They're not drowning. Their model is very simple and it works. They don't pay their fighters but they promote them. Sponsors pay for the fighters and they make **** load of money. People like Rich Franklin used to get measly 30k payouts for wins while he was a champion but with endorsements they make millions. UFC sells which creates endorsements for fighters. Sponsors end up being the actual salary. Kind of like servers in restaurants that make 3$ an hour but tips make them earn much more than that. They make good money and it will take 3 years of shitty cards for them to drown.
Here are the exact numbers you asked for. Live gate was a little over $3M Some fighters such as Koscheck made an addition 70K (in his case times 2) for bonuses. Jacob Volkmann got paid a grand total of 6K. And it looks like Forrest had to win his fight with Tito just to match his purse. =================================================== The total disclosed payroll for the event was $1,021,000. Other top earners included main-card fighters Josh Koscheck ($106,000) and UFC newcomer Antonio Rogerio Nogueira ($100,000) and preliminary-card fighter Kendall Grove ($44,000). The full lit of payouts includes: Forrest Griffin: $250,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus) def. Tito Ortiz: $250,000 Josh Koscheck: $106,000 ($53,000 win bonus) def. Anthony Johnson: $17,000 Paulo Thiago: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Jacob Volkmann: $6,000 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $100,000 ($30,000 win bonus) def. Luiz Cane: $19,000 Amir Sadollah: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus) def. Phil Baroni: $25,000 Ben Saunders: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Davis: $27,000 Kendall Grove: $44,000 ($22,000 win bonus) def. Jake Rosholt: $15,000 Brian Foster: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus) def. Brock Larson: $26,000 Caol Uno: $20,000 vs. Fabricio Camoes: $10,000 (Both fighters earned show money; bout declared majority draw) George Sotiropoulos: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Jason Dent: $8,000 Now, the usual disclaimer: The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income. They also do not include any other "locker room" or special bonuses the UFC oftentimes pays.
I have just completely lost interest in UFC now. I couldn't wait for it to be on before, but now they're shovelling out some really **** cards. I even get it free over here and I don't watch it. UFC peaked with 100.
I stole this post from another site. ================================================================= was wondering what the fighters get paid in the UFC and was surprised to find the following list as I started my search: UFC 51: Below is the pay scale for UFC 51 as released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission: Tito Ortiz: USD$125,000 to show, USD$50,000 to win Vitor Belfort: USD$100,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$40,000 Tim Sylvia: USD$40,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$40,000 Evan Tanner: USD$18,000 to show, USD$20,000 to win Andrei Arlovski: USD$12,000 to show, USD$18,000 to win Nick Diaz: USD$6,000 to show, USD$5,000 to win Phil Baroni: USD$10,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$10,000 Paul Buentello: USD$4,000 to show, USD$4,000 to win Karo Parisyan: USD$4,000 to show, USD$4,000 to win Mike Kyle: USD$3,000 to show, USD$3,000 to win David Terrell: USD$6,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$6,000 ****** Eilers: USD$5,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$5,000 Chris Lytle: USD$4,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$4,000 David Loiseau: USD$2,000 to show, USD$2,000 to win Pete Sell: USD$2,000 to show, USD$2,000 to win James Irvin: USD$3,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$3,000 Drew Fickett: USD$2,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$2,000 Gideon Ray: USD$2,000 to show, win bonus would've been USD$2,000 UFC 56 Fighter Salaries Event took place on November 19, 2005 -Matt Hughes: $110,000 ($55,000 for fighting; $55,000 win bonus) -Jeremy Horn: $50,000 ($25,000 for fighting; $25,000 win bonus) -Georges St. Pierre: $35,000 ($16,000 for fighting; $19,000 win bonus) -Rich Franklin: $26,000 ($13,000 for fighting; $13,000 win bonus) -Joe Riggs: $12,000 ($12,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $8,000) -Nate Quarry: $10,000 ($10,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $10,000) -Sean Sherk: $10,000 ($10,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $10,000) -Sam Hoger: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus) -Trevor Prangley: $6,000 ($6,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $6,000) -Gabriel Gonzaga: $6,000 ($3,000 for fighting; $3,000 win bonus) -Nick Thompson: $6,000 ($3,000 for fighting; $3,000 win bonus) -Thiago Alves: $4,000 ($2,000 for fighting; $2,000 win bonus) -Kevin Jordan: $3,000 ($3,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $3,000) -Jeff Newton: $2,000 ($2,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $2,000) -Ansar Chalangov: $2,000 ($2,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $2,000) -Keith Wisniewski: $2,000 ($2,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $2,000) Total Fighter Payroll: $294,000 (average of $18,375 per fighter) UFS 58 Rich Franklin ($34,000) def. David Loiseau ($9,000) via Unanimous Decision. Mike Swick ($10,000) def. Steve Vigneault ($2,000) via Submission (guillotine choke) in Round 1. Georges St. Pierre ($48,000) def. B.J. Penn ($25,000) via Split Decision. Nathan Marquardt ($30,000) def. Joe Doerksen ($5,000) via Unanimous Decision. Mark Hominick ($4,000) def. Yves Edwards ($8,000) via Submission (triangle armbar) in Round 2. Sam Stout ($4,000) def. Spencer Fisher ($8,000) via Split Decision. Jason Lambert ($4,000) def. Rob MacDonald ($5,000) via Submission (kimura) in Round 1. Tom Murphy ($10,000) def. Icho Larenas ($3,000) via TKO (strikes) in Round 3. Total fighter payout for UFC 58: $209,000 UFC 60 fighter paydays This is from various MMA website forums. Not included are bonuses and PPV buyrate percentages. Royce Gracie: $400,000 Matt Hughes: $55,000 Jeremy Horn: $35,000 Brandon Vera: $16,000 Diego Sanchez: $12,000 Joe Riggs: $12,000 Alessio Sakara: $10,000 Assuerio Silva : $8,000 Spencer Fisher: $7,000 Mike Swick: $7,000 Melvin Guillard: $5,000 Gabriel Gonzaga: $5,000 Dean Lister: $5,000 Chael Sonnan: $5,000 Fabiano Scherner: $3,000 Matt Wiman: $3,000 John Alessio: $3,000 Rick Davis: $2,000 I wrote to the Nevada Athletic Commission to confirm the foregoing amounts and am waiting to hear back from them. In any event, it seems that these guys are getting paid way to little considering the $$ Zuffa is getting from gate $$, pay per view, and $$ generated from the contract with Spike. Looks like these guys need to organize and get some agents, usually I would be against that because it would raise the prices for the viewers, but this is not necessarily the case, as at a certain price point (possibly we are already there), Zuffa will have to eat the loss.
