S--- fighter pay...

[Hercegovac]

Looking at the number the fighters are being paid and I’m laughing.

They paid a guy 10k to fight? Is that a joke? Think the pot in underground fight in some 3rd world country is worth more.

Yeah great bump up from 6k, pffft what a joke, how do they sleep at night?

Then they charge you more for the PPV now.

 

[Chris Gaines]

 

[uptheirons!]

That's why every mma fighter wishes they were a top-tier boxer.

 

[Fraz]

We need to keep these savages hungry so that they are willing to fight any time, any where. Look at guys like Conor give them an inch and they take a mile. Pay should be capped at like 50k and that's for top-tier fighters. Bottom rung fighters should be awarded with 50% off Reebok coupons and maybe a couple of cans of leftover Xyience from the Zuffa days after they win.

 

[Phi-]

It's sad indeed and it's the reason why MMA will never rise to top tier like fottball, basketball or tennis in terms of competitive sports.

 

[Dr. Will]

Ridiculous pay ruins the sport. It's actually ruining boxing that's for sure. People are looking for $1m paydays against simpler opponents and they're also losing their drive.

I'd like for them to make a lot more money but rules must be enforced so they cannot duck anybody.

 

[Franklin U.]

Yet.....LMAO,
Sage Northcutt gets paid 75/75.I think Rory was getting less or comparable.
I think Gegard was getting 100/ 50.


Something needs to be done in the biggest and most respected MMA organization on the planet..

It's just wrong yet God knows the time and cabbage invested into their brand new well known women 's 125 weight division.

What's wrong with this picture?

 

[loisestrad]

Isn't the point of fighting that you're willing to do so no matter what? Or that you've got no other choice?

 

[BBMN]

Yeah great bump up from 6k...

First of all, I'm a huge advocate for increased fighter pay.

Second, 10k is an increase of 67% of 6k.

Third, lower tier guys were getting like 3k just ten years ago. So low pay has tripled in a decade.

Fourth, Reebok is really a big killer for these guys, more so than the UFC. In the past they could scrap together a decent sponsor or two and several extra grand, now they will more than likely get $3500.

Fifth, payout of $10k is still low, but when you factor in another $10k to win, and Reebok on top, a winning performance jumps to $23,500.

I don't deny that fighter pay on the bottom of the card is weak, but I do take into account that it's literally tripled in a decade. And hopefully the trend continues. What worries me is that they keep making cards every couple weeks and have too many guys on payroll, thus diluting the funds to pay lower guys, and weakening cards too.

 

[baba2008]

Looking at the number the fighters are being paid and I’m laughing.

They paid a guy 10k to fight? Is that a joke? Think the pot in underground fight in some 3rd world country is worth more.

Yeah great bump up from 6k, pffft what a joke, how do they sleep at night?

Then they charge you more for the PPV now.

On a mattress filled with the money they don’t pay fighters.

 

[Otto!]

they should pay them by the pound. That would also get rid of weightcutting.

 

[executionermma]

It's not ideal yet, but it increased a lot from what it was some years ago and UFC major competitor, Bellator, pays some fighters $1,000. I saw some main card fighter making $3,000. Yeah, they have sponsors, but theey don't have bonuses or guarantes. UFC pays very well compared to the other organizations.

First of all, I'm a huge advocate for increased fighter pay..

Great post mate, rare to see people with reasonable opinions about fighters pay here, i just saw someone saying that every champ should get 1 milion lol, can you imagine how profitable it would be for UFC to have Nico Montano or Woodley making 1 milion by fight

 

[Karelinator]

I've posted it already so I may as well post it again:

Those guys need to stop signing those win bonus contracts.

Sure they believe they're going to win, that's given, but in reality :

12 fights in an event means 12 wins and 12 losers, always, dead even, unless there's a draw or NC.

So you have 50 (actually bit greater) % chance of seeing only 50% of your money, lol.

Great fucking deal. Basically, they're focing those guys to bet heavy money on themselves.


Start negotiating 20k/10k contracts instead of 15/15 ones.

Hell, even 20/5 ones instead of 15/15 ones.

