“If people want to quit being greedy and make it a great sport not only competition-wise but compensation-wise, that’s good. My fear is fighters won’t be able to negotiate the best contracts because they’ll have no chips to bargain with. If that starts to happen to the fighters, then we’re talking about some exploitation.”
– Juanito Ibarra — trainer for UFC light heavyweight contender Quinton “Rampage” Jackson — on the possible ramifications to fighter salaries now that the majority owners of Zuffa have control of its biggest rival, PRIDE FC, as told to the Los Angeles Times.
March 29th, 2007
12 Comments »
I think Ibarra makes a great point. Everyone is stoked about the dream matches, but I’m sure there is a lot of fighters scratching their heads knowing the UFC has them by the balls, unless Bodog or Elite XC starts putting up some real money where else can you go now that Pride is gone? UFC makes like 50 million per event but salary payouts avg like 3 to 4 hundred thousand. A few guys get PPV royalties, but that’s a select few. Either way it’s win-win for UFC, if a fighter wants more money where are they gonna go?
The ufc would only be commiting suicide by not taking care of the fighters….bottomline!
There could be an instatement of a fighters group, such as the NHLPA or any other players association in any other league, get them as one unified group, and then get it so there is always a minimum payment that has to be payed out to the fighter, so they can simply survive in life. This has worked for other athletes (except when they reach a disagreement and we have a lock out, and a mma lock out would be heart wrenching to most, if not all fans of the sport) I am a huge NHL and NFL fan and those two recent lock outs almost killed me and I would hate to see a UFC/Pride lock out but if it helps out with the guys who are on the bottom earn a bit of a paycheque, is that realistically not worth it?
We can all hope that the UFC and Pride realize a very important fact. If the fighters are not well taken care of, they will have reason to unionize. I doubt that is something either organization wants to have happen.
4k to show and 4k to win equals 8k (if you win) minus 2k in taxes equals 6k.
Most fighters are worse off than the working poor.
So we all came 2 the conclusion not 2 long ago that the sale of Pride FC was a good thing 4 the fans and now we realize this is not so good 4 the fighters. My next question would be,what will happen to the next generation of fighters? Fans like myself who become inspired to train may not be able to take fighting seriously as a profession.They might only be able to persue this strickly as a hobby. Hughes vs. Trigg 2 was enough 4 me 2 start my diet and take my health in to consideration. Very few fighters make good $$$ and the rest r forced 2 take other jobs they might not enjoy simply to feed their families. I can only hope a new major player in the fight scene makes an opportunity 4 the next generation.Much like how TNA is coming up against the WWE.But the hell with wrestling anyway.HOLLALULIA HOLLA BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Capitalism works…
Someone will just start up a MMA company and scoop up the remainders…
IFL is still out there or does ufc own them.
There are other places to go, the best if they feel under payed will just go somewhere else or 3-4 of em will make thier own up. And put a small spin on the ring, rules or how the fighters are grouped to make it different.
all i got to say is the big guys(zuffa,dana,the brothers,etc.)better figure out a way to spreads the wealth,cause now it ain’t nothing but pimps and hoes.the pimps makes millions while the hoe gets enough to make it until the next time the pimp need him……..holla…….
I think everything will turn out alright if one thing continues to happen; the sport keeps getting bigger.
If that happens, the fighters won’t have to try to form a union, one will undoubtedly seek them out. Also, as the sport grows, so does press coverage, and rich people fucking over the working class always makes for a great story. That kind of coverage will not be appreciated by Zuffa and is certainly something they will try to avoid.
The UFC is so big now they can buy out all the remaining MMA companys or sue them to death. I dont think this is good for MMA. For a working guy like me the 40 bucks for pay per view is a killer. The UFC is already like boxing where you cant see a good fight on regular TV any more. The UFC and college basketball are the only sports I like watching and I hope that the UFC doesnt ruin everything.
The exploitation is already occurring. Look who is fighting now….
http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=13683
How do they manage to pay boxers so much?