View Full Version : How much ($$) do these fighters make?
Forrest
09-30-2008, 12:56 PM
i don't have a clue how much championship fighters make, but i doubt it's like boxing (in the millions)... it seems to me that MMA has equaled (or is soon approaching) professional boxing as far as a fan base goes, so if that is the case? "Where's the money?!!"...
sure, i'll assume guys like Chuck Liddell make good money, but i'm also guessing its from sponserships and them being spokes persons for companies pushing their products etc, but are they actually making the big big dollars off the fights themselves? if not, why not? is Dana White a white version of Don King? (ripping fighters off)... i dunno, i never hear what these guys make. when there is a title fight in boxing, it's well known whose making what... so how come you don't hear what they make in MMA? what's the secret behind it?
ya it really depends on sponsorship
i was also reading an article on it and i think i heard them say about a 100k title fight
but im not too sure.
urijah faber got asked what he spends his money on about a year ago in an interview and he said he bought his 2nd house "recently" and spends mostly on good food. so they cant be doin that bad, especially for WEC fighter.
i know on the ultimate fighter show, the winner automatically gets a 6 digit contract , like 100k so im not sure. I believe low scale fighters make around 5-10k a fight ive heard
Kimberly
09-30-2008, 01:37 PM
I read that interview to. He's not frivolous with his money since he knows he's not going to be doing this forever.
great question Forrest!! I am curious to know the real answer too. Urijah bought his 4th house not too long ago so he must be doing pretty well. But I bet alot of that has to do with his endorsements and his gym.
gyms dont make as much as you would think, but with his name behind it, it has to be doin alright
Forrest
09-30-2008, 03:11 PM
maybe Uriah will see this post and clear it all up by telling us how much he makes. lolol (uh... yeah, right).
Playboy
09-30-2008, 05:15 PM
I'm sure they make good money. I've never heard of a fighter retiring because he was in a rough spot for money. I'd just have to agree with every one else though, I think sponsorships are their main source of dough
maybe Uriah will see this post and clear it all up by telling us how much he makes. lolol (uh... yeah, right).
ha ha it's a nice thought anyway.
MatthewX
09-30-2008, 06:49 PM
Check out MMAJunkie.com a few days after a fight and they list the salaries for the fights. Just as an idea The Ice Man made 500k for getting his ass knocked out, Brock Lesnar made 250K, and Faber made about 45k against Jens. They go way down from there. Fighters try to keep their sponsorship money on wraps, but you can find small bits by Googling it.
Playboy
09-30-2008, 07:16 PM
Check out MMAJunkie.com a few days after a fight and they list the salaries for the fights. Just as an idea The Ice Man made 500k for getting his ass knocked out, Brock Lesnar made 250K, and Faber made about 45k against Jens. They go way down from there. Fighters try to keep their sponsorship money on wraps, but you can find small bits by Googling it.Holy crap! 500k for one fight? I never would have imagined. I knew that they were making good money but I didn't know they could make that much in a day alone from sponsorships.
Don't quote me on this one, but I recall hearing that someone in the WEC (I assume) makes 20K just to show up for the fight. I don't remember what I was watching or listening to or maybe even reading or who it was about.
Don't quote me on this one, but I recall hearing that someone in the WEC (I assume) makes 20K just to show up for the fight. I don't remember what I was watching or listening to or maybe even reading or who it was about.
ok i promise i wont quote you. o wait... darn
MatthewX
10-01-2008, 06:52 PM
That is what the UFC pays them. Sponsorship money is on top of that. I think I read somewhere that Mir made 65k against Lesnar just for the brand on his shorts. It's definately come a long way since Royce won 50k for UFC 1. Think about this, how much did football players or baseball player's salaries increase over the first 15 years of their existence? I don't know, but I'm sure it's not 10 fold. Looks like I'm giving myself some homework.
