- Joined
- Aug 21, 2007
- Messages
- 6,913
- Reaction score
- 88
A lot of young kids want to be Conor McGregor, and yes, as far as finances go he is set for life. Same goes for a handful of other MMA fighters, but apart from them becoming a MMA fighter really is one of the worst career choices you can make. Let's just look at the numbers:
Chances of becoming a UFC fighter
According to multiple internet sources there are currently about 5000 active professional MMA fighters. UFC currently has 650 fighters under contract. That means about 13% of all MMA fighters fight for the UFC. That means 1 out of every 7.6 fighters gets to sign a UFC contract. And yes i know there is money to be made in other orgs, but still UFC is obviously the most important org around.
What does the average UFC fighter make?
Of the 18 UFC events held in 2016 for which fighter payouts were publicly disclosed, the median fighter's annual salary was $42,000, according to a Bleacher Report analysis. This includes $50,000 post-fight bonuses but excludes all the Reebok money.
$42,000 really is not a lot of money, especially since fighters have to pay for a lot of expenses like coaches, nutrition etc. The median income in the US is $31,099.
But what about the fighters who become millionairs?
There are without a doubt a lot of fighters that made over a million. But then again, once you earn that $42.000 dollar a year, working 40 year will make you almost 1.7 million. A lot of us if not most of us will make over a million in their lifetime. And even if, let's say 40 MMA fighters got super rich, that is still less than 1% of all MMA fighters.
The worst thing about being a MMA fighter
Brain damage. Physical mileage. Permanent injuries. Constant stress on the body. Constant stress about the next fight. Having only 2 to 3 opportunities a year to climb the ranking. A short career span of about 4 to 8 years. Having to deal with judges and weird decisions. Dealing with the chance of a lucky shot of your opponent.
Gary Goodridge was one of the best MMA fighers of his era. Now he is not rich at all and suffers from severe brain trauma.
Yes it sucks to be a MMA fighter. There is only a very very very small chance of you becoming a rich superstar. Apart from that you will just have an average income, no other career opportunities besides opening a gym and a lot of physical mileage and possible brain damage.
Chances of becoming a UFC fighter
According to multiple internet sources there are currently about 5000 active professional MMA fighters. UFC currently has 650 fighters under contract. That means about 13% of all MMA fighters fight for the UFC. That means 1 out of every 7.6 fighters gets to sign a UFC contract. And yes i know there is money to be made in other orgs, but still UFC is obviously the most important org around.
What does the average UFC fighter make?
Of the 18 UFC events held in 2016 for which fighter payouts were publicly disclosed, the median fighter's annual salary was $42,000, according to a Bleacher Report analysis. This includes $50,000 post-fight bonuses but excludes all the Reebok money.
$42,000 really is not a lot of money, especially since fighters have to pay for a lot of expenses like coaches, nutrition etc. The median income in the US is $31,099.
But what about the fighters who become millionairs?
There are without a doubt a lot of fighters that made over a million. But then again, once you earn that $42.000 dollar a year, working 40 year will make you almost 1.7 million. A lot of us if not most of us will make over a million in their lifetime. And even if, let's say 40 MMA fighters got super rich, that is still less than 1% of all MMA fighters.
The worst thing about being a MMA fighter
Brain damage. Physical mileage. Permanent injuries. Constant stress on the body. Constant stress about the next fight. Having only 2 to 3 opportunities a year to climb the ranking. A short career span of about 4 to 8 years. Having to deal with judges and weird decisions. Dealing with the chance of a lucky shot of your opponent.
Gary Goodridge was one of the best MMA fighers of his era. Now he is not rich at all and suffers from severe brain trauma.
Yes it sucks to be a MMA fighter. There is only a very very very small chance of you becoming a rich superstar. Apart from that you will just have an average income, no other career opportunities besides opening a gym and a lot of physical mileage and possible brain damage.
