dana white, pay rates and an idea...

[rusty nails]

Alot of people give dana white crap.
i have my own points of view on him (good and bad) but let me just say i think hes a very shrewd businessman. Anyway thats not what this thread is about..

People have made a big deal of the fact that alot of the fighters (particularly on the undercards) dont make a great deal of money

I have a theory on this:
I think dana realises that when alot of athletes make big money very quickly it takes alot of their hunger away. Think about it..
if you were fighting and you were gauranteed massive money instantly you would have to think to yourself "why the hell am i still fighting?" Very few are in it for the glory and the titles..
How many times have you seen rookies signed to teams on massive contracts only to have an absolute dog of a season..
I think dana knows this and thats PART of the reason he likes to drip feed his fighters until hes absolutely FORCED to pay them big money..

which brings me to my next point

I think the UFC pay policy should go something like this

ALL fighters should recieve 20,000 per fight (enough to cover training expenses and have a little spare) no matter who they are.

5,000 bonus if they win. 10,000 if they submit or KO

All fighters on a win streak of more than 5 fights should earn 100,000 dollars per fight

All title fights should be automatically 150,000.
double that if they submit or KO

NOW HERES THE KICKER: How about this?
ALL fighters that have a win streak of more than 10 wins in a row in the UFC should earn 1000,000 per fight

I think the two best things about this type of pay structure is that it ensures everybody stays hungry AND gets paid.
It also ensures that the best fighters TRULY are the best fighters..

Its basically saying to the fighters that the big dollars are there if you really really want them..

Any thoughts?

[Kestrel]

Greed has always been the main motivation here. No way Dana and Co will pay their fighters well if they don't have to.

[ufoalf]

Not gona happen.

[MMAFIGHTER1]

Ok well i do think it really sucks that they dont get paid what they DESERVE but on the other hand dana is doing what is best 4 the sport and the fighters look at what has happened 2 all the other orgs they paid the fighters an ass load of money and went under so that left all those fighters without a jobs. So would they rather have 1 or 2 big pay days or have a lil less money and know that ur company is gonna stay in bus. and you can continue 2 do what you love 2 do and make a good living at it? I say in a few yrs MMA fighters will get paid like boxers just let the sport grow and get a bigger base then the money will flowing in even more

[Kestrel]

Ok well i do think it really sucks that they dont get paid what they DESERVE but on the other hand dana is doing what is best 4 the sport and the fighters look at what has happened 2 all the other orgs they paid the fighters an ass load of money and went under so that left all those fighters without a jobs. So would they rather have 1 or 2 big pay days or have a lil less money and know that ur company is gonna stay in bus. and you can continue 2 do what you love 2 do and make a good living at it? I say in a few yrs MMA fighters will get paid like boxers just let the sport grow and get a bigger base then the money will flowing in even more

UFC ppv buys are matching Boxing ppv buys. The sport may be young but it's huge already. UFC has more than enough money to pay these fighters well. Other organization can't afford to because they don't have the same income success as the UFC. And I see no reason the UFC will pay them well because they have monopolized the sport of MMA, the fighters have practically no alternatives to turn to.

[SouthpawSlayer]

Fail

[Rico Spadafora]

it is sad that some of the guys that are making 10k and 15k are not even breaking even after training expenses, taxes, etc.

What a complete joke.

[fatcity]

The UFC had incredible expenses re starting the biz after Semiphore dragged the product into the ground.UFC are starting to recoup the investment and I see nothing wrong with the present status.I don't hear the fighters complaining with the exception of Couture,and he lost his court case so I say keep on rolling.

[Nuke]

I don't like the theory that once a fighter gets a good pay day he will quit. He wouldn't get into MMA and dedicate his LIFE to a sport he only wanted to get paid big in. Obviously these guys love the sport and comp. because they fight for peanuts now, why would that change?

[achillesthegreat]

I think UFC have got it right and boxing have got it wrong. UFC could do a little better with pay but fighters lose hunger. Dana makes them work for bonuses.

Big money boxing often produces shit like Floyd v DLH. Reduce their money and offer them bonuses for kds, kos etc and then you got fighters fighting with some hunger.

UFC guys seem to come in shape cos they got to perform. It isnt necessarily the same in boxing.

[rusty nails]

I don't like the theory that once a fighter gets a good pay day he will quit. He wouldn't get into MMA and dedicate his LIFE to a sport he only wanted to get paid big in. Obviously these guys love the sport and comp. because they fight for peanuts now, why would that change?

because theyre only fighting in the hope of bigger dollars down the road..

[rusty nails]

I think UFC have got it right and boxing have got it wrong. UFC could do a little better with pay but fighters lose hunger. Dana makes them work for bonuses.

Big money boxing often produces shit like Floyd v DLH. Reduce their money and offer them bonuses for kds, kos etc and then you got fighters fighting with some hunger.

UFC guys seem to come in shape cos they got to perform. It isnt necessarily the same in boxing.


i agree with all of this.. hoya vs floyd was supposed to be two of the best fighters in the world trying to hammer each other..
not that crap we were forced to sit through.. they didnt earn their money at all. was floyd even sweating?

[Kairos]

The UFC dosen't even pay some of their undercard fighters enough to live off of. Epic fail.

[Wige247]

My only problem are the undercard guys making less than 30k. There should definitely be some sort of post-fight healthcare for like up to 30-45 days.

I think people complaining about anyone making 100k+ to fight as being underpaid is ludicrous, like it's some sort of crime or exploitation that they aren't going to earn $1M/year.

[MMAFIGHTER1]

The UFC dosen't even pay some of their undercard fighters enough to live off of. Epic fail.
True but you gotta think if you 1st started out working at mcdonalds they are gonna put you mopping floors not just give you the vp slot. and really they train 5-6 weeks and fight once and get 3-8 k shit, i wish i got paid that 4 fighting! plus most of them have sponors and make most of their money training ppl. they r getting 2 do what they love and make some money.

[achillesthegreat]

I think fighters often bitch about pay when they are chatting shit. Some guys earn $30k and then comlpain. They earn a years wages in 1 fight. Alot of the low level guys get poor pay but they are nobodies. I think average fighters get paid okay relatively speaking.

[bachatu]

Alot of people give dana white crap.
i have my own points of view on him (good and bad) but let me just say i think hes a very shrewd businessman. Anyway thats not what this thread is about..

..

Any thoughts?
He is indeed a very shrewd businessman and that's why he only and will always care about what benefits the business and not the fighters.

[Boyd]

He is indeed a very shrewd businessman and that's why he only and will always care about what benefits the business and not the fighters.
that may be the very reason that UFC is still around too.

[PH|LLA]

what you have to think is how much money does an event like UFC 94 generate for UFC?

I'd say 20-40 Million$

What percentage of that goes to the fighters? About 2 to 5 percent.

So about 95 to 98% goes to the UFC. Its completely unfair and will lead to the emergence of other organizations