MatthewX
10-01-2008, 07:14 PM
OK for baseball: When the league unified in 1903 the highest salaries were 3k. In 1918 Babe, the highest paid player, made 100k. Wow that shoots a hole in my theory. The second highest paid player made 50k.
ya its really all the sponsorship cash. Since forest griffin became light heavyweight champ, sprawl been payin him the big bucks for wearing the shorts
JBNTX
10-01-2008, 09:02 PM
Like Matthewx said, mmajunkie will post payroll of fighters after every fight. You have to be a true big dog, LIKE Liddell or Couture or TITO to take home the big paydays. THEY not only take home a sweet fight purse they also get a piece of the Pay per View total. So their pay pays can actually be in the millions. This is for very very limited few guys. Fighters make most of the money from sponsers. LIKE URIJAH AND THE JENS FIGHT......HE ONLY MADE 45000 ON PAPER with the WEC. Pepsi (NO FEAR) paid him 250,000 for that fight alone. Fighters also get bonus pay for submission of the night , knockout of the night, fight of the night etc, which can be 20 to 60 k for just the bonus.
Most fighters have a fight base salary and a win salary which is usually double the base. Like the standard six figure contract for winning the Ultimate fighter sounds like a sweet sweet deal......is it ? You sign a 10 fight contract for $5000 to show $5000 to win per fight. So if you win $10000. Not a ton of money. Alot of fighters even in the UFC and more so in the WEC get like $1500 to $2500 per fight. I guess if you get paid to do what you love in life then money is not an issue. Top level guys which represent 2 to 3 % of all fighters make BIG Bank. The others do it for the love of the sport and the pride and the hope that they will one day be that top level guy making hella bank.
Striker1
10-01-2008, 09:56 PM
De La Hoya vs. Mayweather
Oscar De La Hoya ended up earning $58 million for the bout, the highest purse ever for a fighter. Floyd Mayweather Jr., earned about $25 million for the fight. The previous record was $35 million, held by Tyson and Holyfield. And these figures don't include Sponsorship/Endorsements.
MMA champions like Urijah go thru the same rigors of training and preparation while assuming a much higher risk for suffering serious injury. In the future, I can only hope that MMA fighter’s close-up this disparity and get theirs.......MMA FIGHTING IS STILL FIGHTING!
JBNTX
10-02-2008, 07:33 AM
De La Hoya vs. Mayweather
Oscar De La Hoya ended up earning $58 million for the bout, the highest purse ever for a fighter. Floyd Mayweather Jr., earned about $25 million for the fight. The previous record was $35 million, held by Tyson and Holyfield. And these figures don't include Sponsorship/Endorsements.
MMA champions like Urijah go thru the same rigors of training and preparation while assuming a much higher risk for suffering serious injury. In the future, I can only hope that MMA fighter’s close-up this disparity and get theirs.......MMA FIGHTING IS STILL FIGHTING!
NO MMA FIGHTER HAS EVER COME CLOSE TO EARNING WHAT A TOP LEVEL BOXER PULLS DOWN !!! The UFC and WEC which are both owned by the Fertitta brothers and Dana White chose not to pass along the big name event sponsorship money to the fighters that boxing does. That is the only way Boxing is able to give such hugh paydays for their fighter, and until Zuffa decides to give up some of the loot MMA fighters will continue to pale in comparision to boxers at the bank.
chainsawtom
10-14-2008, 04:55 PM
I read that interview to. He's not frivolous with his money since he knows he's not going to be doing this forever.
I don't know about other fighters, but let's just consider Urijah. It sounds like I hear worry in your voices.:eek:
Let's not forget that Urijah has educated himself in a nice university, is an acheaver and a businessman. Not only is the gym and four homes(so far) part of the fight game, because his students need somewhere to stay where they can stay focused, but it is the start of his business empire. :)
I belive in his fighting skills and can see him being a great businessman. Not only do we need great champions to be good role models, but we need good businessmen for kids to model after as well. He is always in training and always on business. He loves what he is doing, so every day is a holiday. :DHow lucky is that??? :)
Forrest
10-14-2008, 05:01 PM
Uriah and a few others are probably an acception to the rules... most boxers who even earn a few big pay days end up broke because they were never taught how to manage money.. they never had it, so when they ended up getting it, they made up for lost years (by blowing it).
it is refreshing to hear that some MMA fighters are educated, and can excell with or without MMA as a career.
vBulletin® v3.8.1, Copyright ©2000-2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.