The strap will be mine. But it’s business, right? That being the question of: Does the UFC pay its fighters appropriately, in general? In the UFC 254 main event, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in a title unification bout to close out the UFC’s current five-event run at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. So there’s not a lot of money to throw around. Reality is we don’t fight with them, we can’t go anywhere else contractually. “I’ll say this, and I’m a small business owner, too: You’re going to get what you ask for. Champions would make a round number of $40,000, taking the “lion’s share” of the kitty. That’s always how it works. (Top photo of 2015 UFC-Reebok launch: Brad Barket / Getty). On that first day, there was a glimmer of guarded excitement in the air that this would be a good thing for everyone. The fighters have to be brought together. That being said, live gate revenue accounted for less than 12 percent of revenue for the UFC last year, and while that is not insignificant, Moody’s suggests that the UFC may be able to offset those losses by negotiating higher rights fees. Morning Report: Khabib Nurmagomedov hints at magic number for retirement: ‘30-0 is going to be great’. For me, I’d say no, on whole, because I know I could get a lot more money than Reebok pays me.”. Dana White fires back at Conor McGregor, claims he turned down short-notice fight at UFC 249. Finally. U gotta say thanks to @TheNotoriousMMA his is the only reason u make money in your life Natan @NateDiaz209 pic.twitter.com/3oYWN4uLns. Thats the conundrum. Dana White gets in heated debate over fighter pay after repeated complaints from Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal. “Like, that’s the stuff that I’m like, man, I picked the wrong sport.”. A whopping 77.1 percent of those polled said that “no,” fighters in the UFC were not paid their full worth, many citing comparisons to professional athletes in other sports. Top finishes in the ONE featherweight division. Just do me a favor don’t blink your get your and buy the PPV pic.twitter.com/hTtp7nKiQx, Another thing! “I think the UFC should value their athletes more,” a ONE Championship fighter said. So the UFC installed a tier system for payout, which assigned dollar amounts to its athletes based on ranking and tenure, with a 20 percent “back end” bonus attached to individual sales. Still, I think they should help their athletes more.”. But when it comes to me as a human that likes fighting, I know f*cking dangerous that sh*t is. The UFC is still embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit regarding this very matter, documents from which have revealed that fighters take home roughly 20 percent of the revenue generated by the UFC, which stands in stark contrast to revenue splits in other major American sports, usually around 50 percent. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone $200,000. If you had between 6-10 fights, you got $5,000. I think that goes with a lot of deals — the ESPN deal, the Reebok deal, all of those deals. Title challengers get $30,000 and champions get $40,000. Speaking about the topic on his podcast on Tuesday, Rogan opined about why fighter pay has become such a hot topic recently. They agree to like, an 8-fight deal at X amount per fight, and then they become more popular and then they want to renegotiate their deal, and the UFC is like, ‘Look, we’re just trying to stay open. But for Rogan, the bigger issue at the moment is the current global climate and the financial losses the UFC has had to take as a result of COVID-19. And if the Reebok deal has been a game-changer for the UFC, it’s not been perceived that way for the majority of the fighters themselves, who just happen to be the ones playing the game. We’re not going to renegotiate anything. “Right now in particular, there is probably less money because there is no live gate, and that’s an extreme amount of money,” Rogan said. So we have to understand that side of the business. Alexander Volkanovski (21-1) vs. Max Holloway (21-5); UFC 251, July 11. So this is why I think they’re complaining about fighter pay.”. You have the platform and the power or bring a few more champions on board. The eyes of the MMA world were locked onto Saturday’s lightweight championship showdown between Teofimo Lopez and Vasyl Lomachenko. In recent weeks, the biggest story in MMA has been the sudden emergence of well-known UFC fighters publicly voicing their displeasure with their current pay. We couldn't make it work this time. “. Don't panic – Brian Ortega vows to grow back hair: 'I can't stay bald, brother', Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. But the unveiling wasn’t exactly a home run for many onlookers in New York that day, nor for the people following along on the live stream at home. Stipe Miocic (19-3) vs. Daniel Cormier (22-2); UFC 252, August 15. 2020 has been tough for me on this side of the world, as it has been for alot of people, but fuck it, you cant stop what is inevitable. Perhaps, but halfway into that 10-year prediction, a large majority of mixed martial artists don’t view the Reebok deal as the financial boon the UFC originally advertised. Big mad. Kamaru Usman (16-1) vs. Gilbert Burns (19-3); UFC 251, July 11. UFC featherweight contender Brian Ortega promises he’ll grow his hair back after shaving it for charity. One commonly cited optic that doesn’t sit well with fighters inside and out of the UFC is the split between profits. Discussing UFC 250 and the bantamweight division. The Street's Brian O'Connell, citing industry figures, pegs the average anual UFC fighter salary at $138,000 as of the fall of 2019. