stupp on Sep 25, 2007 at 3:28 pm ET
UFC 76 took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 22, and featured Keith Jardine's upset split-decision victory over Chuck Liddell. Jardine earned $14,000 for the victory, and Liddell earned $500,000 in defeat.
Other top paydays included Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who earned $150,000 -- $106,000 more than Forrest Griffin, who submitted him in the third round. Additionally, Lyoto Machida earned $50,000 for a victory over Kazuhiro Nakamura ($20,000).
The total payroll for the event was $954,000 (though 68 percent of it went to Liddell and Rua).
The full amounts included:
Keith Jardine ($14,000) def. Chuck Liddell ($500,000)
Forrest Griffin ($44,000) def. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua ($150,000)
Jon Fitch ($44,000) def. Diego Sanchez ($22,000)
Lyoto Machida ($50,000) def. Kazuhiro Nakamura ($20,000)
Tyson Griffin ($24,000) def. Thiago Tavares ($9,000)
Rich Clementi ($24,000) def. Anthony Johnson ($5,000)
Jeremy Stephens ($6,000) def. Diego Saraiva ($3,000)<iframe src="http://www.activeathletevector.com/OAS/AA_300x250.cfm?pub=tas.mmajunkie&refresh_rate=60&refresh=yes" name="300x250" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" align="right" scrolling="no" width="300" frameborder="0" height="250"></iframe>
Christian Wellisch ($14,000) def. Scott Junk ($4,000)
Matt Wiman ($16,000) def. Michihiro Omigawa ($5,000)
All of the night's winning fighters earned 50 percent of their pay to "show" and an additional 50 percent as "win bonuses." (The only exceptions would have been Liddell, who would not have earned a win bonus, and Rua, whose win bonus would have been $50,000.)
Now, the usual disclaimer: the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighterâ??s income. They also don't include any bonuses the UFC sometimes pays for Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, and Submission of the Night -- which pay $40,000 each -- and other assorted pay-per-view and performance-based bonuses.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the CSAC and do not represent the total amounts earned by each fighter.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]UFC 77 SALARIES & ATTENDANCE FIGURES[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com[/FONT]
<hr> <center>
</center>MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information from the Ohio Athletic Commission for Ultimate Fighting Championship 77, which took place on Oct. 20 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati.
The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.
In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.
The official attendance for UFC 77, as recorded by the OAC, was 16,054. The live gate (total gross receipts from ticket sales) was $2,519,850. The total disclosed fighter payroll was $652,000.
MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS
– Anderson Silva: $120,000 (5th fight for UFC; defeated Rich Franklin; includes win bonus of $60,000)
– Rich Franklin: $45,000 (11th fight for UFC; lost to Anderson Silva; win bonus would have been $45,000)
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
– Tim Sylvia: $200,000 (12th fight for UFC; defeated Brandon Vera; includes win bonus of $100,000)
– Brandon Vera: $100,000 (5th fight for UFC; lost to Tim Sylvia; win bonus would have been $100,000)
– Stephan Bonnar: $44,000 (8th fight for UFC; defeated Eric Schafer; includes win bonus of $22,000)
– Alan Belcher: $22,000 (5th fight for UFC; defeated Kalib Starnes; includes win bonus of $11,000)
– Jorge Gurgel: $7,000 (4th fight for UFC; lost to Alvin Robinson; win bonus would have been $7,000)
– Kalib Starnes: $7,000 (4th fight for UFC; lost to Alan Belcher; win bonus would have been $7,000)
– Alvin Robinson: $6,000 (2nd fight for UFC; defeated Jorge Gurgel; includes win bonus of $3,000)
– Eric Schafer: $6,000 (3rd fight for UFC; lost to Stephan Bonnar; win bonus would have been $6,000)
PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS
– Yushin Okami: $24,000 (6th fight for UFC; defeated Jason MacDonald; includes win bonus of $12,000)
– Josh Burkman: $20,000 (7th fight for UFC; defeated Forrest Petz; includes win bonus of $10,000)
– Jason MacDonald: $17,000 (5th fight for UFC; lost to Yushin Okami; win bonus would have been $17,000)
– Demian Maia: $10,000 (1st fight for UFC; defeated Ryan Jensen; includes win bonus of $5,000)
– Jason Black: $8,000 (2nd fight for UFC; lost to Matt Grice; win bonus would have been $8,000)
– Forrest Petz: $6,000 (5th fight for UFC; lost to Josh Burkman; win bonus would have been $6,000)
– Matt Grice: $6,000 (2nd fight for UFC; defeated Jason Black; includes win bonus of $3,000)
– Ryan Jensen: $4,000 (2nd fight for UFC; lost to Demian Maia; win bonus would have been $4,000)
DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $652,000
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]UFC 79 SALARIES AND ATTENDANCE FIGURES[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sunday, January 06, 2008 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com[/FONT]
MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary and ticket information for UFC 79, which took place on Dec. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas.
