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MMA Fighter Salaries
- By Damian Kutzner
- Published 08/12/2009
- Real Life
- Unrated
Damian Kutzner
Damian Kutzner is an entrepreneur who understands that success is the result of hard work and determination. He began his career in real estate at the age of 18 and opened his own real estate firm at 23. He later helped to launch one of the most successful debt settlement firms in the nation, heading up operations and designing software that improves business process. Damian is the founder and CEO of Integrated Legal Systems (ILS), a solution provider that provides applications to simplify the way law firms do business. He is also the president of Serious Pimp, an extreme lifestyle clothing company that sponsors MMA fighters and events.
Sports salaries are always a controversial topic. Critics argue that
the paychecks earned by sports figures are excessive. But a look at the
monies earned by sponsors, promoters, and advertisers makes a paltry
six-figure salary look like a blip on the radar.
Consider that UFC 100, the UFC's heavily promoted and long-awaited milestone event, brought in a sold-out crowd estimated to be 11,000. This was the second-largest gate in the history of the UFC history, bringing in approximately $5.1 million from ticket sales alone. Brock Lesnar, the UFC heavyweight champion and Georges St. Pierre each took home $400,000 for their co-main event victories.
Currently, top-level MMA fighters are paid from two primary sources sources. The first comes from the fight promoters. Fighters get a small base salary per fight and a percentage based on Pay Per View viewership. Successful fighters also have sponsors that pay them varying amounts to promote products and make public appearances.
Interestingly, while one would readily assume that the salaries, bonuses, and sponsorship
dollars paid to Major League Baseball players,
NFL players and some of the stars of the NBA are higher than MMA stars,
Major League Soccer players also earn more than top UFC fighters.
Here are some of the salaries of top earners within the UFC for comparison:
* Chuck Liddell at UFC 88: $500,000
* Brock Lesnar at UFC 100: $400,000
* Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100: $400,000
* Quinton Jackson at UFC 96: $325,000
* Matt Hughes at UFC 98: $260,000
* Forrest Griffin at UFC 92: $210,000
* Lyoto Machida at UFC 98: $200,000
* Rashad Evans at UFC 98: $200,000
Some of these fighters only fight once or twice a year so these figures could be annual earnings or 50% of annual earnings. Because the fights are dictated by the UFC fight calendar, injuries, and the availability of coaches, Ultimate Fighters have less control over their earnings than their counterparts in other sports.
Average fighters are paid around $30,000 per show. If they win, they are paid another $30,000.
Sources:
* MMA Frenzy
* MMA Weekly
* The Mixed Martial Arts News Website
Consider that UFC 100, the UFC's heavily promoted and long-awaited milestone event, brought in a sold-out crowd estimated to be 11,000. This was the second-largest gate in the history of the UFC history, bringing in approximately $5.1 million from ticket sales alone. Brock Lesnar, the UFC heavyweight champion and Georges St. Pierre each took home $400,000 for their co-main event victories.
Currently, top-level MMA fighters are paid from two primary sources sources. The first comes from the fight promoters. Fighters get a small base salary per fight and a percentage based on Pay Per View viewership. Successful fighters also have sponsors that pay them varying amounts to promote products and make public appearances.
Interestingly, while one would readily assume that the salaries, bonuses, and sponsorship
Here are some of the salaries of top earners within the UFC for comparison:
* Chuck Liddell at UFC 88: $500,000
* Brock Lesnar at UFC 100: $400,000
* Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100: $400,000
* Quinton Jackson at UFC 96: $325,000
* Matt Hughes at UFC 98: $260,000
* Forrest Griffin at UFC 92: $210,000
* Lyoto Machida at UFC 98: $200,000
* Rashad Evans at UFC 98: $200,000
Some of these fighters only fight once or twice a year so these figures could be annual earnings or 50% of annual earnings. Because the fights are dictated by the UFC fight calendar, injuries, and the availability of coaches, Ultimate Fighters have less control over their earnings than their counterparts in other sports.
Average fighters are paid around $30,000 per show. If they win, they are paid another $30,000.
Sources:
* MMA Frenzy
* MMA Weekly
* The Mixed Martial Arts News Website
