Is there any sort of link I can watch it from? I can’t view it in this format. I updated Flash and Quicktime and tried on IE and Firefox, and have pop up blocker off. All I found is 6 minutes of it on youtube at:
WOW. I can the UFC screw around with such a stand up guy? Dana is looking like such an ass.
I love that Randy brought the bout agreements with him. He was getting fricken rapped by Zuffa and UFC.
I think Randy’s screwed if he thinks in 9 months he’s going to go off and fight for some other organization. I listened to the UFC press conference and I honestly think Dana has valid points.
- If Randy isn’t happy - then finish out your contract that you AGREED to and walk away from UFC forever. If it was “just about the fighting” then shut up and fight.
- Can’t feel sorry for Randy bc he wasn’t given extra tickets for his family at PPV events. I’m sure every other fighter would want a bunch of tickets and they get pummelled with requests for friends & family tickets from all fighters.
- If I was a fighter that signed away my ancillary rights (my name and image for video games, etc) then I would expect better treatment than Randy because I’m making the UFC more money off my name and image. So Randy shouldn’t be pissed that I get treated better than him in all the “small things” that he spoke about. And guess what - those “signing bonuses” that every one got that he didn’t probably has something to do with that as well.
- A discretionary bonus is just that, a bonus at the UFC’s discretion. If he didn’t get one, then he can use that in the next contract renegotiation. “Dana, i didn’t get a fight bonus for the GG fight and I deserved one so I want double that now in my signing bonus bc you know my fights are always badass”
I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets. whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!!
In the end when you hear someone say “its not all about the money,” or “its not JUST about money”……thats basically saying YES IT IS ALL ABOUT MONEY, Randy has respect, this is about money. I still love Randy though……
[quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets. whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
Like he said it isn’t about the money, its about the fact that he isn’t given the respect that he deserves from the UFC. Sure he makes a lot of money, he deserves too. But Pride fighters being offered more than him is a slap in the face. I never heard him say he wasn’t making enough. Just that he wanted the same benefits as other fighters like Liddel. He certainly deserves it.
[quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets. whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
How much money did he bring in for Zuffa? Two sold out and big selling PPV events made UFC how many million dollars? When you are the reason people are buying PPV events and tickets you deserve a level of respect. You can’t just toss anyone in the ring and get asses in the seats like a big name guy like Couture can.
No to be disrespectful to Randy but He has no valid points..we’ve had several fighters who have been of high calibre come and leave the organization, his case wouldn’t be any different. I’m rolling with the UFC on this one.
Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”
[quote comment=”195592″]No to be disrespectful to Randy but He has no valid points..we’ve had several fighters who have been of high calibre come and leave the organization, his case wouldn’t be any different. I’m rolling with the UFC on this one.[/quote]
What do you mean he has no points? And you don’t care who fights as long as it has the UFC sticker on it?
[quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
Yeah but Vinnys guys get paid way more than UFC guys do. He yells at them for the storylines, but that is all for show.
I like Randy and certainly respect him as an athlete and a representative of the sport he loves so much. Having said that, he’s coming across somewhat whiney and I’m not really sure that he’s got a legal foot to stand on.
Remembering that that absolute truth is almost never represented by either side, I’m sure that neither Randy nor Dana are innocent in all this. Here’s hoping they can resolve their differences.
Final thought: Does all this somehow validate or lend creedence to what Tito has been claiming all these years? Sure makes me wonder…
Here’s another way to look at it. In the NBA, the salary cap is defined as 55% of “basketball related income” for the league. For the NFL, it is 57% of league revenue, meaning that 57 cents of every revenue dollar goes to the players. The reality is that Zuffa LLC has been making a nice margin over the last two-three years, because there is NO WAY they are paying salary-revenue ratios in the range of the major sports.
That said, Zuffa lost a lot early on and I certainly don’t begrudge anyone for making a profit. Unfortunately for Dana, I’m sure he’s in a position where ownership is pushing to maintain the profit margin during growth and the players want more of a cut. Welcome to business.
So for Randy to get tired and leave is just a little back and forth in the overall process. Some other fighters will probably also leave for other orgs, but eventually the UFC will come around (supply-demand) or will fail and another org will fill it’s shoes. The sport will go on as long as we all support it.
The UFC gave Cro Cop a HUGE amount of money and look at his fights. Compare THAT to Randy’s fights.
No contest.
Dana does some things right, he also makes incredibly stupid financial decisions concerning the fighters. I also think Dana is extremely hypocritical, he doesn’t care about undercutting a fighters pay while he walks away with his pockets full. Spread the wealth to the guys that put their bodies on the line, and have a pay scale that makes sense.
Fighter X gets paid 50K for putting on a terrible performance while Fighter Y makes 10K for the fight of his life. It really is stupid.
dana cant even pay randy as much as everyone else he made his own money with his movies n clothes id be mad too hes the heavyweight champ he diserves to get paid like one
[quote comment=”195613″]UFC did 222 MILLION dollars in PPV in 2006, I’m betting they did better in 2007 with the big Couture fights.[/quote]
yes and hes getting a piece of that.
Im with Randy all the way. He made all his points in a classy manner and was classy enough not to bash Dana even tho he had many reasons to do so. Hope this gets resolved because If Dana lets Randy walk away from this, it will come back to haunt the UFC at some point.
UFCMANIa
When you get a chance can oyu post some of Dana’s comments from yesterday’s press conference? Thanks
couture was coming of retirement and his last fight was a lost to chuck. does he really think he deserved a bonus for that, ufc did alot for him by getting him a title shot. thats the mean reason why he accepted the contact. fedor has like 20 wins in a row against top competition. i do believe he deserves more money than randy and a better treatment. also, imo, randy hasn’t prove much to me jet. he beat tim with him having an injured back, he also beat gonzaga who in my opinion is not top competition only beacuse beat crocop. i think he needed to fight a guy like big nog or other big name before resignin from his title.
[quote comment=”195630″][quote comment=”195613″]UFC did 222 MILLION dollars in PPV in 2006, I’m betting they did better in 2007 with the big Couture fights.[/quote]
yes and hes getting a piece of that.[/quote]
Edenmachine- Your statements are completely insensitive to Randy’s individual concerns. Statements like yours are selfish to only your satisfaction of seeing fighters fight only, and compensation that they deserve for their promotional ability is minor. There is obviously work to be done in taking care of fighters in compensation terms. And this is a step towards bringing that into the open. But you just want to see Randy fight, that cry baby. Get real.
It’s sad to see Randy go out the way he’s trying to. Dana is a piece of shit and gets his money no matter what the out come is. It’s the fans that pay for Dana’s mistake. He should have treated Randy better. I agree that all the fighters coming from Pride have to prove themselves first before they make more than the guys who built the UFC. Still hoping something can be worked out, and still praying that maybe we’ll see Randy and Fedor fight.
for everyone saying that Randy is whining you don’t get it!
IT ISN’T ABOUT MONEY!
If it was about money he would of take the 3 million dollar pay check from Bodog. Don’t be stupid. He fought for 250k plus ppv which is like 750k or whatever a fight. People like Chuck are getting paid 15 million per year!
Randy is a stand up dude. He is clearing it up so there are no rumors. He didn’t come out and make a big deal, he did it quietly for a month before the resignation. This press conference is about saving his name.
Yeah a lot of people who don’t make money are thinking, you are a millionaire, who cares!?
That isn’t what it is about. Professional athletes want a little respect from their organization. Free tickets and other small favors should be expected. THIS IS THE BIGGEST NAME IN THE UFC, NOT JUST ANYONE. and his wife can’t get tickets. That is a joke. Dana just looks like an idiot.
When your company is worth close to a billion and you can make hundreds of millions for ppv then you have to show respect. This sport is bigger than boxing is now and look at the last boxing pay outs.
