Are salaries of UFC really that low?

[Rantcatrat]

I read that Weidman was paid under $50,000 for his fight with Silva and that Silva wasn't paid all that much either. Isn't Silva one of the top athletes in the mixed martial arts profession? Isn't UFC very profitable? How is it possible? Won't low salaries eventually make UFC less popular because capable fighters won't see the point of joining the the sport because there is no financial reward?

[VictorCharlie]

Y! SPORTS

Chris also got a 50k bonus for Knock out of the Night. As far as your questions...seems to be working well so far.

[bradlee180]

There is money in UFC, but dana white and the fertittas take the lion's share, and give maybe, what, 15% to 20% of the profits to be divided up amongst ALL the fighters.

It's a raw deal, I can't believe mixed martial arts fighters will risk their lives for so little.
Many want the fame, the women, and the money, but the money is low even for the top fighters while the owners get very rich on the fighters' blood, sweat, and tears.
And once you're done and used-up, you're thrown out like garbage.

Boxing is a crap business too, but Boxing and UFC's respective business models are completely different.
UFC's fights are of course real and legitimate competition, but the business model is built EXACTLY on Vince McMahon's WWE pro-wrestling model complete with non-compete clauses. Really, once these guys sign a 1-sided UFC contract, essentially they become employees of the UFC, and their services can be terminated by the UFC at anytime. UFC is the only game in town for Mixed Martial Arts, the only MMA org that survives, so UFC has a monopoly. No competition. If a fighter doesn't like the deal, they're shown the door, or they don't even get in the door, and where can they go that'll pay enough to make a living?

In Boxing, the purses for fighters go through the roof because there is international competition between promoters. When all the promoters see a potential money-making star, they all want to sign him, so different promoters start offering bids for the fighter to sign with them instead of a rival promoter. Don King, Bob Arum's Top Rank, De La Hoya's Golden Boy, Klitschko's K2, Sauerland, Gary Shaw, Goossen-Tutor, etc.

The respective differences between the business models of Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts combined with the global size differences of the 2 combat-sports is why Pacquiao gets 25 million dollars per fight and Anderson Silva makes 600 thousand dollars per fight despite both fighters selling comparable numbers of domestic ppv buys...

EDIT:
The sole recourse for UFC fighters that I can see in is to form a Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' Union.
It'll never happen though because first they're all scared of being fired by dana white in addition to their own personal greed that trumps unity...

[VictorCharlie]

I'm not feeling real sorry for someone making 600K for a nights work. MMA as we know it today is around 20 years old give or take and it has come light years since the first US events in the early 90s. As the sport continues to grow the salaries will as well. Something that isn't seen in publicly announced pay is that the UFC does a lot to provide its fighters with sponsorship opportunities to augment their per fight salary.

[Fenster]

Surprising more of these UFC guys don't chance their arm at boxing? The purse differences, if the ticket sales, TV viewers/PPV really is similar, are laughable (although i'm sure most boxing promoters would dream of being in Dana White's position).

[bradlee180]

No UFC fighter can compete in world-class Boxing, I see not a single Mixed Martial Arts fighter that could break Top 20 in pro boxing. If they could, that's where they'd be where the bigger money is. It's because most of the best in MMA come from grappling backgrounds. They're grapplers and most have from sup-par mediocre to elementary stand-up skills.

However, I believe that world-class boxers in the Top 10 could learn to grapple and become top MMA fighters, but there's no incentive as there's no money in UFC. 18 months of intense grappling training and they'd be ready to start.

Arum and King would love to run Boxing like dana white runs UFC as a dictator with a monopoly, but it'll never happen because Boxing's a world-sport. No one man can control and run Boxing.

Listen, Buckos, let's discuss how many pro fights per year to give you young fellas a barometer of global size differences between these combat-sports:
UFC is a single promotion within Mixed Martial Arts, and I don't know how many pro fights take place in a year across all Mixed Martial Arts, but I do know that UFC is basically the only game in town now for MMA, and none of these other MMA orgs survive anyway.

In 2009, UFC put on 215 pro bouts.
In 2009, Boxing put on approx 20 thousand pro bouts.

You're not gonna have 20 thousand professional matches a year UNLESS there's a tremendous amount of money involved, for $#!t's sake !!!

And there's a lot more amateur boxing takes place than Pro boxing: nobody knows how many amateur Boxing bouts take place in a year.
In about 2008 in MMA, I know there were more pro MMA fighters than amateurs: the direct inverse of how sports usually are.