Let me rephrase. I thought you would know what I mean. By saying just like the WWE I was meaning, the "announcements", pre fight trash talking, bring the next challenger into the octogon right after a fight is over, reality shows (WWF Tough Enough, TUF), having one man as the leader/villan (white is Vince Mcmahon). All this is being done. There are scripts in the UFC, not the fights so much (but there has been claims of extra pay for ("keep the fight standing"), but in what to say in the reality shows. I know it's entertainment, but what happened to "As Real As It Gets?" As far as your question about the boxing model corruption, it will happen in time. Dana White will also be the Don King. He isn't activley seeking the matches we all want to see as much as he lets on. He wants to ink the deal for garage sale prices and charge premiums to see it. I am all for business and free enterprise, but he [White] is going overboard.
Boxing will alway be bigger than MMA and thats a fact. UFC is great stuff but i believe its at its peak and fans will start getting alway from it. I hate the UFC tv show. A bunch of big men acting like children. so inmature. BOXING IS THE BEST. Real men boxing,, not roll on the ground and twist ankles lol.
If you wear thier brands. And drink thier drinks. It might as well be kool aid in jonestown. UFC strongarms fighters
Strikeforce just started making moves against the UFC like 3-4 months ago and look at the fire it has started. If you cannot see that the UFC has peaked when SF is signing great fighters, having Successful events getting more views than UFC events. not to mention the massive movement against the UFC and the joke cards they are putting out. UFC doesnt even have the best HW in the world on their roster. Dan Hendo signed, Rampage has one fight left on his deal with the UFC, where will he go once his fight is up? Groveling back to white? Or to someone that is willing to work with him and let him do movies? Dont even compare this to affliction, Strikeforce had 25 million viewers watch that Fedor card. UFC 105 had 2.9 million viewers .... Time to start giving us good cards in the UFC.
Well, you don't drink THEIR kool aid but you drink the kool aid by the brands they allow to sponsor you. Yes, they do strongarm a lot, no doubt. But many of their fighters get paid much more than what you see in the payouts.
That's like saying pay basketball, football and baseball, golf and tennis players **** because they can make money off their endorsements. It's apples and oranges. Do you think the UFC has a bigger marketing budget than the NFL, not a hope in hell, but the NFL players make milions, not like some UFC fighters making 6K for a fight, that's pathetic, considering the training costs involved. If a fighter puts bums in the seats or gets people to watch fights at home, he should be compensated fairly for doing this, irregardless of what he makes promoting clothes, drinks, or whatever else may arise.
Listen, I'm speaking comparatively. Clearly you can't compare it to NFL or NBA, it's not comparable. UFC is much younger, in fact this model has only been applied 2000ish. But it's similar. Comparing salaries of NFL players and basketball players to fighters is ridiculous. It's terrible and the sports are different. Basketball teams play 80 games a year and sell out big crowds each game, fighters of any kind physically cannot do that. Playoffs bring money to the city and the promotion levels and money overturn on the city level is humongous. Same with NFL. Not to mention these are televised on national TV with big deals and coverages. Stupid comparison. Period. Boxers are the same way, you think boxers that fight 4 round pro fights get payed alot? or even 6rnd or 8 round? For 4 round fight they'd be lucky to get 2k purse with a win. But they do get sponsors, even if it's small time and even local. Most pro fighters have real jobs, and even HBO undercards make around 10k or so.
You were basically saying the fact fighters bring in the fans doesn't matter because they should be thankful they get sponsorship revenue. If anything is ridiculous it's that comment. A fighter should be paid at least partially for the amount of revenues he brings in. For example it was reported on another thread Kimbo got paid 25K for his fight on Spike TV, do you think that's fair considering he alone probably counted for a few million fans, which as you know, the more fans that watch, the more the advertisers pay. It's a joke what he was paid, plain and simple. And back to boxers, yes I think PBF and Pacquaio make more money than Anderson Silva and GSP, and this is on a comparative basis, meaning if you adjusted things to make them apples to apples. Ie the same amount of PPV revenues and gate revenues. In fact I don't think it would be close. As for marginal boxers getting paid 2K for a win, I don't have a problem with that if there's a few hundred fans in attendance, I'm not suggesting promoters should lose money to support a fighter, but if they're on TV and part of a PPV package, it shouldn't happen. So the bottom line, is that this is only a sustainable model if the fighters allow it to be. If they have alternatives, like Hendo, they'll make the best deal they can regardless of who the promoters are. Other UFC fighters such as Tito have also sat out for periods of time to get a fair deal. As for this model being new, I disagree with that too. It's not all that new, it strikes me as the one the WWF used for years.
