# Why do UFC fighters get paid less than boxers?



## MCDOJO101 (Dec 31, 2011)

will they get paid more than boxers in the future?


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## SooprmanX (Feb 24, 2008)

If I had a dollar....


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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

Boxing has been around longer, it's always been like that, that and no MMA fighter really brings the kind of mainstream appeal like Mayweather and Pacqiuao who make the big bucks.


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## 3DLee (Aug 30, 2006)

a lot of the high paid boxers are also promoting or copromoting the events they are fighting in so they dont just get paid a purse, they make profit from the fight at much larger percentages than the UFC guys. plus, you only currently have a few boxers that are making in the millions i think. where as you have quite a few UFC stars making 100k or more per fight plus sponsors, ppv buy cuts, and any amount of "undisclosed" pay. if the UFC wasnt lucrative, these guys wouldnt be fighting.

what really suprises me is how little some of the UFC stars make. really throws me off when I see Bisping made more than Frank Mir, Matt Hughes, I think even more than Brock for his last fight. I dont see him as THAT big of a draw. Bisping fighting on a card does not mean I will watch it. I like his style. I like watching him. But not that much. That british bitch made $425,000. And hes never been a champion and has only ever headlined a couple of events. maybe he doesnt get a cut of the ppv and thats why his loots so high? i just dont see him that valuable. he could leave the UFC tomorrow and I could really care less. I think Maia will knock him off his high horse because Bisping really is getting top fighter pay and hes just middle of the pack. Munoz, Sonnen, and several others would beat him. I think Robbie Lawler and a bunch of SF guys could beat him.


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## IronMan (May 15, 2006)

There are a lot of reasons. I did a write-up on this for the board a while ago, but I can't find it, so I guess I'll just repost the same points, more-or-less.

There are a lot of reasons why boxers make more money that MMA fighters. Many of them are tied simply to the amount of revenue tied up in the higher levels of boxing. At the high levels of boxing, there is a reasonable expectation that there is going to be an enormous amount of revenue based on the names of the fighters, and so the fighters know, in the negotiating room, how much to ask for. This is sort of the classic answer that you'll get from a lot of people talking about this issue; this is TheLyotoLegion's point, and its a good one.

3DLee also makes a good point, which is that if you're acting as a promoter for the event, like De La Hoya does, or others, you're basically getting a share of the revenues for the promoter (which are enormous) as well as the fight purse. This can sometimes lead to bizarre numbers for guys who are acting as promoters. But, hell, if some guy got to cash Brock Lesnar's paycheck and Dana White's, he'd damn sure do it. I know I would.

The major issue, though, seems to me to be one about the level of competition in negotiating for fights. The way that the UFC works, particularly, basically precludes fighters from negotiating fat purses for a major fight. If you're negotiating a four-fight deal, then you're at the mercy of the matchmaker and your previous record in terms of things like whether or not you're going to be on a pay-per-view card at all, and where on that card you're going to fall. As a result, UFC fighters aren't negotiating for specific fights; so they can't say "I want $1.5 million to fight Anderson Silva." because that's not the sheet of paper sitting in front of them. Even if their next fight would be a title fight, where they might have some leverage, they're also negotiating a bunch of matchups that they can't claim to have the same sort of hype machine for.

There's a lot of issues with the way that UFC contracts are negotiated, and some of them are good things and some of them aren't. There are a lot of serious problems with the way that boxing promoters deal with things like health issues for their fighters that the UFC may very well be better on, though not across the board. Also, because of long-term contracts for fighters, the UFC can't threaten to kill a guy's negotiating power after a couple of losses while he's under contract, and he's guaranteed some money before he has to renegotiate that contract.

I'm far from an expert on the structure of contract negotiations for UFC fighters, but this is my two cents, so I figured I'd throw out that particular variable as what I think of as the factor that makes the UFC in particular unlikely to see growth, in spite of potentially having the capital to pay out the kinds of purses that a lot of the solid boxing promoters can.

I doubt the structure of the mult-fight aspect UFC contract negotiation is going to change anytime soon, though some political pressure (if that pressure were to materialize) might cause the UFC to become more generous with respect to certain things like entry-level pay and provisions dealing with health-care and pension for fighters. Personally, I don't think that those kinds of things are out of the question, in the long term, and I'd like to see some more discussion of them. But I also think that its going to be a long time before we see a UFC fighter get paid the kind of money that a Roy Jones Jr. makes to step into the ring.


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## Life B Ez (Jan 23, 2010)

I'm completely over answering this kids threads. I've replied with a thought out answer in a couple and he goes oh but. Every single ******* time, I feel like he's a major troll, just more subtle....or he's totally clueless.


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## astrallite (Mar 14, 2010)

IronMan said:


> The major issue, though, seems to me to be one about the level of competition in negotiating for fights. The way that the UFC works, particularly, basically precludes fighters from negotiating fat purses for a major fight. If you're negotiating a four-fight deal, then you're at the mercy of the matchmaker and your previous record in terms of things like whether or not you're going to be on a pay-per-view card at all, and where on that card you're going to fall. As a result, UFC fighters aren't negotiating for specific fights; so they can't say "I want $1.5 million to fight Anderson Silva." because that's not the sheet of paper sitting in front of them. Even if their next fight would be a title fight, where they might have some leverage, they're also negotiating a bunch of matchups that they can't claim to have the same sort of hype machine for.


You know what I find really interesting in the UFC is that sure, the fighter has to sign a long contract, but the UFC is tied to that contract too (unless they cut the fighter). 