De La Hoya 25 million and his opponent 10 million.
Look at any other pro sport, good players make 10-30 million per year.
Then couture makes 600k in a sport that IS GROSSING more than the boxing PPVs. It’s true, they sell more and earn more than boxing. That is a joke man. He has every right to be pissed, the fighters are underpaid. He likes to fight but still wants some respect.
[quote comment=”195638″]couture was coming of retirement and his last fight was a lost to chuck. does he really think he deserved a bonus for that, ufc did alot for him by getting him a title shot. thats the mean reason why he accepted the contact. fedor has like 20 wins in a row against top competition. i do believe he deserves more money than randy and a better treatment. also, imo, randy hasn’t prove much to me jet. he beat tim with him having an injured back, he also beat gonzaga who in my opinion is not top competition only beacuse beat crocop. i think he needed to fight a guy like big nog or other big name before resignin from his title.[/quote]
you don’t get it man. He was offered 3 million from Bodog.
He hasn’t proven anything yet? Lol, you need to go learn how to spell and speak english before you argue.
[quote comment=”195582″][quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets. whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
How much money did he bring in for Zuffa? Two sold out and big selling PPV events made UFC how many million dollars? When you are the reason people are buying PPV events and tickets you deserve a level of respect. You can’t just toss anyone in the ring and get asses in the seats like a big name guy like Couture can.[/quote]
Zuffa took ALL the risk in buying the failing UFC. They deserve ALL the reward they get. Randy decided that for him to step into the ring, he would take X amount of dollars for it and shook on it. Be a man of your word and honor your contract. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Randy Couture and think he’s the greatest pound for pound fighter but be a man of your word and do what you agreed to do. You’re a millionaire - you’re not Kaleb Starnes making $4k a fight RANDY MADE $250 plus bonuses PLUS PPV cuts PLUS endourcements PLUS Extreme Couture clothing line (made famous through him being in UFC) PLUS Extreme Couture gyms (made famous through UFC) PLUS high-budget Hollywood films now (which he’s able to get because of UFC). He’s a MULTI-millionaire and he’s going to whine about not getting respect from Dana?? Who cares??? He should be saying - “Dana doesn’t respect me but I’m crying about it all the way to the bank to cash my MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS!!”
Honor your contract or retire quietly like he did the first time. Just stop whining while swimming in your enourmous pool that’s filled to the top with hundred dollar bills.
Or if you think something is wrong - start a Fighters Union. Go be a fight manager and stick it to the UFC that way. Or start your own fighting organization and pay the fighters a ton of money and give all the fighters’ family free tickets so you barely make money as a company.
I mean I think fighters should be paid more bc I think they deserve it - but I think the market place should dictate that. Nick Diaz left for more money and he’s off winning fights at EliteXC making more now. But he’s losing “fame” bc of it - but he thought it was worth it for himself and you have to respect that. If you want the fame that the UFC brings then guess what? YOU DON”T GET PAID AS MUCH - because UFC is higher profile and that allows you to make more on endorcements and selling your name bc people see you on spike, PPV, etc. No one watches EliteXC and no one watches M-1.
So shut up and fight or shut and retire. Just don’t eff with the love of my life - which is watching great MMA bouts. (sorry, my two children come second lol) But I just can’t handle millionaires that whine about things not being fair for them. Are there any millionaires on this thread?? Probably not so would anyone here NOT trade places with “terribly disrespected by the UFC” Randy Couture in a heartbeat??? Probably not.
A lot of guys all seem to be referring to the 40K FOTN bonus or Submission of the night, or KO of the night bonus. This is not the case.
When a fighter wins, normally their purse doubles. For example 25K to show, and 25K for the win, for a total of 50K. It is in every fight salary recap for every fighter.
What Randy is complaining about, is that he got his 250K for his fight, but did not get his 250K for his win.
Guys, go back and check all of the UFC salary recaps and you’ll see what I mean. So in essence, he has a legit complaint about a discretionary bonus. Everyone else got theirs so why did he not get his?
Still not happy with either UFC or Randy on this matter. Resolve it, finish your two fights, and end a career as the legend you are, and as the company you are
[quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets. whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
You’re obviously a jealous person who doesn’t make money.
If he wanted the money he would of signed the 3 million dollar contract. It’s called loyalty genius.
It’s nice when you sacrifice you body, heart and soul for a sport to get small favors like tickets or other things. You obviously have never given a lot of energy and effort to anything or you might understand that.
Some people are idiots and can’t see the perspective of a person and respect it. This is one of the classiest UFC fighters of all time.
Imagine that you are sitting in a room with Randy Couture trying to get tickets to the next PPV and your girlfriend somehow gets Dana’s # and asks for some PPV tickets. Dana says, “who the hell are you? No you can’t get tickets.” Then Randy Couture’s wife calls to ask for some tickets and Dana says, “no way. I can’t do it”
Wouldn’t that be an awkward moment! THINK ABOUT IT, THIS GUYS BLEEDS IN THE RING AND DOES ANYTHING THEY ASK HIM TO…
Good for Randy, if you have the power and the fan base behind you, use it to your best advantage. Of course he wants more money, why wouldn’t he? Randy is a business man and a hell of a good one at that. He is thinking upon this as would any succesfull business person. He is 47? why should he be making zuffa rich, when he could reap more rewards.
[quote comment=”195624″]The UFC gave Cro Cop a HUGE amount of money and look at his fights. Compare THAT to Randy’s fights.
No contest.
Dana does some things right, he also makes incredibly stupid financial decisions concerning the fighters. I also think Dana is extremely hypocritical, he doesn’t care about undercutting a fighters pay while he walks away with his pockets full. Spread the wealth to the guys that put their bodies on the line, and have a pay scale that makes sense.
Fighter X gets paid 50K for putting on a terrible performance while Fighter Y makes 10K for the fight of his life. It really is stupid.[/quote]
Zuffa took a risk on CroCop and guess what - it didn’t pay off and maybe it lost them a ton of money because of it. How are they to know when they sign the contract? Cro Cop did great on that deal bc his fights sucked. Now would it be fair to “resign” from CroCop’s contract now?? Could they now say “hey CroCop, you sucked on your two fights so your last two fights - we dont’ want you anymore so we’re not going to pay you for the rest of the contract”?? IT DOESN”T WORK THAT WAY!! lol
Same goes with Randy - they signed a 4 fight deal. Randy did 10 times better than expected - Zuffa made out great on their risk with his contract and probably made up for all the Heath Herrings and CropCops that failed to live up. That’s called “doing good business” on Zuffa’s side. When Couture’s fights are up and they sign a new contract don’t you think he could sign for millions after that - after winning 4 amazing fights?? that’s how it works people. Take a course in business or economics or something and welcome to the real world. lol You guys crack me up.
[quote comment=”195616″]Here’s another way to look at it. In the NBA, the salary cap is defined as 55% of “basketball related income” for the league. For the NFL, it is 57% of league revenue, meaning that 57 cents of every revenue dollar goes to the players. The reality is that Zuffa LLC has been making a nice margin over the last two-three years, because there is NO WAY they are paying salary-revenue ratios in the range of the major sports.
That said, Zuffa lost a lot early on and I certainly don’t begrudge anyone for making a profit. Unfortunately for Dana, I’m sure he’s in a position where ownership is pushing to maintain the profit margin during growth and the players want more of a cut. Welcome to business.
So for Randy to get tired and leave is just a little back and forth in the overall process. Some other fighters will probably also leave for other orgs, but eventually the UFC will come around (supply-demand) or will fail and another org will fill it’s shoes. The sport will go on as long as we all support it.
Bob — Good post. This is sound information that many fans of various sports overlook because they’re so eager to spout off opinions without even an attempt to seek an objective point of view.