This way, once you actually WIN, say, 4 in a row, you can hardball, for those 4x5 you have lost in a next contract.

 

[NoContest]

It's ridiculous. Fuck the UFC

 

[Irishwhiskey119]

Looking at the number the fighters are being paid and I’m laughing.

They paid a guy 10k to fight? Is that a joke? Think the pot in underground fight in some 3rd world country is worth more.

Yeah great bump up from 6k, pffft what a joke, how do they sleep at night?

Then they charge you more for the PPV now.

You don't have a clue about costs.

Shut your mouth.

 

[Weidman]

 

[SeattleFightFan]

If you (or anyone else) cares TS, here is a more in depth look at fighter pay over a 3 year period.

when UFC started it used the Tournament Theory model. it since moved to a variation of it (with structured pay up as a fighters moves up the ladder, instead of a simplified binary variation of "win everything or take home nothing"). but the same concept applies - if you don't make it big, you're taking home very little.

most sports unions hate this model, which is why most sports unions include a minimum wage. in the NFL it's $465k, NBA is $535k and the Premier League is £26,752.

until fighters collectively bargain, don't expect it to change. and don't be a dewy eyed mook on this subject; if you're going to be a standard bearer for collective bargaining than do it with eyes wide fucking open; fighter collective bargaining will have a lot of negatives unintended consequences for the fans.

 

[Myrddin Wild]

That's only the first fight. It steadily goes up from there & your 4th or 5th fight in... you can make a decent living off of your wage if you fight 2 or 3 times per year.

The benefit is that you are now in the UFC... which has a greater potential. Mac has been getting performance bonuses in every fight but the Halloway fight... so that initial $8,000 to show & $8,000 to win was blown out with a $50,000 bonus

1. Conor Mcgregor's first first fight was at $8,000 to show & another $8,000 to win. (+ bonus)
   
2. vs. Halloway moves to $12,000/$12,000... (no bonus)
   
3. vs. Brandao 16,000/$16,000 (+ bonus)
   
4. Portier Fight $75,000/$75,000 (+ bonus)
   
5. Siver fight $85,000/$85,000 (+ bonus)
   
6. Mendez $500k to show + PPV points kicked in putting his money into the millions.
7. & it keeps going up from there.

http://thesportsdaily.com/mma-manif...salary-main-ufc-career-fighter-earnings-html/

 

[Karelinator]

The benefit is that you are now in the UFC... which has a greater potential. Mac has been getting performance bonuses in every fight but the Halloway fight... so that initial $8,000 to show & $8,000 to win was blown out with a $50,000 bonus

1. Conor Mcgregor's first first fight was at $8,000 to show & another $8,000 to win. (+ bonus)
   
2. vs. Halloway moves to $12,000/$12,000... (no bonus)
   
3. vs. Brandao 16,000/$16,000 (+ bonus)
   
4. Portier Fight $75,000/$75,000 (+ bonus)
   
5. Siver fight $85,000/$85,000 (+ bonus)
   
6. Mendez $500k to show + PPV points kicked in putting his money into the millions.
7. & it keeps going up from there.

There are usually at least 22 fighters on the card, and FOUR bonuses available.

Every fighter on the card can bent over backwards to give sickest fight possible, and yet still only 4, or less, of them will get that 50k.

So 'fight night bonuses' are not an answer for shit.

 

[Alpha_T83]

Ridiculous pay ruins the sport. It's actually ruining boxing that's for sure. People are looking for $1m paydays against simpler opponents and they're also losing their drive.

I'd like for them to make a lot more money but rules must be enforced so they cannot duck anybody.

I agree with you, and I have the solution to your problems -- One word: Escrow.

Just give fighters escrow based pay in their contracts. They must honor their contract or they don't get their full pay per fight. Champions get 50% of their pay put into escrow -- if they refuse to defend against a #1 contender, they lose that money. Challengers/contenders can be offered 2-3 opponents and must agree to fight one, or they lose their escrow money from their last fight.

In other words, you don't get 50% of your pay from the fight until your next fight, when you honor your contractual obligations. The exception would be at the end of a contract, you get 100% of your money up front.

This would actually work really well.