Pathetic fighter pay is robbing us of the greats. Agreed?

[deman]

"If you don't wanna fight for *insert X amount of $$$*, then dont. Do something else".

That's the line that repeated gets parrot fashion every time fighter pay gets brought up. Not by everybody, but by a certain subset of low IQ fans (to sound like Donald Trump). Well, guess what geniuses...they are doing something else!

We often talk about how the pay means we'll never attract the best talent, but I honestly dont know how half the roster are putting food in the fridge.

Its alarming how many of the biggest stars in the Sport arent currently fighting, for one reason or another. Once they make a decent amount of money, they split, or the sport takes a backseat because it doesnt pay well enough, often enough.

McGregor - made $100M in boxing, might never see him again
Rousey - WWE
GSP - ????
Nicholas Diaz - ?????
Nathan Diaz - ????
Jones - LOL

Thats the 4 biggest draws in my time as a fan + the Diaz brothers who are also good draws, particularly Nick.

Plus, McDonald & Moussai are fighting in Bellator. The fact that that isnt a UFC fight is ridiculous - they wreck every middleweight in the company & then leave. Pathetic.

McGregor is the worst example, & GSP & McDoanld are guys who I've heard be vocal about how underpaid he is. He essentially guarantees over 1M buys, regardless of who he's fighting & draws more than everyone else combined. The rematch with Diaz did over 1.6M, which is an insane number for a rematch just 5 months after the first bout. Its ludicrous that it was boxing, not MMA, that paid him the crazy money. It made MMA look small time. Dana White should be throwing money at McGregor, Jones, GSP,etc, but instead he's putting himself over constantly, whilst downplaying them.

Dunno, I'm kinda rambling at this point. Any thoughts? Will this change in the near future? I'm seeing a lot of the recent events drawing scarily low numbers that were almost unheard of when I started watching in 2010. Perhaps it will force the UFC's hand

 

[whaleshark]

Corn Nuts, Corn to the core

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

I mean there's two sides to this right? More pay means they can pull a Connor and don't have to fight as much or at all. The other side is we want them to be comfortable. It's about that happy medium, we just haven't found it.

 

[deman]

I mean there's two sides to this right? More pay means they can pull a Connor and don't have to fight as much or at all. The other side is we want them to be comfortable. It's about that happy medium, we just haven't found it.

Also far too many people on the roster IMO. Less quantity, more quality, & higher overall pay.

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

Also far too many people on the roster IMO. Less quantity, more quality, & higher overall pay.

I mean I don't think there's anything wrong with volume they just shouldn't be used to fill ppv. If you pump out fight nights with 1 big fights and all these no names, IM PUMPED. Free fights fuck yeah. It's just when it's on a ppv that it's a downer

 

[Jim Gilmore]

Once they make a decent amount of money, they split

Your own argument actually supports the idea of paying fighters LESS.

But for some reason you make the opposite conclusion.

 

[deman]

“Once they make a decent amount of money, they split”

Your own argument actualy supports the idea of paying fighters LESS.

But for some reason you make the opposite conclusion.

Why do none of the big earners quit boxing then? Or the other high paying Sports? Once you get big money, you get a taste of the high life & you want more. Only in the UFC it seems do they turn & run

 

[snackgod]

"If you don't wanna fight for *insert X amount of $$$*, then dont. Do something else".

That's the line that repeated gets parrot fashion every time fighter pay gets brought up. Not by everybody, but by a certain subset of low IQ fans (to sound like Donald Trump). Well, guess what geniuses...they are doing something else!

We often talk about how the pay means we'll never attract the best talent, but I honestly dont know how half the roster are putting food in the fridge.

Its alarming how many of the biggest stars in the Sport arent currently fighting, for one reason or another. Once they make a decent amount of money, they split, or the sport takes a backseat because it doesnt pay well enough, often enough.

McGregor - made $100M in boxing, might never see him again
Rousey - WWE
GSP - ????
Nicholas Diaz - ?????
Nathan Diaz - ????
Jones - LOL

Thats the 4 biggest draws in my time as a fan + the Diaz brothers who are also good draws, particularly Nick.

Plus, McDonald & Moussai are fighting in Bellator. The fact that that isnt a UFC fight is ridiculous - they wreck every middleweight in the company & then leave. Pathetic.

McGregor is the worst example, & GSP & McDoanld are guys who I've heard be vocal about how underpaid he is. He essentially guarantees over 1M buys, regardless of who he's fighting & draws more than everyone else combined. The rematch with Diaz did over 1.6M, which is an insane number for a rematch just 5 months after the first bout. Its ludicrous that it was boxing, not MMA, that paid him the crazy money. It made MMA look small time. Dana White should be throwing money at McGregor, Jones, GSP,etc, but instead he's putting himself over constantly, whilst downplaying them.

Dunno, I'm kinda rambling at this point. Any thoughts? Will this change in the near future? I'm seeing a lot of the recent events drawing scarily low numbers that were almost unheard of when I started watching in 2010. Perhaps it will force the UFC's hand

gsp ronda conor were the highest paid on the roster,

jones killed him self being a ped cheater so nothing to do with pay.

diaz brothers are over rated .500 fighters so there not fighting cause of fighter pay it cause there
making million selling weed.

the people leaving ghe ufc like benson rory bader are people thayt never been ufc champs and cant sell so no need to over pay Viacom to keep them

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Started watching in 2010?

