UFC payouts

jimmurt

I was looking at the payouts for UFC 132:

• Dominick Cruz: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus) def. Urijah Faber: $32,000
• Chris Leben: $92,000 ($46,000 win bonus) def. Wanderlei Silva: $200,000
• Dennis Siver: $50,000 ($25,000 win bonus) def. Matt Wiman: $18,000
• Tito Ortiz: $450,000 (no win bonus) def. Ryan Bader: $20,000
• Carlos Condit: $68,000 ($34,000 win bonus) def. Dong Hyun Kim: $41,000
• Melvin Guillard: $64,000 ($32,000 win bonus) def. Shane Roller: $21,000
• Rafael dos Anjos: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus) def. George Sotiropoulos: $15,000
• Brian Bowles: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus) def. Takeya Mizugaki: $12,000
• Aaron Simpson: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus) def. Brad Tavares: $10,000
• Anthony Njokuani: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Andre Winner: $14,000
• Jeff Hougland: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus) def. Donny Walker: $6,000

I'm trying to get my head around some of the differences. It seems the lighter fighters are getting shafted (I know in combat sports the heavier weights will generally get paid more) but this seems a bit much.

Also, the money given to Tito and Wandy. I know they're former champions but the money they get compared to other UFC fighters is a bit much IMO. They're not near the top of their respective divisions.

I know fanbase, management etc comes into it but Urijah only getting 32k??

I'm no expert and was just wondering about it, any thoughts?

fightireland

Like any contract it all comes down to when it was signed. If you sign a contract when you are the hottest property then your contract and subsequesnt payments will proove to be lucrative.

Wandy is not at the top of his division - however he still remains (that is if he ever fights again) one of the top draws in MMA - he has a religious following globally and therefore sells pay per views and seat tickets so he earns a lot of money.

Compare that to Andre Winner - who is on a post-TUF contract - this contract is generally low paying and he will need to get some wins under his belt - become and significant draw to earn a higher more lucrative contract.

Faber - is quite possibly still on his old WEC contract which would offer less.

I hope this helps - other posters will give you a much more conclusive view on this.

scudzilla

The 450k that Tito received will only be part of it, he'd also be getting a percentage of PPV's, same with the other top fighters, sure the smaller guys will get a cut but knowhere near as much as the 'names'

IIRC when Randy had his dispute with Zuffa his contract came out into the open, i THINK he was getting close to 1mill from the PPV revenue!!

FightIreland (John??) is spot on though, Tito and Wandy get a shed load because the sell PPV's by the bucket load.

Also the lower fighters rely heavily on sponsorship as this could double the amount

El Guapo!

Does anybody know the typical length of a UFC contract? Like is it a contract for the number of fights or for a certain length of time?
If somebody signed a contract for lets say 4 years and they became champion in a short space of time, they could be earning pittance even though they're the champ.

Professey Chin

Dean09 wrote: »

Does anybody know the typical length of a UFC contract? Like is it a contract for the number of fights or for a certain length of time?
If somebody signed a contract for lets say 4 years and they became champion in a short space of time, they could be earning pittance even though they're the champ.

It really differs from fighter to fighter but i think most prospects would get something like a 4 fight/2 year contract(whichever happens 1st incase theres injuries and that) and the pay scale would go up for every fight they win on that contract. Of course the UFC can cut that fighter at any stage.
For some reason those numbers stick in my head anyway.

drayme

Those numbers don't reflect bonuses Dana gives fighters under the table so to speak or has someone else said PPV bonuses.

I wouldnt worry too much about Faber as I would say UFC would look after him in other ways and being marketable as **** he probably does really well in endorsements.

EDIT: As I post that this comes up on twitter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIQ0EhEMiSs
Faber is the Chief Operations Officer for K-Swiss!

jayteecork

Still, can only see this getting worse with UFc buying Strike Force. No major competitor now.

The fighters definitely should get together and form some sort of union.
6K for being on telly in a ultra dangerous contract sport is laughable.

You wonder how people are attracted to the sport with this as starting off money.

Maldini2706

Most of these guys are still on their WEC contracts, their next deals will be bigger once they've made names for themselves.

themandan6611

jayteecork wrote: »

The fighters definitely should get together and form some sort of union.

yes, a union run by bearded men just like we have in this wonderful island.

