Why is everybody complaining that UFC fighters are underpaid ?

What I mean is even if they are underpaid it benefits us the viewers. Think about it if they made millions they would not train as hard ,not be as hungry as they are and hell not even fight as often.The only ones that should be complaining are the fighters themselves we as the viewers should be happy they're underpaid !

 

Agree.If the fighter aren't putting up a stink about it,then all is good I guess.

 

People who don't know much about the sport dwell a little too much about purses, ignoring endorsements and locker room bonuses, which are a significant portion of the fighters income.

 

I'm not complaining. I find it amusing.

 

All I know is if the UFC PPV headliners start making Floyd\De La Hoya type money, then UFC PPV's will have Floyd\De La Hoya undercards.

People are mislead when they think the fighters are only getting paid to fight. They get paid by sponsors, they get paid for their merchandise. If you buy a GSP shirt at a UFC event, GSP is getting a cut. They get paid royalties anytime one of their fights airs on TV, and UFC re-runs are on Spike all the time. They get paid to have their likeness put into a Video Game. They get royalties anytime their fights sell on a DVD. They get paid for their dolls, their trading cards, their Fatheads, their posters, etc.

The exposure the UFC gives them allows them to make even more money in side projects. Would GSP be selling Under Armor if he wasn't in the UFC? Would Randy Couture be in commercials selling workout equipment without the UFC? Would Rampage have been casted in the A-Team movie without the UFC? Forrest Griffin was on a TV show (CSI?), Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, GSP and others have had movie parts, all because of the exposure given to them by the UFC.

Many fighters make good money giving training seminars at different MMA schools and dojo's.

The bottom line is, if the UFC was underpaying their fighters, 95% of MMA fighters wouldn't be dying for a shot to fight for the UFC.

TFK

 

Very good point that i forgot to mention :bears:

 

Yeah! because one would much rather make $5K in the UFC as opposed to 2K in some random sh*t MMA org in a backlot somewhere.::

 

Ummm, help me out again. Are these guys being forced to fight? If they don't like the pay, go into another line of work.

For some reason you can't seem to stand the fact that the UFC's business plan has worked wonderfully. There isn't a faster growing sport or sport's organization on the face of the earth.

 

Ask yourself why guy's like Cote ( who was beaten by a tough can, but a can none-the-less, in his lone boxing match, yet it's his main strengh in MMA) are near the top of their division. That's why I complain about fighter's pay

 

It's not a very good point at all, some of the old Tyson undercard used to be loaded and he was making bundle of $$$. The strategy of using the undercard $$$ in marketing instead is one of greediness and short term gain. It got nothing to do with lack of $$ to pay for good undercard fighters. Arum said it himself , the harcore will buy the fight even thought they are pissed about the undercard and the casual will watch it because it's an event. Plus, the UFC build up a brand, boxing build up stars, so the UFC has more incentive to put on a good product throughout, HBO should forced the promoters to put on a decent undercard if they want it distributed by HBO sports, unfortunuatelly, the heads at HBO sports are to friendly with the promoters to make it happen

 

Some of you need to use your head. The bussiness model of what the UFC makes compared to what THEY pay there fighters is absolutely fucking pathetic.

 

Another example is the Tua-Lewis bout, both were making millions, far more than any UFC fighter AFAIK, yet the undercard was very good

 

the problem is that most boxers are OVERPAID. And people think that MMA fighters should earn like boxers.

 

Yep, and they put the numbers out so everyone can see them. UFC fighters shouldn't be making millions yet but when guys like Keith Jardine and Forrest Griffin are headlining PPVs for 10,000 dollars, it makes you :doh:

 

It's not pathetic from a business standpoint. They are getting the best fighters in the world and have turned the organization into an amazingly profitable entity.

Again, why do people constantly forget that the UFC is a business just like Pepsico or ExxonMobil. While they are in the entertainment industry, the goal is still to make as much money as possible.

I love using ExxonMobil as an example. Their quarterly profits are typically the biggest of any corporation on earth. Does this mean they should be obligated to pay their employees more than they deserve? Hell no.

