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I kind of get the impression that there's a lot more going on behind the schemes than we know regarding the matchmaking drama we've seen over the last couple weeks. Sure, it's been like this since forever, but the pandemic has shifted some of the attention from actual fights to "talking about fights" and possible matchups. There simply are less fights to look forward to.
I very much doubt that most professional fighters would be afraid to fight fighter X or Y. For example; why would a guy like Jorge Masvidal be afraid of fighting Usman? He's had more than 45 professional fights, why would he be afraid of a (albeit very strong) wrestler without legit KO power that's just gonna lay on him and grind?
I get that it's a fun narrative for us to talk about fighter X ducking fighter Y, but let's face it: to be a successful professional fighter you've gotta believe you're the best. The only exception to this would perhaps be the heavyweight division scared to face Francis Ngannou, who can separate you from your consciousness in seconds.
What seems more obvious to me is that fighters are overvaluing themselves (from the perspective of Dana White) when doing business with the UFC. But note: (most) UFC fighters are getting chronically underpaid. They have an idea of what they should earn (in an ideal world), but Dana will not budge.
Everyone is chasing the big paycheck (and rightfully so), but the UFC just pays peanuts compared to let's say, boxing. The Reebok deal for a large part fucked up additional income from sponsorships, fighters are for the most part living from A) show/win money, B) occasional performance bonuses and C) social media. Feel free to correct me if I'm missing anything.
With the pandemic for a large part ruling out options A and B, fighters have to resort to C. We see a lot of calling out but no fights being made. Fighters are using option C to try to increase the value of a future option A.
Paige VanZant told the media that she's making more money from Instagram than fighting in the UFC. Being an Insta thot just works in this day and age, I can't really hate on the hustle. However, it's a lot harder for male fighters to monetize this platform. It's easy for chicks like PVZ and let's say Rachael Ostovich simply cause they've got banging bodies. They "sell nudity", male fighters can't do that.
I think fighters as individuals are trying to get more money because they feel they should. MMA is a very popular sport but the overall paychecks just suck balls, especially if you're looking at the profession to provide for you and your family post-retirement.
That's why I feel matchups not being made largely isn't due to fighters ducking, but them refusing to fight for small amounts of money. As long as fighters don't get paid more and have limited options for other income in the business, we will see more and more fights falling through by failed negotiations.
And that's largely due to the greed of Dana White and the UFC. They could easily cut down on paying celebrities to show up to events (especially now) to pay fighters more. That, and the ridiculous Reebok deal needs to fucking go. I'll admit though, I haven't been following the sport long enough to know more about fighter pay before the Reebok deal, so if anyone has information on this, please share.
Our Heavyweight champion is a part-time fucking firefighter. Can you imagine Mike Tyson in the 80's fucking up Buster Douglas and having to hop in a firetruck the following days?
Discuss
I very much doubt that most professional fighters would be afraid to fight fighter X or Y. For example; why would a guy like Jorge Masvidal be afraid of fighting Usman? He's had more than 45 professional fights, why would he be afraid of a (albeit very strong) wrestler without legit KO power that's just gonna lay on him and grind?
I get that it's a fun narrative for us to talk about fighter X ducking fighter Y, but let's face it: to be a successful professional fighter you've gotta believe you're the best. The only exception to this would perhaps be the heavyweight division scared to face Francis Ngannou, who can separate you from your consciousness in seconds.
What seems more obvious to me is that fighters are overvaluing themselves (from the perspective of Dana White) when doing business with the UFC. But note: (most) UFC fighters are getting chronically underpaid. They have an idea of what they should earn (in an ideal world), but Dana will not budge.
Everyone is chasing the big paycheck (and rightfully so), but the UFC just pays peanuts compared to let's say, boxing. The Reebok deal for a large part fucked up additional income from sponsorships, fighters are for the most part living from A) show/win money, B) occasional performance bonuses and C) social media. Feel free to correct me if I'm missing anything.
With the pandemic for a large part ruling out options A and B, fighters have to resort to C. We see a lot of calling out but no fights being made. Fighters are using option C to try to increase the value of a future option A.
Paige VanZant told the media that she's making more money from Instagram than fighting in the UFC. Being an Insta thot just works in this day and age, I can't really hate on the hustle. However, it's a lot harder for male fighters to monetize this platform. It's easy for chicks like PVZ and let's say Rachael Ostovich simply cause they've got banging bodies. They "sell nudity", male fighters can't do that.
I think fighters as individuals are trying to get more money because they feel they should. MMA is a very popular sport but the overall paychecks just suck balls, especially if you're looking at the profession to provide for you and your family post-retirement.
That's why I feel matchups not being made largely isn't due to fighters ducking, but them refusing to fight for small amounts of money. As long as fighters don't get paid more and have limited options for other income in the business, we will see more and more fights falling through by failed negotiations.
And that's largely due to the greed of Dana White and the UFC. They could easily cut down on paying celebrities to show up to events (especially now) to pay fighters more. That, and the ridiculous Reebok deal needs to fucking go. I'll admit though, I haven't been following the sport long enough to know more about fighter pay before the Reebok deal, so if anyone has information on this, please share.
Our Heavyweight champion is a part-time fucking firefighter. Can you imagine Mike Tyson in the 80's fucking up Buster Douglas and having to hop in a firetruck the following days?
Discuss
