| I watched a CBC piece on MMA, fighter pay, | | | | content doing that in the UFC. Maybe that's just |
| health care, pension plans, and the discussion of a | | | | me though. |
| fighters union. The piece basically said that Dana | | | | As for pensions/health care/etc... Where's |
| White is the most evil man on the planet and that | | | | Afflictions Health Care plan? Does DREAM offer a |
| grown men, who also happen to be the fiercest | | | | pension plan to it's fighters? I'm asking, because I |
| warriors on the planet, are being used, abused, | | | | don't know. But I'm willing to bet that they don't. |
| and taken advantage of. | | | | It's not just Dana White and the UFC, it's MMA as |
| But is that really how it is? Is Dana White the | | | | a whole. |
| man to blame for all of this? | | | | Don't get me wrong, I believe that the UFC can |
| Dana White gets a lot of unwarranted hate for | | | | afford to pay their fighters more, but I don't |
| things people let slide when it's other organizations | | | | believe that they have to. They pay the top guys |
| doing them, and I think it is ridiculous. People blame | | | | the big bucks, they pay the fighters that sell the |
| Dana White for there being no fighters union, | | | | pay-per-views what they deserve, and they pay |
| people blame him for lower level fighters making | | | | the guys who are looking to become the guys |
| peanuts, they blame him for just about | | | | that sell the pay-per-views what they deserve. |
| everything that's wrong with MMA. It's amazing to | | | | There's no problem here. |
| me that the face of modern MMA, the man who | | | | For those of you who still want to crucify Dana |
| helped build the sport we love, is also the man | | | | White and the UFC for the way they pay their |
| everybody uses as a scapegoat for the state of | | | | fighters, check out the fighter pay for Affliction's |
| things in the Mixed Martial Arts world. | | | | inaugural event: |
| I'm sure most of the people who read this will | | | | Affliction Banned Pay: |
| disagree with me, but I don't really care, this is | | | | Fedor Emelianenko ($300,000/$300,000 to show |
| the truth, and it has to be said. | | | | and no win bonus) def. Tim Sylvia ($800,000) |
| Everybody is talking about the $275 million the | | | | Andrei Arlovski ($750,000/$500,000 to show and |
| UFC made in 2008, they compare that to the $27 | | | | $250,000 win bonus) def. Ben Rothwell ($250,000) |
| million that the UFC paid it's fighters in 2008 and | | | | Josh Barnett ($300,000/$300,000 to show and no |
| they scream corruption, greed, and theft. First | | | | win bonus) def. Pedro Rizzo ($70,000) |
| off, the amount paid to the fighters is what goes | | | | Mark Hominick ($10,000/$5,000 to show and |
| on record as their official pay, Dana White and | | | | $5,000 win bonus) def. Savant Young ($7,000) |
| many fighters have spoken out about the extra | | | | Matt Lindland ($300,000/$225,000 to show and |
| cash bonuses fighters receive if they put on a | | | | $75,000 win bonus) def. Fabio Negao ($20,000) |
| good show. Sometimes up to $50,000. When that | | | | Renato Sobral ($90,000/$60,000 to show and |
| point is brought up, people usually respond with, | | | | $30,000 win bonus) def. Mike Whitehead ($50,000) |
| "that's not guaranteed income though." If the | | | | Mike Pyle ($20,000/$15,000 to show and $5,000 |
| fighters are so upset about it, they can go | | | | win bonus) def. JJ Ambrose ($5,000) |
| somewhere else. | | | | Vitor Belfort ($140,000/$70,000 to show and |
| Let's just say for arguments sake that the UFC | | | | $70,000 win bonus) def. Terry Martin ($30,000) |
| paid $40 million to their fighters in 2008. Subtract | | | | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira ($50,000/$50,000 to |
| $40 million from $275 million, you get $235 million. | | | | show and no win bonus) def. Edwin Dewees |
| This is where the problem lies, the UFC made | | | | ($15,000) |
| $235 million in profit in 2008, and the fighters only | | | | Paul Buentello ($80,000/$60,000 to show and |
| made $40 million. | | | | $20,000 win bonus) def. Gary Goodridge |
| I can understand the frustration, but can you | | | | ($25,000) |
| blame Dana White and The Fertitta Brothers? | | | | Swing Bout (Cancelled): Ray Lizama ($3,000) vs. |
| They got into a sport where they only have to | | | | Justin Levens ($6,000) |
| pay the athletes. The great thing about MMA is | | | | Total Base Pay: $2,866,000 |
| that there are no other employees, owners just | | | | Total Bonuses: $455,000 |
| pay the fighters and pocket the rest. Another | | | | Total Payroll: $3,321,000 |
| plus is the lack of productions costs and the fact | | | | Total Payroll for the Top 6 Guys on the 22 |
| that it's doesn't cost any money to put MMA on | | | | Fighter Card: $2,700,000 |
| PPV. | | | | Remaining Payroll left to be dealt out to the other |
| If you add that to the fact that because MMA is | | | | 16: $621,000 |
| a new sport, it's exempt from any and all taxes | | | | Those numbers look fair, don't they? While the |
| and take into account that advertising, marketing, | | | | numbers are a little off due to the fact that it |
| and venue fees are all waived by generous | | | | was Afflictions first event and it had little to no |
| business owners due to the young age of the | | | | filler fights, it just shows that it's not just the UFC |
| sport, you really can't be mad at them, can you? | | | | paying their lower level fighters peanuts. I'm sure |
| They saw an opportunity and they seized it. They | | | | that the Dana White haters will have some |
| realized they could put 20-25 top level MMA | | | | excuse for this, save your breath; the proof is in |
| shows on every single year without having to | | | | the numbers. |
| invest a penny into anything other than fighter | | | | I'm really curious to see how the payouts look |
| pay. That's smart business. I wish I had known | | | | after Affliction 2. But I'm also curious as to why |
| ahead of time that it didn't cost anything to run a | | | | an organization that is willing to pay Tim Sylvia |
| premiere MMA show, I might've got into the | | | | $800,000 is only willing to pay Savant Young |
| business myself. It seems strange though that all | | | | $7000 to show? In all fairness, the difference |
| of these other shows are going out of business, | | | | between how much the top guy made on this |
| or maybe it's just the UFC that gets to run their | | | | card and how much the bottom guy made is |
| shows for free, who knows? | | | | much larger than any UFC in recent memory. |
| Put the blame on Dana White for there not being | | | | Don't take this article for me blindly following Dana |
| a fighters union? While I disagree with a lot of | | | | White and the UFC, I'm incredibly critical of them |
| stuff Dana White says and does, a fighters union | | | | and some of the stuff they do. I don't agree with |
| isn't his responsibility, nor is it the responsibility of | | | | everything Dana does; the whole Jon Fitch/UFC |
| any MMA promoter/owner/president. The | | | | 2009 Undisputed Video Game thing was stupid, |
| creation of a fighters union is in the hands of the | | | | trash talking former fighters and champions |
| fighters, but do the fighters want a fighters | | | | because they left your organization is pretty |
| union? Randy Couture sure does, but who else? | | | | stupid, but building MMA to a point where we can |
| I'm sure a lot of fighters wouldn't mind a fighters | | | | whine about what fighters make because the |
| union, but a lot of guys seem content with | | | | sport is that successful isn't. |
| working out their own contracts and they seem | | | | |