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram, add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting, and like us on Facebook. These are cookies that are required to provide you with features or services that you have requested. To keep the doors open, to keep people employed, a lot of money is missing. “Anyone can think they should be paid more,” he said. “I look at other sports’ numbers, and I get depressed on a daily basis seeing what, like, what an NHL player makes, and then just a regular Joe on the sidelines of a baseball game who doesn’t have to play necessarily,” one UFC fighter said. Fights Gone By. This includes information about the number of visitors to the site, what pages visitors view on our site and how long visitors are viewing pages on the site. . That’s what I think. According to the document, these payments were made according to a formulaic schedule, by dividing fighters into various tiers. The Reebok question on the fighter survey was followed up with a broader question in that same realm, which yielded an even more one-sided result. “So I’m going to be wearing gold for the entirety of my career.”. The UFC’s partnership deal with Reebok is up in 2021, and it remains to be seen if the apparel company will look to re-up for another run. But it’s also a business and I think that if they are struggling as much as I think they are - I don’t talk finances with them but I know that WME, the people who own it, are hurting, bad. pic.twitter.com/jnzNaOCR1C, — S.W. “But I’ve got friends who could be getting easily twice as much, three times as much, if they could still have their own sponsors. All of this is to say that fighter pay has been at the top of everyone’s mind lately and now, UFC commentator Joe Rogan has weighed in. “But with the sponsors I had before signing for the UFC, I could probably make more than five times than what I’m getting from Reebok, so it’s not good in that sense. “For fighters in Mexico, it’s good,” a non-UFC fighter said. I think everybody should get paid more,” Rogan said. Everything is fine. UFC Unfiltered. A. Henry Cejudo retired from the sport, in part because of the money he was making; Jorge Masvidal asked for his release from the company because they wouldn’t pay him what he believes he’s worth; and Jon Jones has had an ongoing public battle with the UFC over their refusal to pay him to move up to heavyweight and they poor pay he received earlier in his career. As the Reebok deal got underway, some fighters were immediately critical of the pay structure, especially when comparing earning potential in the pre-Reebok era next to what they were getting under the new agreement. While nearly two-thirds of the fighters polled in the survey said the Reebok deal isn’t good for fighters overall ­— many scoffing that it was even up for debate — the other third was split evenly at 15.9 percent between the partnership being good for fighters and those who were unsure. Those guys are getting majorly screwed by it, no question.”. Try a week on us. Continue to stay safe everybody. Analytical Cookies also help us measure the performance of our advertising campaigns in order to help us improve our advertising campaigns and to optimize our Services' content for those who engage with our advertising. Here it’s difficult to get that kind of sponsorship, so it’s good for the majority.”. If you want to see how much Reebok’s fighter pay scale, you see it here. The Reebok deal was both good and bad. Most businesses are hurting and all the entertainment businesses are f*cked. Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3 set for UFC 252 on August 15. Champions would make a round number of $40,000, taking the “lion’s share” of the kitty. They probably took care of Bispings medical expenses, usually do for their top athletes. Luis Pena (8-2) vs. Khama Worthy (15-6); UFC Fight Night, June 27. “I think it’s a crazy way to make a living. Sometimes geography plays a role in how the Reebok deal is perceived, as many Brazilian fighters and others who reside outside of the U.S. saw the positives of having that sponsorship money structurally built into their pay. The lack of competition in the MMA promotional space has been a sticky wicket for a number of years. pic.twitter.com/GaDr6BKoh5. Three title fights, Fight Island location announced for UFC 251 next month. You’ve got to get what you can. Already have the app? After all, outside sponsors at the time had been declining for the previous couple of years, in large part because the UFC had enacted a hefty sponsor tax, which was too steep for the smaller brands to deal with. paying a dividend of $300 million to celebrity vanity investors, Watch BT Sport's incredible tribute to Khabib Nurmagomedov's father ahead of UFC 254, Hablemos MMA #13: Entrevista con Javier Mendez, resumen de UFC Fight Island 6 y Bellator 249, noticias, y más, Video: UFC 254 'Countdown' for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje, Video: UFC 254 'Countdown' for Jared Cannonier vs. Robert Whittaker. Some people thought the kits were too close to soccer kits and/or cobbled together without much imagination, while others thought the fighters looked like cult members and feared individuality would be lost. Brendan Schaub famously quipped that he was making more than $100,000 per fight in sponsorships before Reeebok, which UFC President Dana White was quick to refute. For more information about Cookies and how to adjust them, please see our. Only “training injuries”, nothing else https://t.co/xBVhKWlkoP, It's finally happening for real?! However, Maynard was only guaranteed $26,000 as show money for his UFC 125 fight with Edgar. That figure went against the 15.9 percent of fighters who saw the UFC’s pay rates as appropriate, and another 7.1 percent who were either undecided or unsure. “I always like wearing black because I’m the bad guy, and I always like wearing gold because I’m the best,” said Rousey, proudly embracing the new alliance. GET YOUR GIBLERT MELENDEZ GEAR HERE! Parading down the catwalk in a dark “fight kit” was Ronda Rousey, then the UFC women’s bantamweight champion.