[quote comment=”195663″]A lot of guys all seem to be referring to the 40K FOTN bonus or Submission of the night, or KO of the night bonus. This is not the case.
When a fighter wins, normally their purse doubles. For example 25K to show, and 25K for the win, for a total of 50K. It is in every fight salary recap for every fighter.
What Randy is complaining about, is that he got his 250K for his fight, but did not get his 250K for his win.
Guys, go back and check all of the UFC salary recaps and you’ll see what I mean. So in essence, he has a legit complaint about a discretionary bonus. Everyone else got theirs so why did he not get his?
Still not happy with either UFC or Randy on this matter. Resolve it, finish your two fights, and end a career as the legend you are, and as the company you are[/quote]
The bonuses that Randy is talking about is not on the “fighter payouts” that UFCMania.com posts. These are “off the books” bonuses. Chuck Liddell gets paid the exact same amount ($500k I believe) for his fights win or lose. I think he (and maybe Randy - I’d have to go back and check) is the only one that has that kind of deal. Most fighters have the “double your base if you win” type of deal. After fight bonuses are not on that payout disclosure that gets posted here after each fight.
[quote comment=”195660″][quote comment=”195638″]couture was coming of retirement and his last fight was a lost to chuck. does he really think he deserved a bonus for that, ufc did alot for him by getting him a title shot. thats the mean reason why he accepted the contact. fedor has like 20 wins in a row against top competition. i do believe he deserves more money than randy and a better treatment. also, imo, randy hasn’t prove much to me jet. he beat tim with him having an injured back, he also beat gonzaga who in my opinion is not top competition only beacuse beat crocop. i think he needed to fight a guy like big nog or other big name before resignin from his title.[/quote]
you don’t get it man. He was offered 3 million from Bodog.
He hasn’t proven anything yet? Lol, you need to go learn how to spell and speak english before you argue.[/quote]
Trust me - it’s about the money. It’s ALWAYS about the money. UFC said “we’re not giving you 3million”. Why? Becuase they don’t HAVE to. Because they know that Randy can make WAY more than 3 million if he fights for the UFC. For the Sylvia fight he got $250k plus the fight bonus (which was probably another $250k) and then he got PPV (which someone said was a half a million) so that’s roughly a million so far (anyone feel bad for the guy yet?) and then NO ONE WATCHES BODOG FIGHTS so that means he’d make WAY more on endorcements if he fights on the UFC and that’s big dollars and then his own clothing line and gyms (yes, we’ve probably already surpassed 3 million by now - still feeling bad for the guy??) and then because of the Sylvia fight on the UFC - he lands the big budget hollywood film for even more money AND a possible GREAT future after her really retires. All bc he signed that “crappy” deal with UFC instead of the quick money with BODOG that no one would have seen. Don’t be so naive people.
The Fertitta’s are Billionaires. Their financial holdings are gaining more than enough interest to boost the pay scale for the entire UFC/WEC roster without cutting into their assets. There is NO EXCUSE for not paying these fighters appropriately.
Some of you posting here & on other MMA Forums have completely missed the point here. I’m sure many of you have never worked for the same employer for an extended amount of time (5 yrs) so it’s harder for you to understand.
The point is that there isnt a knowledgeable long-term employee on the face of this earth that would not get upset at their company offering a new hire with equal qualifications double or triple what their currently being paid to do the exact same job. I dont care if you work for a Car Wash or you’re an Investment Banker because no one in their right mind would stand for that. yes, we’d all react in different ways but the bottom line is that we all would share the same hurtful feeling of dissappointment in some form or another.
It isnt about the money but if you’ve earned it then you deserve it.
IS HE RETARDED? He is the f’n heavyweight champion and he didn’t think calling a press conference after he quits would be a big deal. I LOST SO MUCH RESPECT FOR RANDY.
He doesn’t think being the first coach on TUF was a great deal of respect given to him? He doesn’t think being GIVEN an immediate title shot after retiring after getting knocked out twice in a row was a sign of respect????
They both (Dana and Couture) had valid arguements… I wasn’t all that impressed with Randy though… money is obviously a huge issue… bigger than i expected. Everybody involved is making big bucks, I would really like to see a Winners purse and a Losers purse…(example) 50,000 loser 100,000 winner.. do they do that already? seems like it would motivate the shit out of the fighters.. like in boxing when you know the guy is there just for the payday.
[quote comment=”195665″][quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets. whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
You’re obviously a jealous person who doesn’t make money.
If he wanted the money he would of signed the 3 million dollar contract. It’s called loyalty genius.
It’s nice when you sacrifice you body, heart and soul for a sport to get small favors like tickets or other things. You obviously have never given a lot of energy and effort to anything or you might understand that.
Some people are idiots and can’t see the perspective of a person and respect it. This is one of the classiest UFC fighters of all time.
Imagine that you are sitting in a room with Randy Couture trying to get tickets to the next PPV and your girlfriend somehow gets Dana’s # and asks for some PPV tickets. Dana says, “who the hell are you? No you can’t get tickets.” Then Randy Couture’s wife calls to ask for some tickets and Dana says, “no way. I can’t do it”
Wouldn’t that be an awkward moment! THINK ABOUT IT, THIS GUYS BLEEDS IN THE RING AND DOES ANYTHING THEY ASK HIM TO…[/quote]
Not that this is about me, but I make over six figures and I do fine for myself and I’m not whining about how much money I personally make.
If he wanted free tickets - he should have asked for it in his contract.
And trust me - there’s not a bigger Couture fan than me - go back and check the threads. I can still have the utmost respect for Randy and still think he’s completely wrong on this one issue.
[quote comment=”195667″]UFC will clear 300 million in 2007 for PPV
This doesn’t include ticket sales or anything else the company is paid for in marketing and other money making endeavors.
Interesting.
Couture: 1 million and one of the biggest PPV draws…
??[/quote]
Dude, you can’t be serious?? Do you think $300million (if indeed that’s even what the actual figure is - since they are a private company i don’t think they have to disclose that information but for argument’s sake) - do you really think that goes right into their pockets? That’s not Net - that’s Gross. Do you realize how many people they have to pay to run that show? Do you realize how expensive those arenas are to rent out? Trust me - if Zuffa made 300 million for every PPV they had, every big company in the world would be jumping into the MMA business. lol “General Electric Fighting Championship”
It’s about respect and randy’s not happy with the way he’s being treated, whatever its his right, dana’s doesn’t own his soul, I think the power has gone to dana’s head, good for randy.
[quote comment=”195662″]
I mean I think fighters should be paid more bc I think they deserve it - but I think the market place should dictate that. Nick Diaz left for more money and he’s off winning fights at EliteXC making more now. But he’s losing “fame” bc of it - but he thought it was worth it for himself and you have to respect that. If you want the fame that the UFC brings then guess what? YOU DON”T GET PAID AS MUCH - because UFC is higher profile and that allows you to make more on endorcements and selling your name bc people see you on spike, PPV, etc. No one watches EliteXC and no one watches M-1.
[/quote]
If the best fighters start going to other organizations people will start watching, and fans of the sport not just casual people who like reality shows and really don’t follow the sport of MMA.
The idea that getting to the top of the chain means making less money is backwards. Thats like having Triple A baseball players making more than Major Leaguers. Only in the UFC I guess.
[quote comment=”195715″]It’s about respect and randy’s not happy with the way he’s being treated, whatever its his right, dana’s doesn’t own his soul, I think the power has gone to dana’s head, good for randy.[/quote]
Well this is the guy who had an hour show on his training for a fight against Tito that didn’t happen. I get the impression that he thinks he is the reason people watch, not the fighters.
