Fighters should treat the UFC as a stepping stone to something bigger as opposed to their end goal

[Not A Real Fan]

Fighters who say being in the UFC is their life long goal and dream are doing it WRONG! That's like an aspiring chef saying working for Burger King is their dream come true.

Fighters should go to the UFC with a plan to do something else afterward. Like acting. modeling, etc.

Conor used the UFC as a stepping stone to get his millions fighting Floyd. Guys like Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, and Tyrone Woodley got their biggest paydays doing celebrity boxing after their stints in the UFC.

The blueprint is clear.

Paige VanZant financially secure thanks to BKFC and new fan site, calls leaving UFC ‘the best decision I’ve ever made’

All told, VanZant is financially secure — really for the first time in her entire career — and that’s all thanks to testing free agency and deciding to put the UFC behind her.

“I had my whole career was built off the UFC,” VanZant told MMA Fighting. “I was in the UFC for like six years. It was very nerve-wracking. There weren’t a lot of people who left the UFC in the prime of their career. There were a lot of veterans that had left the UFC that were kind of on that tail end, looking for a few more fights.

“For me, I was a free agent at 26 years old. I was really young. It was nerve-wracking to know you’re leaving the powerhouse of combat sports. But now I know it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Since I’ve left, I’ve seen multiple fighters leave the UFC — and it’s not a diss at the UFC necessarily, but I think it’s more an awakening in fighters knowing there’s money out there and we’re going to be compensated for what we’re doing.”

“I was in the UFC for six years, I’ve been fighting for eight years and it’s finally paying off,” VanZant said. “This year finally paid off to where I’m feeling comfortable with my life.”

“I will say when I signed with BKFC, the bare-knuckle boxing, I was making more money than I had made in my entire UFC career,” VanZant said. “Now I’m making more money than my entire BKFC contract in like a month. It’s pretty crazy.”

“I don’t have to, when I’m done fighting, get a regular job and have to go back to work,” VanZant said. “I’m not planning for when I retire to go to college or try to figure out what’s next in my life. I’m able to just fight and save money and plan when I want to retire, I can just retire.”
https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/6/...aving-the-ufc-the-best-decision-ive-ever-made

 

[Yoyrface8me]

Like your mum

 

[Guy LeDouche]

It’s essentially what Dana told the fighters at the summit awhile back.

“We aren’t here to make you famous, your here to make us money and if you get famous while that happens, that’s purely on you.” Something along those lines.

 

[Thad Castle v2]

It’s essentially what Dana told the fighters at the summit awhile back.

“We aren’t here to make you famous, your here to make us money and if you get famous while that happens, that’s purely on you.” Something along those lines.

Dana is such a bum promoter

 

[Guy LeDouche]

Dana is such a bum promoter

He’s a great promoter, a terrible human being.

 

[Kryptt]

 

[Post 2 Decision]

I always laugh when I read that PVZ statement about leaving the UFC. She would have been a nobody without being in the UFC...

 

[burningspear]

'This is not a job, not a career'?

 

[capnlarge]

Paige doesn't sound very bright. Her current plan of not having a plan will only work while she is hot. Or if she is wealthy but not spending like she is wealthy

 

[Not A Real Fan]

I always laugh when I read that PVZ statement about leaving the UFC. She would have been a nobody without being in the UFC...

This is the very defintion of a stepping stone. Use the UFC to get famous and then leave it behind to make real money.

The problem is that most fighters don't have that mindset. They see the stepping stone (UFC) as the goal.

 

[rear naked ankle pick]

UFC on suicide watch

Money chasers bless

 

[skylolow]

UFC should be the end goal. They are the biggest player in the game and largest stage by a country mile. They are the end all in MMA. Successful UFC fighters who have a nice 10 year run in the UFC should be set for life. Some day the UFC will probably get there as the revenue continues to increase. But at this point it seems only the best in the sport can accomplish this. Similar to other sports as they grew through the years.

Burger King for chef isn't the end all or anywhere close to the pinnacle of that career. Fighters getting these one off pay days with Paul brothers or Mayweather are just more or less in the right place at the right time. By no means is it a road map on how all fighters can do this.

PVZ is anomaly in all of this. She is seen as very good looking woman and that opens a lot of opportunities for herself. She has around 3M followers and isn't because she is a 3 and fought in the UFC. It's because she smoking hot and uses it to advertise herself. Yes, the UFC helped her get in front of millions of viewers around the world. She makes great money in BKFC because they are hoping to cash in on those 3 million followers. But even in that story she says her own website(in conjunction with Fan Time) now makes more money in one month than her total BKFC contract pays her. Not every fighter or even woman fighter can follow in those steps.

 

[Genisys]

Fighters who say being in the UFC is their life long goal and dream are doing it WRONG! That's like an aspiring chef saying working for Burger King is their dream come true.

Fighters should go to the UFC with a plan to do something else afterward. Like acting. modeling, etc.

Conor used the UFC as a stepping stone to get his millions fighting Floyd. Guys like Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, and Tyrone Woodley got their biggest paydays doing celebrity boxing after their stints in the UFC.

