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UFC pay scale reminds me of the CFL

4K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  mitchyb 
#1 ·
After reading a few fighter profiles and the last 3 or 4 years of UFC pay outs it reminds me of the Canadian football league salaries but the UFC has alot more viewers and payperview events.Alot of the Canadian football players have other jobs just like some UFC fighters.I would say the UFC ratings are closer to the NFL then the CFL so I dont get the low pay.I almost choked when Joe stevens spent his life savings $35000 to fight BJ and was left broke when he did not win.Chris Lytle still a fireman after 20 UFC fights I dont know how Dana and the Fretia brothers sleep at night I suppose a bed of a $100 would be a real big help.Also when the UFC started making huge profits why dont they increase salaries.Do the fighters pay for there own training this would make it worse also what about health insurance who pays that.Bottom line is how do the top athletes get payed like second rate competion.
 
#2 ·
I think for the most part fighters are fairly compensated with a few exceptions.

Comparing the NFL and the UFC is a little rediculous IMO. The UFC's revenue is probably comparable to a mid-tier NFL franchise.

For the most part NFL teams get to keep 100% of the gate/concession/parking. The UFC has to give a percentage to whatever arena is hosting them. Also the NFL receives a sick amount of money from their network deals, and it is a predetermined amount not dependent on ratings. The UFC on the other hand has to rely the amount of buys to get their money. And even then they still have to share some of that revenue with the cable companies.


Look at the companies that gave out huge fighter salaries (Pride, Affliction), where are they now?

The first rule of business is that the boss has to make his first. Right now the Fertitas and Dana are making some good money. Eventually that will overflow to the fighters.

It would be impossible to get a group plan for professional fighters, so fighters are required the self-insure. The UFC pays for any injuries that are suffered during a sanctioned bout.
 
#3 ·
Supply and Demand

To be honest it really comes down to basic supply and demand. Yes some previous organizations overpaid and went backrupt because of it, but the UFC won't be able to rely on this forever. MMA is bigger than the UFC, and when more well run companies like Strikeforce come around the UFC will have to pay more or risk losing their stars.

It's already happened with Hendo and Fedor, and might happen with others in the future. As long as Strikeforce can balance this with revenue growth, they will be in it for the long term. If they pull an Affliction and basically try to outgun the UFC from the start, they will get trampled. But that's not what they are doing, they are attempting to seperate themselves from the UFC in many ways.
 
#6 ·
Never mind that as the main event he would get a cut of PPV buys, merchandise (including DVD's). The fact is these guys make way more money than its made out to look like because everyone assumes the only income they have is the disclosed guaranteed purse, forgetting that many have lucrative sponsorship deals, signing bonuses, gate and PPV sale percentages. ETC, Im also very sick of the comparisons to the NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL etc, the UFC spends millions upon millions on marketing something none of those organizations are forced to do, they are the only show in town the UFC has competition and is trying to reach the point where the comparison can be made but they aren't even close in reality.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Ppv

Only a small percentage of fighters get a cut of the pay-per-view. Couture, Liddell, Ortiz to name a few (how much is Dana getting screwed by Ortiz, haha).

They do, however, make a large amount of money of sponsorships. I don't know exactly how much, but I would imagine it could be about twice as much as their disclosed purse. Again this more than likely depends on the fighter, whether they are the main event or even on the pay-per-view at all, and whether or not they put their shirt on when the decision is announced, lol.

In my opinion the UFC has both been exceptionally smart with their business and somewhat lucky with the timing. They are going to milk it for all it's worth, and why wouldn't they? They are the brand, not the fighters. It will take a Strikeforce or two or three legitimate competitors before pay for the fighters starts to rise to where it should be. Either that or an organized fighters union, which while most fighters would go for Dana would stomp out in a heartbeat.

In the meantime, fighters will do whatever they can to fight for the UFC knowing that putting some gauky Affliction shirt on after they win or lose will earn them $20000. It's a shame because it reduces the legitimacy of the sport in my opinion.
 
#8 ·
it is not nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. A couple headlines/big events, not to mention if you ever win the belt, and you're living large. Look at Chuck and many others. The lower guys, yea they're not driving hummers, but they still do pretty good compared to other organizations where they make a couple hundred a fight at best.
 
#9 ·
Even in boxing it's more extreme. Guys on the undercard will get paid $1000 to show and $1000 to win where Gayweather gets $20 million guaranteed. The big difference is Floyd is the brand, UFC is the brand in this discussion. So why shouldn't the UFC make the big bucks?

This is why Fedor is the man in my opinion, laying the foundation for future MMA fighters.
 
#12 ·
Fedor Emelianenko: $300,000 (includes $0 win bonus)
def. Andrei Arlovski: $1,500,000

Josh Barnett: $500,000 (includes $0 win bonus)
def. Gilbert Yvel: $30,000

Vitor Belfort: $200,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus)
def. Matt Lindland: $225,000

Renato "Babalu" Sobral: $90,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $50,000

Paul Buentello: $90,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Kiril Sidelnikov: $10,000

Dan Lauzon: $23,160 (includes $11,160 win bonus)
def. Bobby Green: $4,000

Jay Hieron: $45,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. Jason High: $10,000

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $150,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Vladimir Matyushenko: $50,000

L.C. Davis: $13,500 (includes $6,500 win bonus)
def. Bao Quach: $7,000

Albert Rios: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Duarte: $3,000

Brett Cooper: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
def. Patrick Speight: $2,000
This is Afflcitions pay out for DOR, now do any of you ever ask yourself why Afflciton would pay so much more than the UFC? I mean they are a buisiness and that wouldn't make any sense to pay that much more than any of your competition would it? The truth is they were an upstart start MMA company so taking a PPV and gate % doesn't really appeal, its to much of a gamble if the show bombs, instead Affliction was forced to offer guaranteed money something the UFC doesn't do. Since only the guaranteed money needs to be revealed to the athletic commision and thus becomes public record that is the only money we know about, truth is there is a large % of the fighters pay day that we never know about 100% and all these assumptions are based on pure speculation coming from a mere % of reality.
 
#15 ·
In the UFC the fighters generally know where they stand in the rankings and in popularity.

For example... A champion or high contender for a title are bound to make more than someone who just received a contract. There's only a handful of fighters who walked into the UFC who made ridiculous amounts right off the bat(Brock Lesnar) but in his case... he can sell pay per view tickets and subscriptions...

It comes down to... have they earned it and.. is the juice worth the squeeze. Some fighters getting paid 25k per fight win or lose with the potential to make the bonus for submission, KO, and F O T N. That is not bad IMO for someone who is new to the UFC.

But then there is Chuck Liddel and Randy... they are both greats and both former title holders who made over 6 figures per fight and still do yet they don't hold any titles no more... but thats where i said... have they earned it... and the answer is yes they have and champions... well we all know how much they make between a quarter mil to a half mil per fight.

Even the lower fighters are getting what 3 or 4 fights a year and clearing close to 100grand per year... hey thats pretty damn good in my eyes and it beats working a 9-5 job that you hate.

/rant and ramble

love mmaforum :thumb02::praise01::praise01:
 
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