There are a couple of ways to look at this. Are we going to do everything we can for the good of the business? Or are we going to do everything we can for the good of the fighters? In either scenario someone is going to get shafted. On one hand, you have got a business to run. On the other hand, you have no business without the fighters. Remember, it doesn’t matter the amount of money you have if you do not have the business savvy or the fighters. It’s the same fight we all fight everyday with our own jobs. Am I worth more than what I make..heck ya. But the money I make is pretty darn good. And with a wife and three kids to support you learn to be grateful for what you have. Both sides have good arguments but one question must be asked: Who needs who more? I love Randy to death but I have a feeling the UFC will be around a lot longer than Randy will.
[quote comment=”195716″][quote comment=”195662″]
I mean I think fighters should be paid more bc I think they deserve it - but I think the market place should dictate that. Nick Diaz left for more money and he’s off winning fights at EliteXC making more now. But he’s losing “fame” bc of it - but he thought it was worth it for himself and you have to respect that. If you want the fame that the UFC brings then guess what? YOU DON”T GET PAID AS MUCH - because UFC is higher profile and that allows you to make more on endorcements and selling your name bc people see you on spike, PPV, etc. No one watches EliteXC and no one watches M-1.
[/quote]
If the best fighters start going to other organizations people will start watching, and fans of the sport not just casual people who like reality shows and really don’t follow the sport of MMA.
The idea that getting to the top of the chain means making less money is backwards. Thats like having Triple A baseball players making more than Major Leaguers. Only in the UFC I guess.[/quote]
No that metaphor would be more like the WEC paying more that the UFC since the WEC is the minor league for the UFC big leagues. A better metaphor is like Japanese baseball. They might pay more for a retired player (like that old movie with Tom Selleck called “Mr. Baseball” I believe) where he gets paid more to play there but of course he doesn’t get NEARLY as much fan exposure to the main baseball fan base as he would for the MLB.
Randy signed the damn contract. If he wasn’t happy with it he could have continued negotiating until he got something he was happy with or just stayed retired. From 2004 until he un-retired he was 3-3, yet Dana gave him an immediate title shot because he asked for one. Personally, I’m sick and tired of listening to professional athletes whine and cry about feeling disrespected or not being shown any love. Your choices are: A) Renogotiate your existing contract until you do feel “respected” and “loved” B) Work your ass off on your current contract and earn more money on your next one C) Retire and go work a 9-5 job like the people who pay to watch you.
[quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
He signed a contract, which means he agreed to adhere to those terms and conditions for the said amount of time…He is being a bitter suck. If he didn’t like the terms, he shouldn’t of put the pen to paper. Randy is being a baby.
Randy fucked up by not having a good agent or negotiator. He knew there was no set pay structure. The best thing he can do now is use his (valuable) exposure to sell his other shit: clothing, training, movies, etc… and fight.
I don’t think the UFC has the monster cash that boxing has yet so they are paying new guys mainly to promote the sport. Professional negotiators may kill the sport. I think that’s why Dana complained about Don King wanting to come in a rep some of these guys a couple years ago, he said (paraphrasing)”people from the boxing organizations want to come in when they smell money, but we don’t need their kind around the UFC.” But who knows the UFC could just be getting super rich. If they don’t st8en out the cash then they will ruin the sport soon.
[quote comment=”195767″][quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
He signed a contract, which means he agreed to adhere to those terms and conditions for the said amount of time…He is being a bitter suck. If he didn’t like the terms, he shouldn’t of put the pen to paper. Randy is being a baby.[/quote]
K- he signed the contract….how many pro-athletes get to re negotiate their contracts when they perform well? For more money and longer terms?
Teams are happy to sign their star players to longer contracts for more money in some instances to secure their success. Am I wrong?
How many GM’s go public and say that they “OWN” their players and say the shit that Dana says about their professional athletes?
If you have a job and your have a “verbal” agreement that you are going to work for this company that is going to pay you x # of $$$ and your boss starts to disrespect you, would you not leave or would you put your head down and take it, and take it and take it?
i hear people saying alot of things as whether dana is right or is randy, but this necessary….i saw a few people writing shut and fight, but negotiations and monetary value is a very important factor…..now i’m not speaking to the average idiot that works in a cubicle and is probably a closet case, i’m speaking to other people who fight and who want to some day be professional….randy has handled himself with class throughout and he deserved to speak on the situation. listen up fighters and pay attention…..one day you may have to deal with these problems and solutions because you can’t fight forever and one day you will need to think of your family and your future and your children’s future as well and not only that, but you have to consider the legacy you will leave behind and i think randy has done a fine job and remains a class act!!!
[quote comment=”195767″][quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
He signed a contract, which means he agreed to adhere to those terms and conditions for the said amount of time…He is being a bitter suck. If he didn’t like the terms, he shouldn’t of put the pen to paper. Randy is being a baby.[/quote]
We’re forgetting the fact that he has the legal right to refute the contract. I’m sure there’s a clause in it that also states that he can choose to stop fighting as well so whats the big F’n deal people?
So many people here hating on Randy standing up for what he thinks is best for him when we all do the exact same thing for ourselves every day. Only difference is its on a far smaller scale over far smaller issues on a far smaller stage.
He has the right to not fight again, but he does not have the right to not fulfill his UFC contract and go fight in other organizations. His only choices here are to try and renotiate with Dana or go back to South Africa and finish his straight-to-video movie project.
Let’s be realistic, RC only has a couple more good fights in him anyway, and Fedor would manhandle him, anyone who thinks Fedor wouldn’t is either a fool, or in denial. The only way RC could win is if he pulled something like he did on Gonzaga and land an accidental illegal blow that destroys his nose so he is swallowing massive amounts of blood and not able to breath through his nose. Which is unlikely. It’s best for RC to leave the sport with his legacy fulfilled.
Dana White is a publicity genius, but a horrible person. Anyone who
Mania,
Is there any sort of link I can watch it from? I can’t view it in this format. I updated Flash and Quicktime and tried on IE and Firefox, and have pop up blocker off. All I found is 6 minutes of it on youtube at:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=randy couture press conference&search=Search
Thanks,
VM
WOW. I can the UFC screw around with such a stand up guy? Dana is looking like such an ass.
I love that Randy brought the bout agreements with him. He was getting fricken rapped by Zuffa and UFC.
http://www.rawvegas.tv/watch.php?vID=f8cdb7efd450c833d54fb4f07b0c52
Why is dressed like Dana? LOL
can someone give a brief run down of the highlights, i have no audio
I think Randy’s screwed if he thinks in 9 months he’s going to go off and fight for some other organization. I listened to the UFC press conference and I honestly think Dana has valid points.
- If Randy isn’t happy - then finish out your contract that you AGREED to and walk away from UFC forever. If it was “just about the fighting” then shut up and fight.
- Can’t feel sorry for Randy bc he wasn’t given extra tickets for his family at PPV events. I’m sure every other fighter would want a bunch of tickets and they get pummelled with requests for friends & family tickets from all fighters.
- If I was a fighter that signed away my ancillary rights (my name and image for video games, etc) then I would expect better treatment than Randy because I’m making the UFC more money off my name and image. So Randy shouldn’t be pissed that I get treated better than him in all the “small things” that he spoke about. And guess what - those “signing bonuses” that every one got that he didn’t probably has something to do with that as well.
- A discretionary bonus is just that, a bonus at the UFC’s discretion. If he didn’t get one, then he can use that in the next contract renegotiation. “Dana, i didn’t get a fight bonus for the GG fight and I deserved one so I want double that now in my signing bonus bc you know my fights are always badass”
- And lastly…. THERE’S NO CRYING IN THE UFC!!!!
is he really retiring? or just an excuse.. so he can fight fedor on another organization.
It just gives me an error, is there a transcript anywhere?
I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets.
whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!!