The attendance for UFC 79 was 10, 968 accounting for total gate receipts of $4,934,500, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The Ultimate Fighting Championship also held a closed-circuit broadcast at inside Mandalay Bay, which was attended by 541 people and accounted for an additional $27,050 in revenue.
The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa, LLC (the UFC’s parent company) are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa and the UFC also pay its fighters (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses for the top pay-per-view main event fighters, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.
The following fighters received a $50,000 bonus from the UFC for the awards noted: Georges St-Pierre (Submission of the Night), Eddie Sanchez (Knockout of the Night), and Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva ($50,000 each for Fight of the Night).
In the listings below, " Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV broadcast.
MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS
-Chuck Liddell: $500,000 (20th fight in UFC; defeated Wanderlei Silva; no win bonus)
-Georges St-Pierre: $160,000 (11th; defeated Matt Hughes; includes win bonus of $80,000)
-Wanderlei Silva: $150,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Chuck Liddell; no win bonus)
-Matt Hughes: $100,000 (19th fight in UFC; lost to Georges St-Pierre; win bonus would have been $100,000)
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
-Lyoto Machida: $60,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou; includes win bonus of $30,000)
-Eddie Sanchez: $46,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Soa Palelei; includes win bonus of $23,000)
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $40,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Lyoto Machida; win bonus would have been $40,000)
-Rich Clementi: $28,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Melvin Guillard; includes win bonus of $14,000)
-Melvin Guillard: $10,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Rich Clementi; win bonus would have been $10,000)
-Soa Palelei: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Eddie Sanchez; win bonus would have been $5,000)
PRELIMINARY MATCH FIGHTERS
-Dean Lister: $22,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Jordan Radev; includes win bonus of $11,000)
-Manny Gamburyan: $20,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Nate Mohr; includes win bonus of $10,000)
-James Irvin: $16,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Luis Cane; includes win bonus of $8,000)
-Roan Carneiro: $10,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Tony DeSouza; includes win bonus of $5,000)
-Tony DeSouza: $7,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Roan Carneiro; win bonus would have been $7,000)
-Mark Bocek: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Doug Evans; includes win bonus of $3,000)
-Nate Mohr: $6,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Manny Gamburyan; win bonus would have been $6,000)
-Luis Cane: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to James Irvin; win bonus would have been $5,000)
-Jordan Radev: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Dean Lister; win bonus would have been $5,000)
-Doug Evans: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Mark Bocek; win bonus would have been $3,000)
DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,199,000
More recent one
Posted on 03-03-2008
UFC 82 Fighter Payouts / Salaries
Filed Under (UFC 82) by RedSweat
<table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr> <td width="60%"> UFC 82 fighter payouts (salaries) almost reached a cool million dollars for the twenty fighters who competed at Saturday nights event at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Earning the top salary on the card was the "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski who took home $170,000 and amazingly didn’t even appear on the main televised card.
