MMA is the fastest-growing sport in North America right now and UFC is raking in the dough. I found out the other day that UFC pays out 7% of its earnings to the fighters. In comparison, unionized sports like baseball and football pay out 50%+ of its earnings to athletes.

What do you think the future holds for MMA? Do you think a fighter's union is in the forecast?

Here's what I watched yesterday...
http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/2009/01/011109_5.html

UFC IMO has the highest payouts out of all the MMA leagues. As long as there are fighters that aspire to be in the UFC they will never be unionized. The show "Ultimate Fighter" will always have recuits. The UFC has no competition when it comes to their business, they can make any contract they want and will always have fighters to replace ones that dont like the way business is run.

^^ yup. i dont think they are underpaid. they are not hurting for food, they have homes. i'd love to get my wage now just to work out all day and fight on occasion.

Underpaid is an understatement. That bum Gay-la hoya is making 40+ million on fights he's not even coming close to competing in. While UFC champions are lucky to make a mill and a half for fights IF they win. If the UFC is beating out boxing PPV event where the hell is all the money going??? :wtf

its going to dana whites pocket

most likely lining pockets, they are probably weary to pay out because of the other organizations folding around them. hes pretty much a white don king.

White's just the President, but it's the owners of Zuffa who are probably getting a fat cut (as well as Dana of course).

Could they make more...sure of course they can. Will they? I doubt it. And I too doubt they will unionize anytime soon.


UFC92 payouts -
Rashad Evans — $130,000 ($65,000 to show, $65,000 to win)
Forrest Griffin — $100,000
Frank Mir — $90,000 ($45,000 to show, $45,000 to win)
Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira — $250,000
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson — $325,000 ($225,000 to show, $100,000 to win)
Wanderlei Silva — $200,000
Cheick Kongo — $90,000 ($45,000 to show, $45,000 to win)
Mustafa Al-Turk — $7,000
CB Dollaway — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Mike Massenzio — $5,000
Yushin Okami — $32,000 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 to win)
Dean Lister — $19,000
Antoni Hardonk — $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win)
Mike Wessel — $4,000
Matt Hamill — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Reese Andy — $15,000
Brad Blackburn — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Ryo Chonan — $18,000
Pat Barry — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Dan Evensen — $4,000

damn i didnt know it was that low. still enough to live on for most. plus the incintives.

yeah, but they have to pay for training, travel, etc. Not to mention some of those training camps cost a good chunk of change $$$. I'm sure they recoup some of that in sponsorships, but they can still be making a lot more I guess is the bottom line.

Glad I have a real career

I'm gonna have to say no. It's just other athletes are over paid

Those purses are just rediculously low. These guys are putting a lot on the line for that kind of money. You have to understand they have a whole camp of people that also eat off of them. Thats pretty sad.

the fertitta's are making all the money.

yeah, but they have to pay for training, travel, etc.
Don't forget medical expenses. They could take a beating, then they need to heal up to prepare for the next fight. That could be costly.

Those purses are just rediculously low. These guys are putting a lot on the line for that kind of money. You have to understand they have a whole camp of people that also eat off of them. Thats pretty sad.

The best fighters a making roughly $200k a fight. if they fight 3 times within a year thats over $600k....how much do you think the training camps really cost?? besides once your a great (couture, shamrock etc) you make your own training camp to create more revenue. and lets not forget sponsers..clothing lines, supplements etc. these guys have tone of potential to make money.

the insentive to make money is there, but many fighters get sidetracked with celebraty life and screw up.



btw shamrock is not great, but he started "lions den" training camp.

(The UFC) can make any contract they want and will always have fighters to replace ones that dont like the way business is run.
Couldn't that be said for any organized mainstream sport? Couldn't the NFL decide to pay 7% to the athletes instead of 50%+ and if any athletes disagree, they get booted?

What's the difference that keeps this from happening in the NBA/NFL/MLB but not the UFC?

^no ones got the juevos to do it in the other sports. look at affliction clothing, they sponsored rashad evans and gsp to name a couple. each fighter sponsored prolly gets 100k a year or more just to wear a damn shirt.

i wonder how much condomdepot.com pays to blast their name on every one's ass?

Couldn't that be said for any organized mainstream sport? Couldn't the NFL decide to pay 7% to the athletes instead of 50%+ and if any athletes disagree, they get booted?

What's the difference that keeps this from happening in the NBA/NFL/MLB but not the UFC?

mma/ufc has only been big now for about 5 years. When i mean big i mean mainstream....on TV and in the media. Other major sports such as MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA have been around much longer. I think that professional sports have a kind of union because of the teams, and the owners of those teams. A commisioner makes sure everything is in check for all players and teams. In MMA your more or less an individual, and just like any other sport your pay is determind by your greatness.

I dont know much about UFC contracts but they seem to have a short lifespan...unless your an elite fighter (Anderson Silva, GSP etc) The elite fighters have nothing to worry about because they will always generate huge revenue. Its the fighters that are working there way up that need to try and get unionized, however they are young, have no real management, and are thirsty for there first paycheck, they get caught up in all the fame and hype. we've seen from the show how unintellegent and immature they are, and dana can expoit them for it.

basically the UFC is too new, and the UFC is the face of MMA. So many people are trying to get in. I'm sure if you talk to any upcoming fighter they will tell you their goal is to fight in the UFC. With all that demand for a career that potentially only leads to 15 minutes of fame why would they ever get a union??? dana makes the rules and will own everybody that steps in the ring...tito tried getting more money and cried about his contracts...where is he now. Dana is a smart business man, and until a large group of people stand up for some kind of rights nothing will change. $5k is alot of money to me and I would fight somebody for it. I think thats the same thoughts these fighters have...we have to remember there not business majors, they throw punches for a living.

i see it more like a private trucker contracting for the work he can get, vs. a baseball player that works for an actual company and does the same old run over and over if that makes any sense.