In the end when you hear someone say “its not all about the money,” or “its not JUST about money”……thats basically saying YES IT IS ALL ABOUT MONEY, Randy has respect, this is about money. I still love Randy though……
[quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets.
whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
Like he said it isn’t about the money, its about the fact that he isn’t given the respect that he deserves from the UFC. Sure he makes a lot of money, he deserves too. But Pride fighters being offered more than him is a slap in the face. I never heard him say he wasn’t making enough. Just that he wanted the same benefits as other fighters like Liddel. He certainly deserves it.
[quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets.
whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
How much money did he bring in for Zuffa? Two sold out and big selling PPV events made UFC how many million dollars? When you are the reason people are buying PPV events and tickets you deserve a level of respect. You can’t just toss anyone in the ring and get asses in the seats like a big name guy like Couture can.
No to be disrespectful to Randy but He has no valid points..we’ve had several fighters who have been of high calibre come and leave the organization, his case wouldn’t be any different. I’m rolling with the UFC on this one.
Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”
[quote comment=”195592″]No to be disrespectful to Randy but He has no valid points..we’ve had several fighters who have been of high calibre come and leave the organization, his case wouldn’t be any different. I’m rolling with the UFC on this one.[/quote]
What do you mean he has no points? And you don’t care who fights as long as it has the UFC sticker on it?
[quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
Yeah but Vinnys guys get paid way more than UFC guys do. He yells at them for the storylines, but that is all for show.
I like Randy and certainly respect him as an athlete and a representative of the sport he loves so much. Having said that, he’s coming across somewhat whiney and I’m not really sure that he’s got a legal foot to stand on.
Remembering that that absolute truth is almost never represented by either side, I’m sure that neither Randy nor Dana are innocent in all this. Here’s hoping they can resolve their differences.
Final thought: Does all this somehow validate or lend creedence to what Tito has been claiming all these years? Sure makes me wonder…
UFC did 222 MILLION dollars in PPV in 2006, I’m betting they did better in 2007 with the big Couture fights.
Here’s another way to look at it. In the NBA, the salary cap is defined as 55% of “basketball related income” for the league. For the NFL, it is 57% of league revenue, meaning that 57 cents of every revenue dollar goes to the players. The reality is that Zuffa LLC has been making a nice margin over the last two-three years, because there is NO WAY they are paying salary-revenue ratios in the range of the major sports.
That said, Zuffa lost a lot early on and I certainly don’t begrudge anyone for making a profit. Unfortunately for Dana, I’m sure he’s in a position where ownership is pushing to maintain the profit margin during growth and the players want more of a cut. Welcome to business.
So for Randy to get tired and leave is just a little back and forth in the overall process. Some other fighters will probably also leave for other orgs, but eventually the UFC will come around (supply-demand) or will fail and another org will fill it’s shoes. The sport will go on as long as we all support it.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/12/22/mvp-nfl-bargain-biz-cx_tvr_1222nflmvp.html
http://www.washingtonhockey.com/200203/features/sc2.htm
THANKS MANIA!
I have been trying to see this video and i kept on getting low-quality ones.
Are you going to have the Dana White UFC conference on here aswell??
….thanks agian…
DANA NEEDS TO CHANGE NOT RANDY
THIS CLIP ONLY SHOWS SOME OF THE CONFERENCE THERE WERE TONS OF ?’s from reporters that are up on sherdog….
DANA NEEDS TO BE REPLACED
man….all i can say is damn!
The UFC gave Cro Cop a HUGE amount of money and look at his fights. Compare THAT to Randy’s fights.
No contest.
Dana does some things right, he also makes incredibly stupid financial decisions concerning the fighters. I also think Dana is extremely hypocritical, he doesn’t care about undercutting a fighters pay while he walks away with his pockets full. Spread the wealth to the guys that put their bodies on the line, and have a pay scale that makes sense.
Fighter X gets paid 50K for putting on a terrible performance while Fighter Y makes 10K for the fight of his life. It really is stupid.
[quote comment=”195567″]is he really retiring? or just an excuse.. so he can fight fedor on another organization.[/quote]
i only can hope so
dana cant even pay randy as much as everyone else he made his own money with his movies n clothes id be mad too hes the heavyweight champ he diserves to get paid like one
[quote comment=”195613″]UFC did 222 MILLION dollars in PPV in 2006, I’m betting they did better in 2007 with the big Couture fights.[/quote]
yes and hes getting a piece of that.
Im with Randy all the way. He made all his points in a classy manner and was classy enough not to bash Dana even tho he had many reasons to do so. Hope this gets resolved because If Dana lets Randy walk away from this, it will come back to haunt the UFC at some point.
UFCMANIa
When you get a chance can oyu post some of Dana’s comments from yesterday’s press conference? Thanks
couture was coming of retirement and his last fight was a lost to chuck. does he really think he deserved a bonus for that, ufc did alot for him by getting him a title shot. thats the mean reason why he accepted the contact. fedor has like 20 wins in a row against top competition. i do believe he deserves more money than randy and a better treatment. also, imo, randy hasn’t prove much to me jet. he beat tim with him having an injured back, he also beat gonzaga who in my opinion is not top competition only beacuse beat crocop. i think he needed to fight a guy like big nog or other big name before resignin from his title.
[quote comment=”195630″][quote comment=”195613″]UFC did 222 MILLION dollars in PPV in 2006, I’m betting they did better in 2007 with the big Couture fights.[/quote]
yes and hes getting a piece of that.[/quote]
From what he said only a half million or so.
Edenmachine- Your statements are completely insensitive to Randy’s individual concerns. Statements like yours are selfish to only your satisfaction of seeing fighters fight only, and compensation that they deserve for their promotional ability is minor. There is obviously work to be done in taking care of fighters in compensation terms. And this is a step towards bringing that into the open. But you just want to see Randy fight, that cry baby. Get real.
It’s sad to see Randy go out the way he’s trying to. Dana is a piece of shit and gets his money no matter what the out come is. It’s the fans that pay for Dana’s mistake. He should have treated Randy better. I agree that all the fighters coming from Pride have to prove themselves first before they make more than the guys who built the UFC. Still hoping something can be worked out, and still praying that maybe we’ll see Randy and Fedor fight.
for everyone saying that Randy is whining you don’t get it!
IT ISN’T ABOUT MONEY!
If it was about money he would of take the 3 million dollar pay check from Bodog. Don’t be stupid. He fought for 250k plus ppv which is like 750k or whatever a fight. People like Chuck are getting paid 15 million per year!
Randy is a stand up dude. He is clearing it up so there are no rumors. He didn’t come out and make a big deal, he did it quietly for a month before the resignation. This press conference is about saving his name.
Yeah a lot of people who don’t make money are thinking, you are a millionaire, who cares!?
That isn’t what it is about. Professional athletes want a little respect from their organization. Free tickets and other small favors should be expected. THIS IS THE BIGGEST NAME IN THE UFC, NOT JUST ANYONE. and his wife can’t get tickets. That is a joke. Dana just looks like an idiot.
When your company is worth close to a billion and you can make hundreds of millions for ppv then you have to show respect. This sport is bigger than boxing is now and look at the last boxing pay outs.
De La Hoya 25 million and his opponent 10 million.
Look at any other pro sport, good players make 10-30 million per year.
Then couture makes 600k in a sport that IS GROSSING more than the boxing PPVs. It’s true, they sell more and earn more than boxing. That is a joke man. He has every right to be pissed, the fighters are underpaid. He likes to fight but still wants some respect.
???What???
