5 Shocking Facts About The UFC Pay Scale

[Mad Good Dro]

5 Shocking Facts About The UFC Pay Scale

In the past few weeks the topic of UFC fighter pay has been a huge point of discussion.
Personally, I don’t really see anything wrong with the UFC’s model or how they conduct their business. If it wasn’t for the sport’s popularity, that they built, I wouldn’t have this amazing job that I have and none of you would be reading this.
That being said, these 5 statistics are very eye-opening.
ALL THE CREDIT FOR THIS LIST GO TO MMASENTINAL.COM


[1] Did you know the worst bench warmer on the worst Women’s NBA team makes double what the average entry-level UFC fighter does?
[2] How about this, there was a UFC event in 2013 in which, apparently, the highest guaranteed pay on the card was $30k/$30k.
[3] Did you know, a fighter received only $12,000 in disclosed pay while fighting for a title and main-eventing a Pay-Per-View, this year?
[4] The median average wage for a top 15 fighter in the UFC is just $30,500 per year.
[5] Floyd Mayweather, in the 12 months between summer 2011 and summer 2012, made approximately four times more in guaranteed salary than the entire UFC roster combined. He fought twice.

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[Jutt]

To be fair..a lot of income is unreported. Still doesnt change the fact that these guys are underpaid.



*in before the dumbass boxing>MMA arguments*

 

[krackdagawd]

I'm not even that big of an MMA fan but this is fukking disgusting man, fukk Dana White.

 

[RudySpanish]

one thing to remember is the level of sponsors NBA and Boxing is getting, UFC (Bud & FOX) NBA (pick any)
also about 90 percent of pro boxers are underpaid, u only see the salaries of the top boxers, but i ride with yall UFC fighter are underpaid, they'll have to make a union to get pay equal

 

[Screwface Exchange]

so the avg mid level to low level ufc fighter mks 30k and probably only gets 2 fights a year. The lucky ones get 3. Not bad, i work 5 days a week every wk and only get 10 vacation days and I make 35k.

plus we also are not counting all of the side money the fighters get just by appearing on an ufc fight, such as that banner wit a zillion sponsors on it, no1 ever considers how much they gettin from each of those sponsors. Also, alot of these mid level and higher tier fights, majority of the time are at their gym. that gym is their real job as they get paid by the gym as their name being a member helps attract ppl to the gym. Trust me, fighters like GSP n rashad evans are gettin a nice chunk outta Tri Star and Blackzillions.

The thing that is most upsetting about all these complaints from media and some fighters about pay is, if the fighters truly think they are being underpaid then quit and go find another job. If that kid working the fryer at Mcdonalds is unhappy wit his pay he can quit and go hope that burger king will pay em more. If u think the ufc is under paying, go look at the other mma promotions in the US, then ur gonna see real under pay. Every talks about how much the NFL pays their atheletes, well how much does the next biggest Professional football league in the US pay their athletes? Matter fact, how about them NCAA athletes doin, March Madness is mking BILLIONS, how big is the athletes cut?

 

[Majestic Pape]

so the avg mid level to low level ufc fighter mks 30k and probably only gets 2 fights a year. The lucky ones get 3. Not bad, i work 5 days a week every wk and only get 10 vacation days and I make 35k.

plus we also are not counting all of the side money the fighters get just by appearing on an ufc fight, such as that banner wit a zillion sponsors on it, no1 ever considers how much they gettin from each of those sponsors. Also, alot of these mid level and higher tier fights, majority of the time are at their gym. that gym is their real job as they get paid by the gym as their name being a member helps attract ppl to the gym. Trust me, fighters like GSP n rashad evans are gettin a nice chunk outta Tri Star and Blackzillions.

The thing that is most upsetting about all these complaints from media and some fighters about pay is, if the fighters truly think they are being underpaid then quit and go find another job. If that kid working the fryer at Mcdonalds is unhappy wit his pay he can quit and go hope that burger king will pay em more. If u think the ufc is under paying, go look at the other mma promotions in the US, then ur gonna see real under pay. Every talks about how much the NFL pays their atheletes, well how much does the next biggest Professional football league in the US pay their athletes? Matter fact, how about them NCAA athletes doin, March Madness is mking BILLIONS, how big is the athletes cut?