The blueprint is clear.

Paige VanZant financially secure thanks to BKFC and new fan site, calls leaving UFC ‘the best decision I’ve ever made’

All told, VanZant is financially secure — really for the first time in her entire career — and that’s all thanks to testing free agency and deciding to put the UFC behind her.

“I had my whole career was built off the UFC,” VanZant told MMA Fighting. “I was in the UFC for like six years. It was very nerve-wracking. There weren’t a lot of people who left the UFC in the prime of their career. There were a lot of veterans that had left the UFC that were kind of on that tail end, looking for a few more fights.

“For me, I was a free agent at 26 years old. I was really young. It was nerve-wracking to know you’re leaving the powerhouse of combat sports. But now I know it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Since I’ve left, I’ve seen multiple fighters leave the UFC — and it’s not a diss at the UFC necessarily, but I think it’s more an awakening in fighters knowing there’s money out there and we’re going to be compensated for what we’re doing.”

“I was in the UFC for six years, I’ve been fighting for eight years and it’s finally paying off,” VanZant said. “This year finally paid off to where I’m feeling comfortable with my life.”

“I will say when I signed with BKFC, the bare-knuckle boxing, I was making more money than I had made in my entire UFC career,” VanZant said. “Now I’m making more money than my entire BKFC contract in like a month. It’s pretty crazy.”

“I don’t have to, when I’m done fighting, get a regular job and have to go back to work,” VanZant said. “I’m not planning for when I retire to go to college or try to figure out what’s next in my life. I’m able to just fight and save money and plan when I want to retire, I can just retire.”
https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/6/...aving-the-ufc-the-best-decision-ive-ever-made

You make a good point but missed the mark on the Burger King statement. It's more like a chef working their way up to a Michelin starred restaurant. They can get book deals and tv shows after that. No chef would work at a Burger King.

 

[Not A Real Fan]

UFC should be the end goal. They are the biggest player in the game and largest stage by a country mile. They are the end all in MMA. Successful UFC fighters who have a nice 10 year run in the UFC should be set for life. Some day the UFC will probably get there as the revenue continues to increase. But at this point it seems only the best in the sport can accomplish this. Similar to other sports as they grew through the years.

The fact that the UFC is not set up as a financial end goal is the problem. As it is often noted, how many A-level athletes does MMA miss out on because of this?

There was probably a guy out there who would have smashed the prime versions of Fedor, Cain, JDS, Big Nog, Stipe, etc. But he was lured away by a 8 figure contract to throw a ball around.

 

[kflo]

The fact that the UFC is not set up as a financial end goal is the problem. As it is often noted, how many A-level athletes does MMA miss out on because of this?

There was probably a guy out there who would have smashed the prime versions of Fedor, Cain, JDS, Big Nog, Stipe, etc. But he was lured away by a 8 figure contract to throw a ball around.

boxing and mma can never compete with team sports from that standpoint. your entry level pay will be lower. always. it's silly to use team sports as a comparison point.

 

[fedorthegoat777]

So you got to train like an obsessive maniac, have natural talent, to make it in the toughest sport known to the world, then become one of the best in the world, and then use that leverage as a stepping stone to a real paying job?
Why not do something a lot easier, like be a doctor or lawyer?

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

Kinda like saying, the NBA should not be your end goal.

I never really wanted to play basketball - I just wanted rep a shoe company and start a lucrative social media account.

This is what they get in to it to do - fight in the ufc.

They basically took away the one way fighters made some extra dough - in cage sponsors - that opportunity is gone now. No one is going to pay you big money if they're not going to be seen on tv.

Now we'll basically have a bunch of low level fighters (lets me honest mostly wmma as the talent pool is small) who come in to the ufc in the hopes that it will jump start some sort of non 9-5 career not because they're actually wanting to be combat sports athletes.

Look forward to cards filled with PVZ wannabes (granted pvz was moderately skilled and pretty damn tough).

 

[mjmj]

The fact that the UFC is not set up as a financial end goal is the problem. As it is often noted, how many A-level athletes does MMA miss out on because of this?

There was probably a guy out there who would have smashed the prime versions of Fedor, Cain, JDS, Big Nog, Stipe, etc. But he was lured away by a 8 figure contract to throw a ball around.

This is the silliest, and frankly dumbest thing I read on Sherdog regularly. Professional stick and ball athletes end up in their respective sports because they started playing them when they were 5 or 6 years old and they excelled at them, were recognized for their talents, and were either signed in high school or offered a college scholarship and were signed after excelling on the college field/court.
Not one single athlete waited until they were 16-18 to decide what sport they wanted to play.

 

[The Chosen]

Ok Dana. “This isn’t a career, it’s an opportunity”

 

[The Chosen]

Not one single athlete waited until they were 16-18 to decide what sport they wanted to play.

Not necessarily true, a lot of top athletes play multiple sports in their youth. With martial arts, especially now, you have people starting their children very young, not sure why you think martial arts are some thing people do on a whim.