Someone’s not being honest about the $$ here
$ $ $ $ $ $ $
$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$ $ $ $ $ $ $
Send randy to M-1, let Fedor have his fun w/him
[quote comment=”195638″]couture was coming of retirement and his last fight was a lost to chuck. does he really think he deserved a bonus for that, ufc did alot for him by getting him a title shot. thats the mean reason why he accepted the contact. fedor has like 20 wins in a row against top competition. i do believe he deserves more money than randy and a better treatment. also, imo, randy hasn’t prove much to me jet. he beat tim with him having an injured back, he also beat gonzaga who in my opinion is not top competition only beacuse beat crocop. i think he needed to fight a guy like big nog or other big name before resignin from his title.[/quote]
you don’t get it man. He was offered 3 million from Bodog.
He hasn’t proven anything yet? Lol, you need to go learn how to spell and speak english before you argue.
[quote comment=”195582″][quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets.
whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
How much money did he bring in for Zuffa? Two sold out and big selling PPV events made UFC how many million dollars? When you are the reason people are buying PPV events and tickets you deserve a level of respect. You can’t just toss anyone in the ring and get asses in the seats like a big name guy like Couture can.[/quote]
Zuffa took ALL the risk in buying the failing UFC. They deserve ALL the reward they get. Randy decided that for him to step into the ring, he would take X amount of dollars for it and shook on it. Be a man of your word and honor your contract. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Randy Couture and think he’s the greatest pound for pound fighter but be a man of your word and do what you agreed to do. You’re a millionaire - you’re not Kaleb Starnes making $4k a fight RANDY MADE $250 plus bonuses PLUS PPV cuts PLUS endourcements PLUS Extreme Couture clothing line (made famous through him being in UFC) PLUS Extreme Couture gyms (made famous through UFC) PLUS high-budget Hollywood films now (which he’s able to get because of UFC). He’s a MULTI-millionaire and he’s going to whine about not getting respect from Dana?? Who cares??? He should be saying - “Dana doesn’t respect me but I’m crying about it all the way to the bank to cash my MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS!!”
Honor your contract or retire quietly like he did the first time. Just stop whining while swimming in your enourmous pool that’s filled to the top with hundred dollar bills.
Or if you think something is wrong - start a Fighters Union. Go be a fight manager and stick it to the UFC that way. Or start your own fighting organization and pay the fighters a ton of money and give all the fighters’ family free tickets so you barely make money as a company.
I mean I think fighters should be paid more bc I think they deserve it - but I think the market place should dictate that. Nick Diaz left for more money and he’s off winning fights at EliteXC making more now. But he’s losing “fame” bc of it - but he thought it was worth it for himself and you have to respect that. If you want the fame that the UFC brings then guess what? YOU DON”T GET PAID AS MUCH - because UFC is higher profile and that allows you to make more on endorcements and selling your name bc people see you on spike, PPV, etc. No one watches EliteXC and no one watches M-1.
So shut up and fight or shut and retire. Just don’t eff with the love of my life - which is watching great MMA bouts. (sorry, my two children come second lol) But I just can’t handle millionaires that whine about things not being fair for them. Are there any millionaires on this thread?? Probably not so would anyone here NOT trade places with “terribly disrespected by the UFC” Randy Couture in a heartbeat??? Probably not.
A lot of guys all seem to be referring to the 40K FOTN bonus or Submission of the night, or KO of the night bonus. This is not the case.
When a fighter wins, normally their purse doubles. For example 25K to show, and 25K for the win, for a total of 50K. It is in every fight salary recap for every fighter.
What Randy is complaining about, is that he got his 250K for his fight, but did not get his 250K for his win.
Guys, go back and check all of the UFC salary recaps and you’ll see what I mean. So in essence, he has a legit complaint about a discretionary bonus. Everyone else got theirs so why did he not get his?
Still not happy with either UFC or Randy on this matter. Resolve it, finish your two fights, and end a career as the legend you are, and as the company you are
[quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets.
whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
You’re obviously a jealous person who doesn’t make money.
If he wanted the money he would of signed the 3 million dollar contract. It’s called loyalty genius.
It’s nice when you sacrifice you body, heart and soul for a sport to get small favors like tickets or other things. You obviously have never given a lot of energy and effort to anything or you might understand that.
Some people are idiots and can’t see the perspective of a person and respect it. This is one of the classiest UFC fighters of all time.
Imagine that you are sitting in a room with Randy Couture trying to get tickets to the next PPV and your girlfriend somehow gets Dana’s # and asks for some PPV tickets. Dana says, “who the hell are you? No you can’t get tickets.” Then Randy Couture’s wife calls to ask for some tickets and Dana says, “no way. I can’t do it”
Wouldn’t that be an awkward moment! THINK ABOUT IT, THIS GUYS BLEEDS IN THE RING AND DOES ANYTHING THEY ASK HIM TO…
UFC will clear 300 million in 2007 for PPV
This doesn’t include ticket sales or anything else the company is paid for in marketing and other money making endeavors.
Interesting.
Couture: 1 million and one of the biggest PPV draws…
??
Good for Randy, if you have the power and the fan base behind you, use it to your best advantage. Of course he wants more money, why wouldn’t he? Randy is a business man and a hell of a good one at that. He is thinking upon this as would any succesfull business person. He is 47? why should he be making zuffa rich, when he could reap more rewards.
[quote comment=”195624″]The UFC gave Cro Cop a HUGE amount of money and look at his fights. Compare THAT to Randy’s fights.
No contest.
Dana does some things right, he also makes incredibly stupid financial decisions concerning the fighters. I also think Dana is extremely hypocritical, he doesn’t care about undercutting a fighters pay while he walks away with his pockets full. Spread the wealth to the guys that put their bodies on the line, and have a pay scale that makes sense.
Fighter X gets paid 50K for putting on a terrible performance while Fighter Y makes 10K for the fight of his life. It really is stupid.[/quote]
Zuffa took a risk on CroCop and guess what - it didn’t pay off and maybe it lost them a ton of money because of it. How are they to know when they sign the contract? Cro Cop did great on that deal bc his fights sucked. Now would it be fair to “resign” from CroCop’s contract now?? Could they now say “hey CroCop, you sucked on your two fights so your last two fights - we dont’ want you anymore so we’re not going to pay you for the rest of the contract”?? IT DOESN”T WORK THAT WAY!! lol
Same goes with Randy - they signed a 4 fight deal. Randy did 10 times better than expected - Zuffa made out great on their risk with his contract and probably made up for all the Heath Herrings and CropCops that failed to live up. That’s called “doing good business” on Zuffa’s side. When Couture’s fights are up and they sign a new contract don’t you think he could sign for millions after that - after winning 4 amazing fights?? that’s how it works people. Take a course in business or economics or something and welcome to the real world. lol You guys crack me up.
[quote comment=”195616″]Here’s another way to look at it. In the NBA, the salary cap is defined as 55% of “basketball related income” for the league. For the NFL, it is 57% of league revenue, meaning that 57 cents of every revenue dollar goes to the players. The reality is that Zuffa LLC has been making a nice margin over the last two-three years, because there is NO WAY they are paying salary-revenue ratios in the range of the major sports.
That said, Zuffa lost a lot early on and I certainly don’t begrudge anyone for making a profit. Unfortunately for Dana, I’m sure he’s in a position where ownership is pushing to maintain the profit margin during growth and the players want more of a cut. Welcome to business.
So for Randy to get tired and leave is just a little back and forth in the overall process. Some other fighters will probably also leave for other orgs, but eventually the UFC will come around (supply-demand) or will fail and another org will fill it’s shoes. The sport will go on as long as we all support it.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/12/22/mvp-nfl-bargain-biz-cx_tvr_1222nflmvp.html
http://www.washingtonhockey.com/200203/features/sc2.htm/quote
Bob — Good post. This is sound information that many fans of various sports overlook because they’re so eager to spout off opinions without even an attempt to seek an objective point of view.
[quote comment=”195663″]A lot of guys all seem to be referring to the 40K FOTN bonus or Submission of the night, or KO of the night bonus. This is not the case.
