A Fighter's Life After Retirement

[SocraticMethod]

The great champions go live on beautiful farms and get paid thousands of dollars for putting their seed in women. That's the life, man. That's the dream.

 

[Paradigm]

Datsik may not be the best case study, you know? Anybody who Aleks says is mentally unbalanced has some problems.

He was just arrested again a few days ago for breaking into a brothel, stripping the girls down and making them walk through the streets. Reminds me of this guy:

Overnight into Tuesday Russian ultra-nationalist Vyacheslav ‘Red-headed Tarzan’ Datsik ‘visited’ two brothels in St. Petersburg.

Datsik and his mates knocked the door in one of them, forced the girls to undress and took them to a police station. Then he tried to attack another house of prostitution, but was stopped by its guards.

A criminal case may be initiated against him for hooliganism and intentional damage to property, fontanka.ru reports..

In 2007, Datsik was arrested for robbery, but he was found insane and abnormal and sent for treatment. However, he escaped from mental hospital and reached Norway from where he was extradited to Russia. In December 2012, the former mental patient was sentenced to five years in prison for shopbreaking.

http://belsat.eu/en/news/vice-polic...urg-brothels-kicks-naked-prostitutes-away-18/

 

[Hazuki Ryo]

How do you pay the taxes you used to pay when you were pro fighter ?

 

[teamfox223]

Rich franklin has a chain of juice bars
Koschek and Moose are into real estate.

Some fighters are actually smart with their money

Heard Rich was also promoting for One FC as a VP of something, Koschek is not retired yet.

 

[Big_Chief_Stove]

Many MMA fighters have retired or washed out from professional competition in their 30's. What do they do next? What options do they have to earn a living? How do they maintain the same standard of living?

Coaching

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

With a lot of MMA fighters having wrestling background at college, surely some of them would have degrees and be able to get a real job?

 

[Red Triangle]

Martial arts first, and fighting second.

I will remain a martial artist long after I stop caring about fighting.

 

[Sgt Smith]

Surf...bang hot girls...

 

[TinoSpezza]

I always read about "coaching", and such, but:

1) How few will actually be able to do so?
A fighting career, during which you are making enough money to live off, lasts like 12 years (probably less). After that, you'll have like 36 more years ahead of you, and each coach has who knows how many students.
It's the same for dancers: most balerinas cannot become a dance teacher.
Same for soccer players, and so on.
The math doesn't add up: otherwise Ponzi schemes would actually work.

The UFC seemed a bit different because it has been a new rapidly growing sport and because plenty of adult train without any aim to compete (how many guys in their 30s play american football, instead).
But soon it will be saturated.
The "fake jobs" that Liddell, Griffin and Hughes got, by the time the next generation retires, will still be taken.
Same for media: Cormier, Cruz, Stann, Florian, Evans, Bisping, Hardy.
But not as many from the next generation will get a spot.

2) even among the few who manage to make a living coaching, how much do they make on average?
He might not be a genius, but nonetheless it always strucks me how Brendaun Schaub says everytime: "he/you must hate money", in regards to someone trying to make it as a coach as a career path.

 

[Darkart]

They call up Scott Coker and do meet and greets at Bellator fan fests, and if they are under 55 they are 1 win away from a title shot if they are HW or LHW

 

[runnpray]

How do they maintain the same standard of living?

Flip burgers, shine shoes at the airport, maybe a sweet garbage man job if they have the right connections.

 

[Nuremberg]

You have gone full retard, I said they're suitable SOME options. Obviously, they might have to take a few years off for courses, training etc and who said anything about taking a career change with zero training ? I'm not saying they can walk into any job, it's just that some of their skills and knowledge is transferable with additional training and education.

Ray Sefo, fight promoter.

Randleman ended up assistant coaching and teaching junior wrestling.

A load of guys end up being coaches at mma gyms, hell James McSweeney does seminars in Australia and charges like 80 a head for one session.