 

Well then tell everyone what guys like Jardine and Griffith should be paid?


In case you're struggling, the answer is simple. They should fight for the most they can negotiate from the UFC. Likewise the UFC should pay them the minimum amount the fighter will accept.

Damn, that is simple business.

 

I was hoping I didn't have to make this point and I was deep enough into the thread that I was beginning to think I would have to.

Are you guys fucking retarded? The UFC (the UFC) is fucking their fighters. Hard.

 

:doh: Do you really think 10K for headlining a $50 PPV with 350,000 buys is fair value for both sides? Are you shitting me?

 

Trplesec, who I respect very much, is a shill for everything pro-UFC. But I guess I'll have to agree with Trplesec to some degree. What do we care what UFC fighters earn? Just as long as we see the fights.
It's up to the fighters to unionize or take action and demand more if they feel they deserve more.

 

Really? How? You act like guys under contract were sold into servitude and have no choice but to perform for their master.

The bottom line is this, every single guy that signed a contract with the UFC had the option not to sign and sell their skills somewhere else. They decided, on their own, that the UFC was the best deal.

So don't blame the UFC. They didn't buy these fighters from slave dealers.

McDonalds is making billions yet the guy flipping burgers is making minimum wage. How dare McDonalds. They're fucking their employees.

Geez.

 

McDonalds is a chain with millions of restaurants all over the world. The UFC is 1 big private company with a limited amount of fighters in its roster and the fighters in that company are risking their lives. Very different scenario.

 

Please Hanz.. I would voice the same points if someone claimed Strikeforce isn't paying enough. Hell, I would do the same thing if someone claimed GoldenBoy or Bob Arum weren't paying enough.

And you are the first guy on here to put the blame in the right spot. The fighters DO NOT HAVE TO FIGHT if they don't like what they're getting paid.

 

No, it's exactly the same. Neither the guy flipping burgers or the guy risking his life in the cage ARE FORCED to do what they're doing. If they don't like the pay, DO SOMETHING ELSE.

 

You have zero business sense. Who in the world said it had to be 'fair value' on both sides? That is a ridiculous expectation.

Again, I ask the question, if you owned the UFC, would you reduce the companies earnings because you think it's more fair to pay employees more?

You'd last about two seconds in management with that mentality.

 

The comparison is flawed in many obvious ways.

The UFC's business model, while successful, is centered on fucking their fighters. And because there has been no government regulation/anti-trust investigations, it will continue to work, probably for a while.

But, in the end, it will fail or change.

Is the owner of the shoe factory in some dirt-poor country fair to his workers even though he might make $millions while his workers make $3/day? Just because you make money, just because you are successful, it doesn't mean that you aren't fucking your employees. Sometimes it means you are.

And in the case of the UFC...they are.

 

Dude, if UFC fighters actually had real business sense, the UFC would already be dead because nobody would be fighting for them.::
Remember how many years it took for Lewis and Holyfield to agree to fight? One side felt they deserved a lot more and continued stalling, waiting for the other side to pony up the dough.
Now just imagine if Brock Lesnar, GSP, Machida, etc started doing this? Lesnar says he won't fight Carwin unless he gets a guaranteed sum and a bigger percentage of the profits. What is Dana going to do?
What if all the fighters begin demanding more and more money? Something eventually has to break.
The UFC is lucky in that it has a monopoly and an established brand in North America. But I'd assume as the sport grows, there will be more avenues for fighters to compete.
The UFC is in a position of power right now....for now.

 

Your mentality can work in some situations, but it is short-sighted. Different mentalities can be successful. There isn't one way that you have to follow to be successful. And creating loyal employees by paying them fairly is not a ridiculous expectation, nor indicative of having 'zero business sense.' For example, look at Starbucks.

 

Don't be a dumbfuck. :boohoo:

We are boxing fans and know how much boxers make in comparison. The UFC is centralized and has less overhead on an individual promotion than two boxing promoters who are co-promoting a card. Yet, the UFC pays their main eventers about 10% of what boxers get while not having to split profits with another promoter.