You (most likely) don't work anywhere near as hard or for as long as they have worked though. And also (most likely) nobody is coming to your job to watch you work. I hate when people try to compare themselves to professional athletes in terms of their jobs.

And your last paragraph is actually worthy.

 

[Screwface Exchange]

You (most likely) don't work anywhere near as hard or for as long as they have worked though. And also (most likely) nobody is coming to your job to watch you work. I hate when people try to compare themselves to professional athletes in terms of their jobs.

And your last paragraph is actually worthy.

The problem is your mixing up what the actual UFC job is and what they do to prepare for their job. They get paid to fight in the ring and do x amt of media/promo events. It's not their job to do a 1 or 3 month training program. They do that on their own, to be the best that they can be. Much like a person going to university or college so they can better themselves and land a better job. Really they don't work that long technically for the UFC, add up the total media mins, and total time inthe ring in front of ppl. And actually yes, ppl do watch me at work. I get watched, recorded and I get interviewed. I am in the public sometimes on stages speaking and working in front of a few hundred or thousands sometimes. Then there are others when i'm just with my 15-20 of my peers stuck inside for days on end. Much like a fighter most of the time they are not in front of a crowd of fans, they leave the ring and go back to their lives going from home to gym, gym to home and sometimes thats the same place.

This is the free world, no1 is forcing them to sign that fight contract, or take that pay chq, if you think you are underpaid compared to your peers, then don't sign it. Go apply for a job with your peers making that loot. Have fun tryin to break in to boxing and make that Mayweather money. U want that lebron money, have fun tryin to break into the NBA, check some of those nba drafts the from a few yrs ago and see how many 1st round picks have vanished to thin air. They can't even get Bellatour money, they stuck playin in da d league in front of 20-30 ppl.

 

[Majestic Pape]

The problem is your mixing up what the actual UFC job is and what they do to prepare for their job. They get paid to fight in the ring and do x amt of media/promo events. It's not their job to do a 1 or 3 month training program. They do that on their own, to be the best that they can be. Much like a person going to university or college so they can better themselves and land a better job. Really they don't work that long technically for the UFC, add up the total media mins, and total time inthe ring in front of ppl. And actually yes, ppl do watch me at work. I get watched, recorded and I get interviewed. I am in the public sometimes on stages speaking and working in front of a few hundred or thousands sometimes. Then there are others when i'm just with my 15-20 of my peers stuck inside for days on end. Much like a fighter most of the time they are not in front of a crowd of fans, they leave the ring and go back to their lives going from home to gym, gym to home and sometimes thats the same place.

This is the free world, no1 is forcing them to sign that fight contract, or take that pay chq, if you think you are underpaid compared to your peers, then don't sign it. Go apply for a job with your peers making that loot. Have fun tryin to break in to boxing and make that Mayweather money. U want that lebron money, have fun tryin to break into the NBA, check some of those nba drafts the from a few yrs ago and see how many 1st round picks have vanished to thin air. They can't even get Bellatour money, they stuck playin in da d league in front of 20-30 ppl.

Using your logic, I assume that you would never ask any employer of yours for a raise? I assume that you'd just go into a different field or find another company?

 

[Screwface Exchange]

Using your logic, I assume that you would never ask any employer of yours for a raise? I assume that you'd just go into a different field or find another company?

Your acting like ufc fighters dont get raises. Its pretty basic, they offered a contract with a set wage, you either agreed and sign the contract, or you disagree and dont sign it and look for a higher paying job or company. But don't sign the contract, cash the chq's make a name for yourself, and then bytch later saying u shld get paid more.

 

[23Barrettcity]

Your acting like ufc fighters dont get raises. Its pretty basic, they offered a contract with a set wage, you either agreed and sign the contract, or you disagree and dont sign it and look for a higher paying job or company. But don't sign the contract, cash the chq's make a name for yourself, and then bytch later saying u shld get paid more.

Your not the product at your job and can't bring in the revenue they can . You leave the job your easily replaced , all the fighters leave UFC they don't exist

 

[Screwface Exchange]

Your not the product at your job and can't bring in the revenue they can . You leave the job your easily replaced , all the fighters leave UFC they don't exist

Good point, and for this reason these fighters make more than me. For 1 fight and a couple promo appearances, some of them make more than what i make in a month sometimes.