</td> <td width="40%">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> Anderson Silva and Heath Herring came in a close second, pocketing $140,000 each for their efforts, followed by Jon Fitch who earned $60,000 and Chris Leben who grabbed $50,000 for his TKO over Alessio Sakara. All of UFC 82’s winning fighters received 50% to show and 50% as a "win bonus" excluding Arlovski who got $105,000 to show and a $65,000 bonus for winning the fight.
The total disclosed payroll for UFC 82 was $932,000.
Here are the official UFC 82 payouts
The figures listed above do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. They also do not include money paid by the fighters sponsors or any other "locker room" bonuses paid by the UFC after the event. These are simply the fighters base salaries as reported to the commission.
</td></tr></tbody></table>
Posted on 03-03-2008
UFC 82 Fighter Payouts / Salaries
Filed Under (UFC 82) by RedSweat
<table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr> <td width="60%"> UFC 82 fighter payouts (salaries) almost reached a cool million dollars for the twenty fighters who competed at Saturday nights event at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Earning the top salary on the card was the "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski who took home $170,000 and amazingly didn’t even appear on the main televised card.
</td> <td width="40%">
The total disclosed payroll for UFC 82 was $932,000.
Here are the official UFC 82 payouts
- Anderson Silva ($140,000) def. Dan Henderson ($100,000)
- Heath Herring ($140,000) def. Cheick Kongo ($30,000)
- Chris Leben ($50,000) def. Alessio Sakara ($17,000)
- Yushin Okami ($28,000) def. Evan Tanner ($25,000)
- Jon Fitch ($60,000) def. Chris Wilson ($12,000)
- Andrei Arlovski ($170,000) def. Jake O’Brien ($11,000)
- Luigi Fioravanti ($16,000) def. Luke Cummo ($16,O00)
- Josh Koscheck ($20,000) def. Dustin Hazelett ($12,000)
- Diego Sanchez ($60,000) def. David Bielkheden ($8,000)
- Jorge Gurgel ($14,000) def. John Halverson ($3,000)
The figures listed above do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. They also do not include money paid by the fighters sponsors or any other "locker room" bonuses paid by the UFC after the event. These are simply the fighters base salaries as reported to the commission.
</td></tr></tbody></table>
I'm so tired of this underpaid UFC fighter talk. A few points:
1) The fighters agreed to fight for that amount
2) They make insane money on sponsors because they are in the UFC
3) They increase future earning potential by signing for less
4) The guys getting paid crap hadn't proven anything when they signed for low amounts
5) These guys would not be in the UFC if they had better offers elsewhere with more earning potential
1) The fighters agreed to fight for that amount
2) They make insane money on sponsors because they are in the UFC
3) They increase future earning potential by signing for less
4) The guys getting paid crap hadn't proven anything when they signed for low amounts
5) These guys would not be in the UFC if they had better offers elsewhere with more earning potential
You're missing the point Jake. Many of these guys are underpaid in relation to PRIDE, boxers and the amount that the UFC makes. They did agree to fight for that and they should see out their contracts. No one forced them to sign those contracts. However, there are many guys that could get more money from other organizations but are contractually obligated to fight in the UFC (at least for a while) before they can go to market.
How exactly does anyone "increase future earning potential by signing for less"? What the hell does that even mean?
They don't generally make "insane money on sponsors". A friend of mine works for a company that sponsors fighters and I know what they pay. They recently paid Anderson Silva $10k for a prime spot on his ass, a hat after the fight and a prime spot on the banner they hang before the fight. Not exactly "insane" money. Granted, they do have multiple sponsors, so it will add up.
The point is that Dana has to be proactive in his contracts with many of these fighters or they will leave when their contracts are up. There are other options now. EliteXC is shit, but they have a TV contract and will start attracting more and better fighters. Affliction is now out there. Guys fought in PRIDE b/c of the money, that will likely be the case with Dream as well.
Sitting back and collecting on a beneficial contract one negotiated is not always the most prudent business decision. Short term gain for long term loss. Anderson Silva fighting for $60k, GSP fighting for $80k and Franklin for $45k is a joke. In the end, if the UFC isn't proactive this will cost them their stars.