When a fighter wins, normally their purse doubles. For example 25K to show, and 25K for the win, for a total of 50K. It is in every fight salary recap for every fighter.
What Randy is complaining about, is that he got his 250K for his fight, but did not get his 250K for his win.
Guys, go back and check all of the UFC salary recaps and you’ll see what I mean. So in essence, he has a legit complaint about a discretionary bonus. Everyone else got theirs so why did he not get his?
Still not happy with either UFC or Randy on this matter. Resolve it, finish your two fights, and end a career as the legend you are, and as the company you are[/quote]
The bonuses that Randy is talking about is not on the “fighter payouts” that UFCMania.com posts. These are “off the books” bonuses. Chuck Liddell gets paid the exact same amount ($500k I believe) for his fights win or lose. I think he (and maybe Randy - I’d have to go back and check) is the only one that has that kind of deal. Most fighters have the “double your base if you win” type of deal. After fight bonuses are not on that payout disclosure that gets posted here after each fight.
[quote comment=”195660″][quote comment=”195638″]couture was coming of retirement and his last fight was a lost to chuck. does he really think he deserved a bonus for that, ufc did alot for him by getting him a title shot. thats the mean reason why he accepted the contact. fedor has like 20 wins in a row against top competition. i do believe he deserves more money than randy and a better treatment. also, imo, randy hasn’t prove much to me jet. he beat tim with him having an injured back, he also beat gonzaga who in my opinion is not top competition only beacuse beat crocop. i think he needed to fight a guy like big nog or other big name before resignin from his title.[/quote]
you don’t get it man. He was offered 3 million from Bodog.
He hasn’t proven anything yet? Lol, you need to go learn how to spell and speak english before you argue.[/quote]
Trust me - it’s about the money. It’s ALWAYS about the money. UFC said “we’re not giving you 3million”. Why? Becuase they don’t HAVE to. Because they know that Randy can make WAY more than 3 million if he fights for the UFC. For the Sylvia fight he got $250k plus the fight bonus (which was probably another $250k) and then he got PPV (which someone said was a half a million) so that’s roughly a million so far (anyone feel bad for the guy yet?) and then NO ONE WATCHES BODOG FIGHTS so that means he’d make WAY more on endorcements if he fights on the UFC and that’s big dollars and then his own clothing line and gyms (yes, we’ve probably already surpassed 3 million by now - still feeling bad for the guy??) and then because of the Sylvia fight on the UFC - he lands the big budget hollywood film for even more money AND a possible GREAT future after her really retires. All bc he signed that “crappy” deal with UFC instead of the quick money with BODOG that no one would have seen. Don’t be so naive people.
The Fertitta’s are Billionaires. Their financial holdings are gaining more than enough interest to boost the pay scale for the entire UFC/WEC roster without cutting into their assets. There is NO EXCUSE for not paying these fighters appropriately.
Some of you posting here & on other MMA Forums have completely missed the point here. I’m sure many of you have never worked for the same employer for an extended amount of time (5 yrs) so it’s harder for you to understand.
The point is that there isnt a knowledgeable long-term employee on the face of this earth that would not get upset at their company offering a new hire with equal qualifications double or triple what their currently being paid to do the exact same job. I dont care if you work for a Car Wash or you’re an Investment Banker because no one in their right mind would stand for that. yes, we’d all react in different ways but the bottom line is that we all would share the same hurtful feeling of dissappointment in some form or another.
It isnt about the money but if you’ve earned it then you deserve it.
“I didn’t think this would be a big deal?”
IS HE RETARDED? He is the f’n heavyweight champion and he didn’t think calling a press conference after he quits would be a big deal. I LOST SO MUCH RESPECT FOR RANDY.
He doesn’t think being the first coach on TUF was a great deal of respect given to him? He doesn’t think being GIVEN an immediate title shot after retiring after getting knocked out twice in a row was a sign of respect????
WOW. RANDY HAS LOST ME AS A FAN.
They both (Dana and Couture) had valid arguements… I wasn’t all that impressed with Randy though… money is obviously a huge issue… bigger than i expected. Everybody involved is making big bucks, I would really like to see a Winners purse and a Losers purse…(example) 50,000 loser 100,000 winner.. do they do that already? seems like it would motivate the shit out of the fighters.. like in boxing when you know the guy is there just for the payday.
[quote comment=”195665″][quote comment=”195572″]I just find it REALLY hard to feel sorry for millionaires. Poor baby has to buy his own event tickets.
whhhaaa sniffle Poor baby only made $600,000 dollars this year for fighting two fights boo hooo - but oh yeah, which made thousands of people flood into his gyms and buy his Extreme Couture clothing products and watch, I’m sure, an AWFUL Scorpion King part II movie which of course throws him up and over making a cool $2 million for the year but hey, the poor guy didn’t get any tickets for his wife’s third cousins.
YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE!!!!!!! SHUT UP AND FIGHT!!!!![/quote]
You’re obviously a jealous person who doesn’t make money.
If he wanted the money he would of signed the 3 million dollar contract. It’s called loyalty genius.
It’s nice when you sacrifice you body, heart and soul for a sport to get small favors like tickets or other things. You obviously have never given a lot of energy and effort to anything or you might understand that.
Some people are idiots and can’t see the perspective of a person and respect it. This is one of the classiest UFC fighters of all time.
Imagine that you are sitting in a room with Randy Couture trying to get tickets to the next PPV and your girlfriend somehow gets Dana’s # and asks for some PPV tickets. Dana says, “who the hell are you? No you can’t get tickets.” Then Randy Couture’s wife calls to ask for some tickets and Dana says, “no way. I can’t do it”
Wouldn’t that be an awkward moment! THINK ABOUT IT, THIS GUYS BLEEDS IN THE RING AND DOES ANYTHING THEY ASK HIM TO…[/quote]
Not that this is about me, but I make over six figures and I do fine for myself and I’m not whining about how much money I personally make.
If he wanted free tickets - he should have asked for it in his contract.
And trust me - there’s not a bigger Couture fan than me - go back and check the threads. I can still have the utmost respect for Randy and still think he’s completely wrong on this one issue.
[quote comment=”195667″]UFC will clear 300 million in 2007 for PPV
This doesn’t include ticket sales or anything else the company is paid for in marketing and other money making endeavors.
Interesting.
Couture: 1 million and one of the biggest PPV draws…
??[/quote]
Dude, you can’t be serious?? Do you think $300million (if indeed that’s even what the actual figure is - since they are a private company i don’t think they have to disclose that information but for argument’s sake) - do you really think that goes right into their pockets? That’s not Net - that’s Gross. Do you realize how many people they have to pay to run that show? Do you realize how expensive those arenas are to rent out? Trust me - if Zuffa made 300 million for every PPV they had, every big company in the world would be jumping into the MMA business. lol “General Electric Fighting Championship”
It’s about respect and randy’s not happy with the way he’s being treated, whatever its his right, dana’s doesn’t own his soul, I think the power has gone to dana’s head, good for randy.
[quote comment=”195662″]
I mean I think fighters should be paid more bc I think they deserve it - but I think the market place should dictate that. Nick Diaz left for more money and he’s off winning fights at EliteXC making more now. But he’s losing “fame” bc of it - but he thought it was worth it for himself and you have to respect that. If you want the fame that the UFC brings then guess what? YOU DON”T GET PAID AS MUCH - because UFC is higher profile and that allows you to make more on endorcements and selling your name bc people see you on spike, PPV, etc. No one watches EliteXC and no one watches M-1.
[/quote]
If the best fighters start going to other organizations people will start watching, and fans of the sport not just casual people who like reality shows and really don’t follow the sport of MMA.
The idea that getting to the top of the chain means making less money is backwards. Thats like having Triple A baseball players making more than Major Leaguers. Only in the UFC I guess.