The thing with the UFC now is, these fighters all think they are the product. They think without them the show won't go on, so they should get a bigger cut of the takes. But, once they either retire, or leave ufc for another show, the UFC goes on. They scout, develop, market and promote a new star and continue to make money and keep the machine going. That old star who argued for money, quickly forgotten.

Look at the ppv juggernauts who have retired from the ufc in the last few yrs, Chuck, Brock, Matt hughes, Couture, Tito, Rampage. And the UFC then made new stars, Bones Jones, GSP, JDS, Cain, and of course Anderson Silva. i think any fighter who really thinks they can get more money outside the UFC, they should jus let em go and watch em come back after a year. The money sadly just isn't out there, mostly due to UFC buying the solid competition. Now they got promoters like Nemesis who run a show and then skip town and no1 gets paid, ask Keith Jardine about that.

 

[MIAlien]

i think any fighter who really thinks they can get more money outside the UFC, they should jus let em go and watch em come back after a year. The money sadly just isn't out there, mostly due to UFC buying the solid competition. Now they got promoters like Nemesis who run a show and then skip town and no1 gets paid, ask Keith Jardine about that.

That's because the UFC has created a near monopoly in the MMA market. These fighters can't go elsewhere and make what they deserve, because there's no actual market for their services. Someone should file an anti-trust suit against the UFC. Wages don't come close to the revenue and the market has been closed up because the UFC has acquired nearly every other major company. Anti-trust issues are huge in the major American sports. The UFC is no exception.

And I think it's dumb to bring up how much you make in comparison to the fighters. If an MMA fighter makes it to the UFC, then they're in the top 1% of their field in the world. They deserve more than $30k per fight at that point. You certainly can't be in the top 1% of your field if you're making $35k a year. If you were, you'd make more.

 

[Screwface Exchange]

That's because the UFC has created a near monopoly in the MMA market. These fighters can't go elsewhere and make what they deserve, because there's no actual market for their services. Someone should file an anti-trust suit against the UFC. Wages don't come close to the revenue and the market has been closed up because the UFC has acquired nearly every other major company. Anti-trust issues are huge in the major American sports. The UFC is no exception.

And I think it's dumb to bring up how much you make in comparison to the fighters. If an MMA fighter makes it to the UFC, then they're in the top 1% of their field in the world. They deserve more than $30k per fight at that point. You certainly can't be in the top 1% of your field if you're making $35k a year. If you were, you'd make more.

Yup very true, UFC has created a monopoly, just like other major sports. UFC would probably win an anti trust suit though as there are over 30 mma promotions in North America alone. The fact that they are smaller and dont make as much money as the UFC does is not the UFC's problem. Some companies are bigger than others, some pay more than others.

And while it may be true the fighters that make it to the UFC are the top 1% of the total mma fighters in north america/the world. But once in the UFC they are just 1 of many other mma fighters. And once they leave, another will replace em. Sad to say thats life. If they want Mayweather money then go make it to the top 1% in boxing and see if its an easier path than MMA.

 

[Screwface Exchange]

A good sports example may be the NHL currently. New Jersey Devils winger Kovalchuk had a 11m per year contract and just retired a cpl months ago. He then said he is going to play back home in Russia in their KHL league. He will be mking upwards of 15m per year in the KHL. The Devils happily let em retire with no fuss, and let em go play in Russia for this upcoming season, meanwhile fans are outraged saying how dare he just retire on a contact and then go sign a new contract for another league. If retired then he shouldn't be allowed to play for another league. But, thats supply and demand. If a UFC fighter truly thinks they can get more money elsewhere, do the same move, retire from your UFC contract, then go fight in Japan see if gets more money. If Dana wants to use then take em to court n use anti trust laws against em.

 

[Roman Brady]

These sort of threads/topics are a waste of time because there is a lot of under the table stuff + sponsorship money that arent documented so we dont know how much fighters are really making. And even if the ufc had a card where the highest documented pay was 30k so what? those fighters could easily be the korean zombie against joe blow. Those dudes cant sell a ppv alone and their division isnt money.They already agreed to set terms in a binding contract so why should the ufc suddenly over pay them just cuz joe silva placed them on top of the card? do you clowns remember affliction? that "lets be santa clause with pay" aint the way to run a successful mma organisation folks