Whereas in boxing, the main card fighters make a lot more than the undercard (since they are on the pay per view), with the UFC you may end up with undercard fighters making $80,000 (because they used to be main card fighters and lost their ranking) and a new main card fighter making $4,000 (since they just started a winning streak).


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## Guy Incognito (Apr 3, 2010)

Aliens.


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## Roflcopter (Sep 5, 2008)

Because HBO, Showtime etc are willing to pay them a lot more than the UFC is.

That's the only answer to this thread.


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## Killz (Oct 5, 2009)

Life B Ez said:


> I'm completely over answering this kids threads. I've replied with a thought out answer in a couple and he goes oh but. Every single ******* time, *I feel like he's a major troll, just more subtle....or he's totally clueless.*


Yeah, I totally called this as well. :thumb02:


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## Life B Ez (Jan 23, 2010)

Killstarz said:


> Yeah, I totally called this as well. :thumb02:


The only reason I haven't jumped completely to troll is he said he was like 14, so he might just be that clueless. But my gut tells me troll.


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## Killz (Oct 5, 2009)

Life B Ez said:


> The only reason I haven't jumped completely to troll is he said he was like 14, so he might just be that clueless. But my gut tells me troll.


Yeah, same here 


think I'm just gonna sit back and see how it plays out.


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## Soojooko (Jun 4, 2009)

What a great question! Lets see, why would a fledgling sport only 15 years into its life, pay less to its athletes then an established 100 year old sport?? 

I really cant think why... :confused02:


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## Life B Ez (Jan 23, 2010)

Since this thread..










I'm going to save it. Thank me later OP.


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I'm out!


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## malice (Sep 28, 2007)

boxing revolves around 1 main event with 2 big named fighters. UFC revolves around several big fights with several big names.


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## Budhisten (Apr 11, 2010)

People - remember this forum isn't just for people who've been following MMA for years, it's for people that are in the learning process as well - so please, show a little courtesy 

Trollish as it may seem there's nothing wrong with asking questions


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## DJ Syko (Jan 6, 2008)

As an average i dont think boxing is anywhere near the UFC, theres is only a handful of boxers that make big money where as the majority wont make nearly as much as the average UFC fighter.


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## Life B Ez (Jan 23, 2010)

Budhisten said:


> People - remember this forum isn't just for people who've been following MMA for years, it's for people that are in the learning process as well - so please, show a little courtesy
> 
> Trollish as it may seem there's nothing wrong with asking questions


The guy makes a ******* thread for everything, then never posts in it again, he has 26 total posts, 13 of them are a thread start. Also Google is an amazing tool.

I don't get annoyed with people who are new to MMA unless they are annoying ******* people. An annoying person is going to be annoying no matter the circumstance.


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## Budhisten (Apr 11, 2010)

Life B Ez said:


> The guy makes a ******* thread for everything, then never posts in it again, he has 26 total posts, 13 of them are a thread start. Also Google is an amazing tool.
> 
> I don't get annoyed with people who are new to MMA unless they are annoying ******* people. An annoying person is going to be annoying no matter the circumstance.


I'll keep an eye on it mate :thumbsup:


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## slapstick (Oct 15, 2010)

SooprmanX said:


> If I had a dollar....


You'd have ten.


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## IronMan (May 15, 2006)

astrallite said:


> You know what I find really interesting in the UFC is that sure, the fighter has to sign a long contract, but the UFC is tied to that contract too (unless they cut the fighter).
> 
> Whereas in boxing, the main card fighters make a lot more than the undercard (since they are on the pay per view), with the UFC you may end up with undercard fighters making $80,000 (because they used to be main card fighters and lost their ranking) and a new main card fighter making $4,000 (since they just started a winning streak).


Yeah, I do mention in my comment that it cuts both ways, and that there is a serious upside for guys who end up with a tough loss. It happens sometimes, and it is nice to get the extra paydays, especially for guys who are winding down their careers.



Life B Ez said:


> I'm completely over answering this kids threads. I've replied with a thought out answer in a couple and he goes oh but. Every single ******* time, I feel like he's a major troll, just more subtle....or he's totally clueless.





Life B Ez said:


> The only reason I haven't jumped completely to troll is he said he was like 14, so he might just be that clueless. But my gut tells me troll.


It's always possible he's a troll. It's also possible that he's a moron. We've had plenty of those on the boards over the years.

Also, I'm not clear on what being 14 has to do with anything. I was 16 when I became a moderator on the board. I'm still one of the younger guys on here. We've had plenty of old idiots (and trolls) and plenty of young smart folks.


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## MCDOJO101 (Dec 31, 2011)

Life B Ez said:


> The guy makes a ******* thread for everything, then never posts in it again, he has 26 total posts, 13 of them are a thread start. Also Google is an amazing tool.
> 
> I don't get annoyed with people who are new to MMA unless they are annoying ******* people. An annoying person is going to be annoying no matter the circumstance.


i'm 15 and you should **** off. no one forced you to post on my thread and I don't sit my ass on my computer all day like you do. I go out and train and do many other activities. So if you don't know jack shit, then shut the **** up.


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## MCDOJO101 (Dec 31, 2011)

Life B Ez said:


> The guy makes a ******* thread for everything, then never posts in it again, he has 26 total posts, 13 of them are a thread start. Also Google is an amazing tool.
> 
> I don't get annoyed with people who are new to MMA unless they are annoying ******* people. An annoying person is going to be annoying no matter the circumstance.


I do reply and I do use google. Unfortunately, I don't receive a clear answer. I'm pretty sure you know the answer to every question in life, dipshit


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## M_D (Apr 8, 2007)

Ironman answered the question for the thread all other discussion was off topic which equals thread closed


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