You often see it with college football coaches, their universities know that if they aren't proactive they will lose their coaches. So, instead of making the guy see out his $500k contract after a successful season they will tear it up and give them a contract commesirate with their market value. Oklahoma did this with Bob Stoops not once, but TWICE, in a 4 month period the year they won the national title. They could have forced him to see out that contract but you can bet your ass he wouldn't still be there as he is now, a full 7 years later.
How exactly does anyone "increase future earning potential by signing for less"? What the hell does that even mean?
They don't generally make "insane money on sponsors". A friend of mine works for a company that sponsors fighters and I know what they pay. They recently paid Anderson Silva $10k for a prime spot on his ass, a hat after the fight and a prime spot on the banner they hang before the fight. Not exactly "insane" money. Granted, they do have multiple sponsors, so it will add up.
The point is that Dana has to be proactive in his contracts with many of these fighters or they will leave when their contracts are up. There are other options now. EliteXC is shit, but they have a TV contract and will start attracting more and better fighters. Affliction is now out there. Guys fought in PRIDE b/c of the money, that will likely be the case with Dream as well.
Sitting back and collecting on a beneficial contract one negotiated is not always the most prudent business decision. Short term gain for long term loss. Anderson Silva fighting for $60k, GSP fighting for $80k and Franklin for $45k is a joke. In the end, if the UFC isn't proactive this will cost them their stars.
You often see it with college football coaches, their universities know that if they aren't proactive they will lose their coaches. So, instead of making the guy see out his $500k contract after a successful season they will tear it up and give them a contract commesirate with their market value. Oklahoma did this with Bob Stoops not once, but TWICE, in a 4 month period the year they won the national title. They could have forced him to see out that contract but you can bet your ass he wouldn't still be there as he is now, a full 7 years later.
By increase future earnings potential, the label "former UFC fighter" will allow for bigger contracts in the future. You fight in the UFC and you will always get 2-3K a fight even in smaller shows against nobodies. My former roommate makes half of that and he barely has a winning record as a pro. Never was a UFC fighter. He still works a part-time job but if he switched to training guys while fighting, he'd be set all he wanted to be.
PS, Pride may have been paying guys the most money but they also ran out of cash and had to be bought out by the UFC. Affliction and EliteXC are cruising down that same path currently, with EliteXC losing massive amounts of cash.
well first fighters are underpaid<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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as a person that trains with UFC, Pride and other organization fighters they are getting underpaid<o></o>
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if you are a full time fighter you have to pay for cost and training. Ex GSP has to fly in Kang, Rashad Evans, Jardine, and about 5 other fighters and pay for accommodations. <o></o>
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Also before a fight GSP or any other fighter has to fly to in or fly to training with other fighters or disciplines<o></o>
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also a fighter has to pay for their corner man which is about 10% to ring man or team like ATT and 10% to agent and mangement team.
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now thats a top level fighter like GSP <o></o>
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Take for example guy starting out or guys with 10 or 15 fights <o></o>
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they only get paid 6 or 7 K to start in UFC with training, management and club cost they are in the hole
BTW sponsoship are for top level guys not middle or low, and sponsorship for lower level guys is like more clothing and supplies not money in many cases
But than again how many MMA guys you know and train with. Me? about 40 fighters (UFC, Dreams, K1, smaller organization) so i think i know what they feel? Do you?
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></o>as a person that trains with UFC, Pride and other organization fighters they are getting underpaid<o
></o><o
></o>if you are a full time fighter you have to pay for cost and training. Ex GSP has to fly in Kang, Rashad Evans, Jardine, and about 5 other fighters and pay for accommodations. <o
></o><o
></o>Also before a fight GSP or any other fighter has to fly to in or fly to training with other fighters or disciplines<o
></o><o
></o>also a fighter has to pay for their corner man which is about 10% to ring man or team like ATT and 10% to agent and mangement team.
