Becoming a MMA/UFC fighter is a really bad career choice. Here is why:

Missed the part about the talent pools being huge as fuck? Minimum pay in those league sports is much more than basic MMA/Boxing, and i think they go up once they have more years in it, but, not many make it that far.

My point is that not only the top players make good money in those sports like you suggested. As you can see a first year player gets quite a sizeable salary....This is what attracts so much talent to these sports. They KNOW what they're shooting for and it's a really good paycheck....

Now, if MMA or boxing would guarantee a good salary people in their youth can look to and see a future? The talent pool would grow much larger.
 
Brain damage is the no. 1 reason.

Maybe there are a few guys who like Jake LaMotta who get away with it.

For most others though it's not worth it.

Even for a guy like Muhammad Ali, struggling to hire a nurse to clear drool from your lip in your early 40's is not worth it.
Just because Jake didn't slur his speech, doesn't mean he didn't have brain damage. He had a difficult time learning anything, remembering anything, and an explosive temper. Was he always like that? I don't know but it's not a good sign.
 
Thing is most careers don't require you jumping all the way to the top in a few years, since most careers will last about 30-40 years. MMA does not. And again even the average income of all americans (including McDonalds, people on wellfare etc.) is close to the average income of a UFC fighter.
These few words you put in parentheses just knocked your thread down to the level of moronic. I bid you farewell, I have lost all interest in how the discussion goes from here.
 
MMA is in it's infancy of course there's no money in this shit.
 
MMA is in it's infancy of course there's no money in this shit.

It is, but there is certainly good money in it now & UFC & BFC can certainly pay better. What BFC pays & how the treat the undercard guys is way worse than UFC ($1/2k plus they have to sell tix)
But comparing it to the big 4 is completely silly
 
My point is that not only the top players make good money in those sports like you suggested. As you can see a first year player gets quite a sizeable salary....This is what attracts so much talent to these sports. They KNOW what they're shooting for and it's a really good paycheck....

Now, if MMA or boxing would guarantee a good salary people in their youth can look to and see a future? The talent pool would grow much larger.
First it's impossible to guarantee a good salary

Second it's still fighting and will never have the same access at younger ages or in schools.

It's fighting and it's hard and that will limit the athletes that want to train. It's not a sport you can just choose to "play". Kids don't get to "fight". Best they can do is train.
 
First it's impossible to guarantee a good salary

Second it's still fighting and will never have the same access at younger ages or in schools.

It's fighting and it's hard and that will limit the athletes that want to train. It's not a sport you can just choose to "play". Kids don't get to "fight". Best they can do is train.

Exactly
There are not organized leagues from a young age like the main 4 sports
Of course once in HS you can try wrestling, but that is one aspect of MMA
MMA is a different beast.
You get into it because you enjoy fighting. The idea that a Brady, Jeter or Jordan might have chosen MMA as a 12 year old, if pay was better is really silly.
Very few people are cut out for it
 
UFC pays me more to post on Sherdog than fighters make? News to me.
 
It is just not worse than getting a liberal arts degree for $200 k in America, LMAO

If you are paying 200k that means you are already filthy rich and getting no financial aid.

I paid about 65k for mine after scholarships and aid. It helped me land a good job that doesn't give me brain damage and has a pension.
 
I don't think anybody is choosing a career when they begin participating in a sport. It just happens.
 
even champions like DJ advise to not rely on fighting as a main source of income. If I remember, him and most of the guys still had a full time job.
 
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.

ruiz23k-1-web.jpg

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.

hqdefault.jpg

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.
IDKM...

Rich People complain about everything .
I never had a chance to pick some snacks from a nice garbage can like that.
Working hard to get at that level of luxury.
ruiz23k-1-web.jpg
 
As a very coach once told me,

1 in 100 people who try MMA will become an amateur.
1 in 100 people who fight amateur turn professional
1 in 100 professionals sign with the UFC
1 in 100 UFC fighters become a champion.
 
As a very coach once told me,

1 in 100 people who try MMA will become an amateur.
1 in 100 people who fight amateur turn professional
1 in 100 professionals sign with the UFC
1 in 100 UFC fighters become a champion.

That is interesting
I wonder how many UFC contracted fighters there were total in the last 3 years & how many won a belt
I wonder if anybody ever checked that stat

GOOD STUFF & might be close to truth

Oh &

WTF does "As a very coach" mean?
lol
 
I wonder how this compares to other sports.

And also, when you say professional, does that include any fighter who has a job too or just fighters who do MMA full time?
 
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.

ruiz23k-1-web.jpg


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.

hqdefault.jpg

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.



not being an asshole, it's a serious question. . . .What is your pro record and what promotion?
 
It is just not worse than getting a liberal arts degree for $200 k in America, LMAO
Except your mind and body are fucked at earning a living in “prime “ earnings years, which are your mid 30s to late 40s, while dealing with higher than average health insurance and maintenance cost. LMAO.
 
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