Newb

The problem is MMA or like we like to say NHB was more about honor, todays shit is about twitter

 

[VulcanNervPinch]

I mean there's two sides to this right? More pay means they can pull a Connor and don't have to fight as much or at all.

Nobody's worried about the pay level for the top 2-5 draws. It's the other 99% of the roster where it's a problem.

 

[deman]

gsp ronda conor were the highest paid on the roster,

jones killed him self being a ped cheater so nothing to do with pay.

diaz brothers are over rated .500 fighters so there not fighting cause of fighter pay it cause there
making million selling weed.

the people leaving ghe ufc like benson rory bader are people thayt never been ufc champs and cant sell so no need to over pay Viacom to keep them

Everyone's crap & overrated, got it.

How much were GSP, McGregor & Ronda - the top earners - even making anyway? ronda's probably on more money doing almost nothing in the WWE. Everyone's used to hearing about Messi & Lebron earning £500k p/wk & Mayweather throwing around absurd numbers. Andre Ward makes like 5+ million for fights that have a buyrates of 250k. McGregor should be on 25million a fight, easy.

 

[pacrossbow]

gsp ronda conor were the highest paid on the roster,

jones killed him self being a ped cheater so nothing to do with pay.

diaz brothers are over rated .500 fighters so there not fighting cause of fighter pay it cause there
making million selling weed.

the people leaving ghe ufc like benson rory bader are people thayt never been ufc champs and cant sell so no need to over pay Viacom to keep them

Benson was a champ.

 

[TheRassler]

to make matters worse, they took away the sponsorship money post-reebok.

 

[Judoka1532]

Well I think any ufc fighter should be able to make about $25,000 a fight, comparable to the avg man's 6 month income. On top of insurance coverage for injuries too. In comparison to the top dogs...that's not really much. But that's where my complaining stops. If we argue any more I think it's silly.

Nobody says fighting has to be a sole career though. There's a lot of guys that hold regular jobs too. And, there's also the opportunity to use the ufc brand name to open a gym or a clothing line. I doubt any ufc fighter would have a hard time opening a training facility/gym given the marketability of being a pro fighter. It's like building a resume and using your previous job to land another one.

Even though you don't like it, I somewhat stand with the thought process of people who say "If you don't wanna fight for *insert X amount of $$$*, then dont. Do something else" This is a free market that rewards fighters who can bring viewers. It's like car salesmen, they all go to work each day. Some make more sales and thus make more money. I work in a workplace where doctors make 300-400K and cleaning staff makes min wage. The doctors also get free meals. Is that fair, no not really but last time I check the cleaning staff wasn't saving lives and didn't spend 8+ years in medical school.

 

[Dbreiden83080]

Allowing Conor to box when he was under contract was the dumbest move I have ever seen from the UFC. You have a man in Conor, the biggest star of all time. He is rolling along, having the most high profile career of all time. And they let him out the back door, so he can make 100 mil to box??? I will never understand WTF they were thinking? You milk that asset for all it was worth. Getting in on the payday with Floyd does not make up for all the 1 plus mil PPV's he is not headlining.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Can't get pissed at the pay... they do sign a contract. But when it comes to TJ vs DJ … give the man his money.

 

[deman]

Allowing Conor to box when he was under contract was the dumbest move I have ever seen from the UFC. You have a man in Conor, the biggest star of all time. He is rolling along, having the most high profile career of all time. And they let him out the back door, so he can make 100 mil to box??? I will never understand WTF they were thinking? You milk that asset for all it was worth. Getting in on the payday with Floyd does not make up for all the 1 plus mil PPV's he is not headlining.

Yep. A string of recent PPV's have done like 150k, 200k, etc. 300-400k is seen as a good number. Jones or GSP against a good opponent draws very well (700-800k) but its been sporadic recently. McGregor is doing 1.2M, 1.3, 1.34, 1.6, all in close succession. Thats an insane difference - these things arent cheap. Not to mention gates, & overall worldwide mainstream publicly that the UFC couldn't buy, let alone get for free, previously.

 

[mb2621]

Getting too much money and fame also ruins some fighters. Boxing has plenty of examples. But yeah for the risks they take, average fighter gets paid way too little.

 

[lostdog000]

they are gettin paid way way more than they were years ago

 

[Cat Biscuits]

Yep. A string of recent PPV's have done like 150k, 200k, etc. 300-400k is seen as a good number. Jones or GSP against a good opponent draws very well (700-800k) but its been sporadic recently. McGregor is doing 1.2M, 1.3, 1.34, 1.6, all in close succession. Thats an insane difference - these things arent cheap. Not to mention gates, & overall worldwide mainstream publicly that the UFC couldn't buy, let alone get for free, previously.

Yeah, sure, they're not cheap. Which is why Dana isn't living a luxurious lifestyle, right? He's another greedy asshole who only wants more money when he's got more than enough for the rest of his life.

Typical assholes who use others to get rich, but refuse to pay it back to those who helped them become who they are.