Comments on: Official UFC 74 Fighter Salaries

By: KID DYNAMITE

KID DYNAMITE — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 08:12:11 +0000

if atleast one of the morons in this page were to actually educate themselfs on this topic your arguments would actually make sense. if u compare the revenue that boxing makes to the ufc u would see that CHUCK LIDDELL, RAMPAGE, AND RANDY COUTURE should atleast and i really mean atleast should be pocketing 10 million. this pay would be so they could fight their heart out without losing interest even though they deserve over 10 million. Mike tyson Vs. Evander Holifield pocketed 30 million and 35 million for the winner with revenues of 1.4 million for ppv, and the iceman vs. rampage did somewhere in the million margin.

By: Red

Red — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:42:54 +0000

I agree with you Scott that the top fighters should be making more money. I believe the more money you pay a fighter the more he'll be focused and he would train harder knowing that millions are ont he line. Also there might be fighters that are willing to take more chances and risks. I think a fighter that might be motivated if millions of dollars were on the line is Arlovski; then we might see the old Arlovski who was ruthless and sometime reckless. With that ruthless and reckless attitude he was destroying fighters. If he can be like that again; then Couture might be in trouble.

By: SCOTCHYDOW

SCOTCHYDOW — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:41:49 +0000

I used to be a huge boxing fan. I still watch the old fights(Ali-Frazier, Tommy Hearns-Marvin Haggler,etc…)The sport used to be entertaining. I find it boering anymore. Part of what killed the sport is $$$$. I think the UFC is trying to responsibly move to the next level. The chaos of changing the sport over night could kill it. I also know that Zuffa is puting a large amount back into the sport. They spend alot of money on events for the fans(like weigh-ins) The fighters will make their money. As soon as Rampage beat Liddell, Dana signned a new contract for him.

By: scott

scott — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 05:43:58 +0000

I think that UFC fighters get paid way to little when you look at boxing. Boxers like Oscar make like between $15,000,000. and $30,000,000. a fight. And look how boring the sport is. The UFC is so much more entertaining than boxing, and the sport is so much more popular than boxing. I think that Liddell, Rampage, Cotoure, St.Pierre, and Hughes, fighters like that should make more than a $1,000,000.00 a fight because the UFC makes more than $1,000,000.00 a fight just for the ticket sales. I heard that they make like $2,000,000.00 and $3,000,000.00 just at the gate. I think that the big fighters should each have a set pay, and the other fighters should divide the ticket sales money, depending on there number of fights in the UFC and there experience level. But I think that the minimum pay out should be no less than $25,000.00 for each fighter. And yes the bigger there name the more money because, that means more tickets sold. And that $25,000.00 is without sponsors and things like that, just a flat rate.

By: Red

Red — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:14:47 +0000

Wow more than $500,000!? That's awesome; it would be great to see all the fighters compensated, so they don't have to work more than one job. Joe Rogan made a great point during a PPV. He said something along these lines, "The only thing I wish is that fighters would get paid thirty times more than they are getting now, so they can just focus on training." How cool would that be? So a guy like Ryan Jenson would get like a $100,000. I like Jenson; I hope to see him back in the UFC.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:31:58 +0000

Right and that's what I try to get over in the article. The amount the NSAC gives me is not their actual take but it all we have to go on. The majority of most fighters income is from sponsors and that was what Hughes as referring to as well.

By: FixXer

FixXer — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 01:29:49 +0000

yeah….. thats true. sponsers pay the big bux. im sure Dana makes sure his fighters are taken care of for the most part anyway. I heard something on a radio show that Matt Hughes said. He said the bigger names make much more money than the press show. He was very hesitant on how much, but when the host said "is it about $500,000?" Hughes said, much higher than that.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:23:50 +0000

Again I am not sure who his sponsors are/were but even if Jensen had 4-5 sponsors paying several thousand a piece (plus free gear) he is still making a good amount of money in a year.

By: FixXer

FixXer — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:23 +0000

I totally agree with Kris. Think about it….. $250,000. If a person that works 40 hours a week for 52 weeks made that kind of money….he would make around $4,810 a week. Now I dont know about you guys, but I surley dont make that kind of money. I guess I am one of those guys that think most athletes are over paid. I think the way the UFC pays its fighters is more than fair. Now guys like Ryan Jensen, I kinda feel sorry for….but if he gets 3 or 4 fights in a year…its not toooo bad, but should get a lil more cash if they dont let him fight a lil more because fighters need to train full time to be at their best…..which would kinda kill the full time job thing.

By: Kris

Kris — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:20:21 +0000

I am not trying to argue that the pay isn't low as I have stated several times in the past my displeasure with the pay but I don't think these fighters are making squat either. Remember a lot of them receive substantial sponsorships so these amounts are simply part of their income. I think as competition increases in MMA the UFC will raise their payouts to be more competitive. One such case will be Brock Lesnar who, despite only having just one MMA fight, is likely to make triple figures per fight in the UFC.

Quite frankly the little guy is who is left out but by reporting these figures to the public and making the UFC aware of your displeasure with the pay can truly make a difference.