[quote comment=”195715″]It’s about respect and randy’s not happy with the way he’s being treated, whatever its his right, dana’s doesn’t own his soul, I think the power has gone to dana’s head, good for randy.[/quote]
Well this is the guy who had an hour show on his training for a fight against Tito that didn’t happen. I get the impression that he thinks he is the reason people watch, not the fighters.
There are a couple of ways to look at this. Are we going to do everything we can for the good of the business? Or are we going to do everything we can for the good of the fighters? In either scenario someone is going to get shafted. On one hand, you have got a business to run. On the other hand, you have no business without the fighters. Remember, it doesn’t matter the amount of money you have if you do not have the business savvy or the fighters. It’s the same fight we all fight everyday with our own jobs. Am I worth more than what I make..heck ya. But the money I make is pretty darn good. And with a wife and three kids to support you learn to be grateful for what you have. Both sides have good arguments but one question must be asked: Who needs who more? I love Randy to death but I have a feeling the UFC will be around a lot longer than Randy will.
Fedor signs elsewhere, Hendo laughs at the UFC’s offer, and Randy retires again. Is Dana killing the UFC?
I hate to see Randy go. I’ve always enjoyed watching him and hearing his contributions. He’s done a lot for the sport. He will be missed.
[quote comment=”195716″][quote comment=”195662″]
I mean I think fighters should be paid more bc I think they deserve it - but I think the market place should dictate that. Nick Diaz left for more money and he’s off winning fights at EliteXC making more now. But he’s losing “fame” bc of it - but he thought it was worth it for himself and you have to respect that. If you want the fame that the UFC brings then guess what? YOU DON”T GET PAID AS MUCH - because UFC is higher profile and that allows you to make more on endorcements and selling your name bc people see you on spike, PPV, etc. No one watches EliteXC and no one watches M-1.
[/quote]
If the best fighters start going to other organizations people will start watching, and fans of the sport not just casual people who like reality shows and really don’t follow the sport of MMA.
The idea that getting to the top of the chain means making less money is backwards. Thats like having Triple A baseball players making more than Major Leaguers. Only in the UFC I guess.[/quote]
No that metaphor would be more like the WEC paying more that the UFC since the WEC is the minor league for the UFC big leagues. A better metaphor is like Japanese baseball. They might pay more for a retired player (like that old movie with Tom Selleck called “Mr. Baseball” I believe) where he gets paid more to play there but of course he doesn’t get NEARLY as much fan exposure to the main baseball fan base as he would for the MLB.
Randy signed the damn contract. If he wasn’t happy with it he could have continued negotiating until he got something he was happy with or just stayed retired. From 2004 until he un-retired he was 3-3, yet Dana gave him an immediate title shot because he asked for one. Personally, I’m sick and tired of listening to professional athletes whine and cry about feeling disrespected or not being shown any love. Your choices are: A) Renogotiate your existing contract until you do feel “respected” and “loved” B) Work your ass off on your current contract and earn more money on your next one C) Retire and go work a 9-5 job like the people who pay to watch you.
[quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
He signed a contract, which means he agreed to adhere to those terms and conditions for the said amount of time…He is being a bitter suck. If he didn’t like the terms, he shouldn’t of put the pen to paper. Randy is being a baby.
Randy fucked up by not having a good agent or negotiator. He knew there was no set pay structure. The best thing he can do now is use his (valuable) exposure to sell his other shit: clothing, training, movies, etc… and fight.
I don’t think the UFC has the monster cash that boxing has yet so they are paying new guys mainly to promote the sport. Professional negotiators may kill the sport. I think that’s why Dana complained about Don King wanting to come in a rep some of these guys a couple years ago, he said (paraphrasing)”people from the boxing organizations want to come in when they smell money, but we don’t need their kind around the UFC.” But who knows the UFC could just be getting super rich. If they don’t st8en out the cash then they will ruin the sport soon.
[quote comment=”195767″][quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
He signed a contract, which means he agreed to adhere to those terms and conditions for the said amount of time…He is being a bitter suck. If he didn’t like the terms, he shouldn’t of put the pen to paper. Randy is being a baby.[/quote]
K- he signed the contract….how many pro-athletes get to re negotiate their contracts when they perform well? For more money and longer terms?
Teams are happy to sign their star players to longer contracts for more money in some instances to secure their success. Am I wrong?
How many GM’s go public and say that they “OWN” their players and say the shit that Dana says about their professional athletes?
If you have a job and your have a “verbal” agreement that you are going to work for this company that is going to pay you x # of $$$ and your boss starts to disrespect you, would you not leave or would you put your head down and take it, and take it and take it?
I think you would leave too.
I think if the fighters in the UFC went and got a fighter’s union they would have some more respect from their employer.
NHL, NFL,MLB, NBA all have unions……..and all the players gets treated with respect from their employers….
i hear people saying alot of things as whether dana is right or is randy, but this necessary….i saw a few people writing shut and fight, but negotiations and monetary value is a very important factor…..now i’m not speaking to the average idiot that works in a cubicle and is probably a closet case, i’m speaking to other people who fight and who want to some day be professional….randy has handled himself with class throughout and he deserved to speak on the situation. listen up fighters and pay attention…..one day you may have to deal with these problems and solutions because you can’t fight forever and one day you will need to think of your family and your future and your children’s future as well and not only that, but you have to consider the legacy you will leave behind and i think randy has done a fine job and remains a class act!!!
[quote comment=”195767″][quote comment=”195595″]Good for Randy to have the balls to pay it how it is from his side. We all know that Dana is probably the worst president of any American company that is not in Jail (jk) but he sure does not know how to treat his elite employees. This is also what Tito had expressed in the past and I think Dana will see that many of his top guys that have put in the time, sweat, blood and sacrifices will leave to other organizations that will treat them with respect.
How many GM’s of NFH,MLD,NBA & NHL teams do you hear treat their star players like the UFC treat their star athletes in such manner?
NONE!!!
The only guy I can think of in a similar position is Vince McMahon…..
I am starting to think that he was Dana’s child hood hero as Dana must have been watching wrestlemania every Saturday morning and saying “mommy, I want to be like Vince, he is my hero, because he bullies and yells at all his guys.”[/quote]
He signed a contract, which means he agreed to adhere to those terms and conditions for the said amount of time…He is being a bitter suck. If he didn’t like the terms, he shouldn’t of put the pen to paper. Randy is being a baby.[/quote]
We’re forgetting the fact that he has the legal right to refute the contract. I’m sure there’s a clause in it that also states that he can choose to stop fighting as well so whats the big F’n deal people?
So many people here hating on Randy standing up for what he thinks is best for him when we all do the exact same thing for ourselves every day. Only difference is its on a far smaller scale over far smaller issues on a far smaller stage.
[quote comment=”195725″]Fedor signs elsewhere, Hendo laughs at the UFC’s offer, and Randy retires again. Is Dana killing the UFC?
I hate to see Randy go. I’ve always enjoyed watching him and hearing his contributions. He’s done a lot for the sport. He will be missed.[/quote]
True That!
He has the right to not fight again, but he does not have the right to not fulfill his UFC contract and go fight in other organizations. His only choices here are to try and renotiate with Dana or go back to South Africa and finish his straight-to-video movie project.
Let’s be realistic, RC only has a couple more good fights in him anyway, and Fedor would manhandle him, anyone who thinks Fedor wouldn’t is either a fool, or in denial. The only way RC could win is if he pulled something like he did on Gonzaga and land an accidental illegal blow that destroys his nose so he is swallowing massive amounts of blood and not able to breath through his nose. Which is unlikely. It’s best for RC to leave the sport with his legacy fulfilled.
Dana White is a publicity genius, but a horrible person. Anyone who