Why not pay the fighters more? Shit there taking in enough!

For those that think what they are making is enough, that is crazy. On average these guys make $10K to maybe $40K to fight, and most contracts double that if they win. Im not talking the superstars that are about 15 fighters, Im talking the general UFC/MMA fighter. Lets say you are someone like CB Dolloway who made $20k with his win bonus. Minus about 40% for taxes leaves him with $32K. Awesome! Oh, lets not forget he has to pay for his manager and training fees. Combined approx another 30% of the remaining lets say. So he now gets $22,400. Subtract medical for the liscense, maybe your contract doesnt cover travel, but usually does. Minus the money he would like to give his training partners who also sacrifice their time and money to get him to the big show. Maybe he's left with $15k? Awesome. By fighting 4 times a year that's decent money right there at $60K. But lets hope he never gets hurt and has to miss a fight and lets also hope he wins every fight.

That would be great, but just not very probable. Most guys will get 2 or 3 fights max in a year. With injuries you are lucky with one. The good news is that because these are santioned events, the injuries are covered by the athletic commissions insurance. Most of the time.....

I say YES ..they are underpaid. gotta keep in mind that they cant work and train also so this is all the dough they got coming in.

I'm gonna have to say no. It's just other athletes are over paid

+1. :biggrin

I think that the guys coming up are "underpaid" when compared to those at the top. But you have to think, most of these guys put, what, two months into training for a fight? That means for the guy who got the lowest payout of the list above at $4,000, he made $2,000 g's a month. Thats not a whole lot, but it should cover some bills. Let's not forget, that a lot of these guys DO have other jobs.

The top fighters, hell no they don't get underpaid. Wanderlei Silva has a contract stating that he gets 200k for every fight, win or loose. Tito had something similar, as did Couture.

They don't get the purses that the major boxers do, but those fights are structured differently. The network airing the fight, be it showtime, HBO, or PPV helps to pay for the event. Whereas the UFC pays for everything. So they take all the risk and pay the fighters less.

Sorry, but I just can't feel bad for a guy who is making $200k+ to train (lets say 3 months tops) and then show up for a fight that will be no longer than 25 minutes. They can bitch all they like, but they are still very well paid. And as others mentioned, this doesn't even begin to touch on endorsements and public appearances and the like.

The guys on the lower rungs of the ladder don't make as much, seems like that is par for the course with any sport.

^I couldn't disagree with you more on almost every point you tried to make and really dont believe you have a clue on what you are commenting on.
A. 200k is not a lot of money for a top contending professional athlete.
B. A couple of months training??? Are you high? These guys train for years most times lifetimes.
C. UFC PPVs are out selling boxing numbers and they are bringing in a crap load of money vs. the fighter payouts.
D. The fighters are the ones taking all the risk not the UFC. If a fighter seriously hurts himself he can be out of business for years the UFC will just find another fighter to take their place.
E. To have to train, travel, be married, raise kids, etc., etc., and THEN have a 2nd job b/c they are underpaid is just recidulous.

^I couldn't disagree with you more on almost every point you tried to make and really dont believe you have a clue on what you are commenting on.
Congratulations!


A. 200k is not a lot of money for a top contending professional athlete.


But it is the amount that the FIGHTER agreed to.


B. A couple of months training??? Are you high? These guys train for years most times lifetimes.


They don't train for years for one fight. They train for a few months TOPS.

Also, when the started their training which led them to professional fighting, money was probably not a motivating factor. As you said, most of them have been doing it for all their lives, meaning that they weren't expecting to be reimbursed for the years of training necessary to reach the top level of their sport. They did it for themselves, not money.


C. UFC PPVs are out selling boxing numbers and they are bringing in a crap load of money vs. the fighter payouts.


So, you're point is what? That they are making a lot of money? Good for them, thats the idea of a business.

Again, the UFC pays for ALL costs of putting on a show, whereas major boxing events (the most common comparison drawn to the UFC) have the network and a lot of times even the venue share in the cost. One of the reasons that purses can be so high...

UFC takes the largest monetary risk, they receive the most monetary reward. Makes sense to me...


D. The fighters are the ones taking all the risk not the UFC. If a fighter seriously hurts himself he can be out of business for years the UFC will just find another fighter to take their place.


All athletes are aware of the possibility of a career ending injury. Does that mean they should be paid more? Because they could hurt themselves and not be able to fight? They should be intelligent enough to know that professional fighting is only profitable for the select few, those who put on the events, and those at the top of their sport and plan accordingly. Translation: Don't pin all your hopes on being the next Chuck Liddell (hell, even chuck has an accounting degree), chances are that won't pan out for you...


E. To have to train, travel, be married, raise kids, etc., etc., and THEN have a 2nd job b/c they are underpaid is just recidulous.
You make is sound as if they have to do this every day. Hell, busy fighters may fight, what, 3 times a year?

The simple fact of the matter is they CHOSE their profession. They knew there were inherent risks, such as injury or failure to last in the sport, yet they went at it anyway...

I hope somebody goes to your job today, kicks the broom out of your hands, and tells you that you make too much money.

I hope somebody goes to your job today, kicks the broom out of your hands, and tells you that you make too much money.
And I hope that one day, just maybe, you can grow up...