Martin Walker

jayteecork wrote: »

Still, can only see this getting worse with UFc buying Strike Force. No major competitor now.

The fighters definitely should get together and form some sort of union.
6K for being on telly in a ultra dangerous contract sport is laughable.

You wonder how people are attracted to the sport with this as starting off money.

Contrary to popular belief money does not make the world go round.
I would say that only a very small % of young fighters get into the sport for the money. If this was the case there would be no domestic MMA.

jayteecork

themandan6611 wrote: »

yes, a union run by bearded men just like we have in this wonderful island.

Come one, you know well that besides the superstars MMA fighters get bent over by Zuffa.

all their likenesses went into that game UFC and its sequels and they didn't recieve an extra cent AFAIK!!

Only one guy complained and he was cut! (later to be reinstated)

jayteecork

Martin Walker wrote: »

Contrary to popular belief money does not make the world go round.
I would say that only a very small % of young fighters get into the sport for the money. If this was the case there would be no domestic MMA.

I'm not saying they get into it for the money, what I'm saying is they appear on the biggest PPV draw in sports and in an ultra full contact sport.

They deserve better $ for their time imo.

Maldini2706

$6k is just what they get paid "on the books" there are all sorts of performance bonuses and sponsor's payments that aren't declared. It's also FAR more than they'd get anywhere else.

fightireland

Maldini2706 wrote: »

It's also FAR more than they'd get anywhere else.

Agree with that statement- sure there is the possiblity of a massive one-off payout somewhere else - in the past NY Eve in Japan was a big pay day if you did actually get paid but fighters know that to earn the big bucks, consistently - they need to be on the UFC roster.

Mellor

drayme wrote: »

Those numbers don't reflect bonuses Dana gives fighters under the table so to speak or has someone else said PPV bonuses.

???????
They aren't under the table in any shape or form

Martin Walker

jayteecork wrote: »

I'm not saying they get into it for the money,

Yes you did:

jayteecork wrote: »

You wonder how people are attracted to the sport with this as starting off money.

Insinuating that people are attracted to MMA for the money. I dont think they are. Maybe professional fighters are attracted to the UFC for the money but that is different.

jayteecork wrote: »

They deserve better $ for their time imo.

I agree completley with you on this. MMA fight purses are crap. Domestically and Internationally accross the board.

drayme

Mellor wrote: »

???????
They aren't under the table in any shape or form

They are. Dana gives private bonuses. He simply cuts a cheque.

DrPhilG

drayme wrote: »

Mellor wrote: »

???????
They aren't under the table in any shape or form

They are. Dana gives private bonuses. He simply cuts a cheque.

I think the point being made was that "under the table" suggests off the books, ie like to duck the taxman.

Dana does give the published bonuses like FOTN etc, but drayme is correct that he often gives bonuses for great fights that are not disclosed or published, (except to the IRS)

Mellor

drayme wrote: »

They are. Dana gives private bonuses. He simply cuts a cheque.

He gives FoTN, SoTN, KOoTN etc
He also often awards the win bonus to both fighters where he feels on was screwed by the judge, and I member he also gave a fighter the fight purse when the other guy pulled out at the last minute.

But these, or any bonus he gives, aren't under the table, which is why drayme suggested. These are rarely private and Dana makes it pretty public. And even if they were handed over totally in private that doesn't make them under the table. Everyone is entitled to keep their finances private.

drayme

Mellor wrote: »

He gives FoTN, SoTN, KOoTN etc
He also often awards the win bonus to both fighters where he feels on was screwed by the judge, and I member he also gave a fighter the fight purse when the other guy pulled out at the last minute.

But these, or any bonus he gives, aren't under the table, which is why drayme suggested. These are rarely private and Dana makes it pretty public. And even if they were handed over totally in private that doesn't make them under the table. Everyone is entitled to keep their finances private.

Dana gives out a lot of private bonuses away from what is on the negotiating table. I dont see the issue you have here.

Mellor

I never said he didn't, I said they weren't under the table.
Under the table doesn't mean private, it means in secret so as to avoid tax, or bribe someone or similar.

scudzilla

Mellor's right on this one, Dana/Zuffa couldn't risk making under the counter extra payments to fighters due to the IRS over there.

Zuffa are already being investigated by the monopolies commission due to the StrikeForce takeover, last thing they'd want is the IRS sniffing about

drayme

Sigh