UFC has tried to make inroads into other countries with limited success, and their main fan-base remains one Country: the USA.
In 2008, 77 Countries send Boxing Teams to the Olympics.

Americans seem to think Boxing faded. Maybe in their own country, but around the world, boxing is alive and well.

EDIT:
These MMA fighters have to get organized and form an MMA Fighters Union, it's the only thing i can see under the current system. I don't think UFC can survive in the long-haul under its own current system. When UFC does go under, MMA will survive by returning to its roots as a fringe-sport until it catches on again. Combat-sports are about peaks-and-valleys.

[Stickgrappler]

...and that Silva wasn't paid all that much either. Isn't Silva one of the top athletes in the mixed martial arts profession?

er, $600k, as in $600,000, for one fight - 25 mins max isn't "wasn't paid all that much either" to me. he had a $200k win bonus and if he won that would've been $800k!

it's good to be the champ!

[Stickgrappler]

To add to Bradlee's points:

Frank Shamrock hates the UFC, to the point of calling it "yoU Fight Cheap"

[bradlee180]

It's all relative: 600 thousand seems a lot for a single fight, but if that man's PPV sold comparable PPVs as a Pacquiao fight, then why does Pacquiao get 25 million for a single fight? And Mayweather too though he gets no endorsement money because of his multiple convictions for beating women.

...because dana white and the fertittas make millions each show on the backs of the fighters who risk their health, that's why!

Boxers a hundred years ago were making what top UFC fighters make right now, and I don't mean adjusted for inflation...

[Stickgrappler]

yeah i agree zuffa has a stranglehold on the money, but a lot of the fighters fight not for the money, but it's in their blood... they live and breathe mma.

iirc, tank abbott either/or chuck liddell (or both!) has a quote something to the effect of 'i'd fight for free' because they are fighters.

the money is much more lucrative in boxing, definitely in the upper echelons, but for a fighter who really wants to test himself, he trains multi-dimensional a la mma and one-dimensional like boxing hands-only (not dissing boxing), but the mma athlete wants a fuller 'game'/total test of skills vs training hands only

if they were really into it for the money, they would've went to boxing

[bradlee180]

Yeah, you can't fault a guy for tryin' to make a living.

I respect those MMA fighters.

But the thread-starter was inquiring why are the UFC fighter salaries so low considering the PPV buys.
Low pay clearly doesn't dissuade the fighters as this is how it's been all along.
The fighters know something's wrong when dana white keeps saying boxing's dying yet they read in the press that elite boxers top the list of highest paid athletes across ALL sports, while many good UFC fighters like Jon Fitch made the news when discussing his ufc pay over 7-and-a-half years. Many of these fighters don't know how these 2 combat-sports are set up fundamentally different.

[Stickgrappler]

ack! i read too fast, thx for pointing that out bradlee!

sorry for digression

[p4pking]

yeah i agree zuffa has a stranglehold on the money, but a lot of the fighters fight not for the money, but it's in their blood... they live and breathe mma.

iirc, tank abbott either/or chuck liddell (or both!) has a quote something to the effect of 'i'd fight for free' because they are fighters.

the money is much more lucrative in boxing, definitely in the upper echelons, but for a fighter who really wants to test himself, he trains multi-dimensional a la mma and one-dimensional like boxing hands-only (not dissing boxing), but the mma athlete wants a fuller 'game'/total test of skills vs training hands only

if they were really into it for the money, they would've went to boxing

I think that would be because they had complete shit for brains, with no morality and nowhere near the talent or skills to have ever had the equivalent success in anything. They were lucky to make more than they would have digging ditches or whatever the hell else they were capable of. Let alone another sport, let alone boxing, those guys were downright bums.
Most of your post is perfectly fair, that's just my take There are much more talented and sophisticated guys coming up in MMA these days, and a lot of what leads them to it over boxing say, is surely just passion for the sport. I don't think you can understate the peer recognition aspect of it either, kids don't watch boxing by and large, so people aren't going to take up boxing as a social thing, or to impress anyone etc, which is instrumental in getting young people into sports.

[VictorCharlie]

Woah...take it easy on Chuck. Great ambassador for the sport and a great fighter.

[Beanflicker]

Not sure about Weidman but I know guys like Anderson and GSP make MUCHO $$ per fight. Not Floyd Mayweather salaries by any stretch, but millions.