<o
></o>now thats a top level fighter like GSP <o
></o><o
></o>Take for example guy starting out or guys with 10 or 15 fights <o
></o><o
></o>they only get paid 6 or 7 K to start in UFC with training, management and club cost they are in the hole
BTW sponsoship are for top level guys not middle or low, and sponsorship for lower level guys is like more clothing and supplies not money in many cases
But than again how many MMA guys you know and train with. Me? about 40 fighters (UFC, Dreams, K1, smaller organization) so i think i know what they feel? Do you?
Personally, I think it is hard to complain about fighters pay.
The best fighter are highly compensated. not like other profesional athletes, however, mma isnt like other professional sports. mma just doent have the popularity that other sports do in this counrty, yet.
yea, it sucks for jardine that he only got 14k for his fight. but if he stays healthy he gets 3 fights in for the year. your looking at a base pay of 42k. take out training costs, just say he makes 30K. However, he has automatic win bonuses that equal another 42K!!!! Plus the oppurtunity for knock out/sub/fight of night, plus sponsorship and the locker room bonuses you hear about and he is making BIG bucks.
You average salesman may be on commision and not have a base salary of 30K. Like many professions, you have to performed to get paid.
And you cant bring up taxes, because all people are taxed.
Move onto fighters like Mark Bocek. Yes, he only made 3K, but he doesnt have to be a full time fighter. The average person doesnt know Mark Bocek. Hell, the average mma fan doesnt even know Mark Bocek. But the UFC is giving him a chance everytime out to win 20-100k in bonuses.
A buddy of mine is playing minor league baseball, and he doesnt get paid shit. Yea the UFC is the "major leagues" of mma, but they are not equivlent to mlb, nba, nfl, etc.
Nobody is forcing anyone to be a fighter for their career. It is cut throat just like most competitive occupations. The UFC is clearly run by people that are very business savvy. They are basically responsible for as many fighters as there are being able to compete full time. When the market demands, they will up pay. I dont think one affliction show should make them start resigning their whole roster to big bucks.
Let other shows make the first move, if the UFC feels it is in their best interest to match pay, im sure they will.
And how many times have you heard fighters say they started fighting because they didnt "want a real job." i know ive heard that one plenty. i am not taking anything away from fighters as i know how hard they train, but they do it because they enjoy it. so dont feel so bad.
The best fighter are highly compensated. not like other profesional athletes, however, mma isnt like other professional sports. mma just doent have the popularity that other sports do in this counrty, yet.
yea, it sucks for jardine that he only got 14k for his fight. but if he stays healthy he gets 3 fights in for the year. your looking at a base pay of 42k. take out training costs, just say he makes 30K. However, he has automatic win bonuses that equal another 42K!!!! Plus the oppurtunity for knock out/sub/fight of night, plus sponsorship and the locker room bonuses you hear about and he is making BIG bucks.
You average salesman may be on commision and not have a base salary of 30K. Like many professions, you have to performed to get paid.
And you cant bring up taxes, because all people are taxed.
Move onto fighters like Mark Bocek. Yes, he only made 3K, but he doesnt have to be a full time fighter. The average person doesnt know Mark Bocek. Hell, the average mma fan doesnt even know Mark Bocek. But the UFC is giving him a chance everytime out to win 20-100k in bonuses.
A buddy of mine is playing minor league baseball, and he doesnt get paid shit. Yea the UFC is the "major leagues" of mma, but they are not equivlent to mlb, nba, nfl, etc.
Nobody is forcing anyone to be a fighter for their career. It is cut throat just like most competitive occupations. The UFC is clearly run by people that are very business savvy. They are basically responsible for as many fighters as there are being able to compete full time. When the market demands, they will up pay. I dont think one affliction show should make them start resigning their whole roster to big bucks.
Let other shows make the first move, if the UFC feels it is in their best interest to match pay, im sure they will.
And how many times have you heard fighters say they started fighting because they didnt "want a real job." i know ive heard that one plenty. i am not taking anything away from fighters as i know how hard they train, but they do it because they enjoy it. so dont feel so bad.