Conrad retired to work in finance for fuck sake, it's really not that hard especially when you've already got a head start on people who have had to struggle for everything.

And good way of picking deliberate examples of the dumbest guys you can think of..there are guys out there like Mir, GSP, Rich Franklin, Carwin, Sage who could go on to do anything they wanted.

Their career does not define their ability to learn. I know men who has started apprenticeships in their 50's whilst supporting families, don't give me this bullshit.

Oh yeah? how many fighters have passed through the UFC?

You give examples of the SUCCESSFUL fighters.

You really think the Mike Russows are going to be fine? GTFO.

These guys for the most parts are fighters, thats all they know not biz or taking up a job in their 50's that doesn't pay.

So take your

 

[FootstompShonie]

Dude something like 30% of NBA/NFL guys go broke after 10 years. And they make more than most MMA fighters in one season.

How do you think it's going for them?

 

[Paradigm]

Oh yeah? how many fighters have passed through the UFC?

You give examples of the SUCCESSFUL fighters.

You really think the Mike Russows are going to be fine? GTFO.

These guys for the most parts are fighters, thats all they know not biz or taking up a job in their 50's that doesn't pay.

So take your

Mike Russow is still a Chicago police officer, no? Probably has a pension.

 

[scorpipede]

Get a regular job?

this one. I'm an MMA fan but I really can't stand when people think a fighter should be financially set when they retire so young. Let them sink or swim just like the rest of us.

 

[cheesus]

Oh yeah? how many fighters have passed through the UFC?

You give examples of the SUCCESSFUL fighters.

You really think the Mike Russows are going to be fine? GTFO.

These guys for the most parts are fighters, thats all they know not biz or taking up a job in their 50's that doesn't pay.

So take your

The guys you mentioned Bigfoot, Roy and Lombard have headlined high profile fights, have made many connections within their sport & competed at the highest level. If they were conservative with their money, they have no excuse to be bankrupt once they're retired, Roy has probably made over 250k in bonuses alone.

Mike Russow is a cop with a high level athletic background & degree in sociology, does that sound like someone with no job prospects ? ..why do you assume he is struggling just because he was once an MMA fighter ? Unless you're super elite or a big draw, most people in combat sports will not make enough money to retire on.

 

[Nuremberg]

Unless you're super elite or a big draw, most people in combat sports will not make enough money to retire on.

That is the point.

 

[Nuremberg]

Mike Russow is still a Chicago police officer, no? Probably has a pension.

Yes, he has to, and he will retire a an amazing cop retirement package.

 

[Randy BoBandy]

One of the worst, uninformed opinions ever to be posted on Sherdog.

So Hector Lombard is ready to be a history teacher in a couple of years?

Roy Nelson a SPORTS educator?

WTF could bigfoot offer in terms of SECURITY with zero training?

Oh yeah, James TeHuna is primed and ready to be a fight promoter! He has the biz acumen because he fought Shogun Rua!

Lombard could be a strength & conditioning coach anywhere.

Roy Nelson could teach Jiu Jitsu full time right now and make a living.

Bigfoot is fucking terrifying, and would be a GOAT security guard with 6 months of training.

Te Huna would be a shit promoter though, you got that one.

 

[RJK]

One of the worst, uninformed opinions ever to be posted on Sherdog. So Hector Lombard is ready to be a history teacher in a couple of years? Roy Nelson a SPORTS educator? WTF could bigfoot offer in terms of SECURITY with zero training?Oh yeah, James TeHuna is primed and ready to be a fight promoter! He has the biz acumen because he fought Shogun Rua!

I'm glad you prefaced your post with that so we knew what to expect.

The OP never said fighters should pick career choices that don't suit them individually. He's saying that fighters might have a lot of transferable skills that could lend themselves to other careers.

You may not have noticed, but he's listed career choices that former fighters have actually taken before or after their time in the Octagon. Further to that, a majority of UFC fighters have tertiary education - so it's not as hard as you think for most fighters to consider a career post-UFC.