Dana White: The UFC has made Millionaires out of 40-plus fighters

Dana is Right ! and There will be more Millionaires in the futures !

Names? Isn't exactly hard for me to believe people are being underpaid

Straight and to the point....

what kind of money is diaz expecting? i think that gradually, especially over the next 5years fighters will start to be getting paid in the millions for a fight. in terms of mayweather money, i dont see that happening which to be honest is probably a good thing, it keeps fighters active for longer and none of these stupid year and a half lay offs and only fighting when they feel like a payday. Plus too much money leads to fighters picking and choosing who and when they fight because essentially if they dont want to they can afford not to.

Considering mma is still a growing sport I think they get paid well. Sucks that some of the no namers are getting paid low numbers but that's in any industry. The best in any industry gonna get the most money.



Plus most mma fighters fight more then once a year where boxers fight every blue moon.

I hope they put a cap on the payouts. I know... sounds nuts... but.. once the fighter has made his name/ gained popularity.... let the sponsors shell out the big money. The more the UFC pays out... say something 1/2 as crazy as boxing... the more those costs are passed on to the fans.



It does suck the less popular fighters are not making a ton of cash considering the expenses they shell out for...but... fight well... make your name... you make up for all that in the end IMO with bigger paychecks and more sponsors.



Hatch

Man some of these comments are pathetic. Go get jobs and pay for the things you like. I like MMA dapple in training, and understand these are some of the most gifted, hard working, well trained athletes on the planet. It's dangerous their whole career is always on the line.



I have no problem they get payed and hope they get payed better in the future.

Zuffa keeps their pay to fighters confidential, which helps them keep control of fighter salaries, but it has its down side. Many fans actually believe the payments reported to athletic commissions are all fighters make--so they feel sorry for the fighters and complain to Dana.



To have created over 40 millionaires since 2006, and 20 multi-millionaires is no small achievement for such a young sport. Nick Diaz's bitching about money is ludicrous--and I wonder how much Ceasar Gracie is raking in. I am pretty certain that Nick Diaz will be paid a minimum of 1 million dollars for his upcoming bout with GSP. I would guess that Nick Diaz made between 400 - 600 thousand dollars for his fight with BJ Penn. This does not include sponsorships and endorsements.



GSP knows how the game is played--and you want to bet that he is one of those multi-multi millionaires. That's just through the UFC. St. Pierre has garnered lucrative endorsements through a variety of sponsors which is probably equal to, or greater than the UFC money.



When you are a 'Name' fighter and on the main card, you will often receive a PPV percentage. The more you sell a fight, the more you make. The Rashad vs. Rampage fight brought in more than a million PPVs and both Rashad and Rampage made big bucks just for that fight alone.



When I hear Nick Diaz's whining about money, then refusing to attend press conferences--I know he does not get it. Fighters who connect with the fans and sponsors can expect much bigger purses, so smart fighters pay close attention to the PR aspect of the game. Sure, PR can be boring sometimes--but the payoff can be huge. A fighter can be set for life with only one big main card--win or lose.



I have no doubt fighters will be paid more and more as the sport grows--but with the UFC, the loot will be spread more evenly among the fighters--unlike boxing.

I don't think it's so simple codemaster. And Nick Diaz obviously has a filter issue with his brain. What you don't get is the amount of people that feed off of prize fighters. Its kind of like buying a house there are people feeding off the top everywhere. Managers, trainers, training partners, insurance, training centers, airfare, equipment.



Sponsors certainly help. But a fighter like Diaz or plenty of others, who may not have been raised in middle class financial savy amercia may not have the know how or ability to protect themselves from leeches.



I help train (mostly as a grappling dummy) both amateur and professional fighters and have first hand expierances with all the Fees that go with fighting and licensing. It's a big racket. I think you would be surprised to see about half their paycheck goes to the "support team"



Sure there are smart fighters who invest well and get payed well. On the whole they do not.

Dana,

When there is afighters union then you can talk shit! The reality is that for every millionaire ( less taxes) not total purse money over a career, There are 5000 broke ass fighters making a pittance with no security. You are not a benevolent god, but rather a sycophant that drains the sweat and blood of aspireing men, Yourest on the laurels of others accomplishments and don't share the pie. Get real man. I understand business and your loophole will close sooner than you think, Best of luck!

your talking nonsense. Do you know what a business model is, and how much different Boxing is to MMA. What Dana said is true Floyd Mayweather publicly bragged about he was making 40 mill for the Mosley fight and taunted Mosley beacause he he wasn only making 6. If anything MMA respresents how a pay structure should work with the best getting paid very very well. In the UK fans always moan about the fact the average soccer players get paid millions to be just that average, its the same for most established sports. The only thin i despise the UFC for in relation to money is what they have done to people like Ken Shamrock , if you dont know they sued him and dragged throught the courts with their fancy lwayers and bled him dry with the court costs alone so in that regard the Dana and his partners are sycophant that drains the sweat and blood of aspireing men, but they do pair fairly and share the pie.

Touche'



We were just talking about this at the gym on Saturday that the low end fighters sacrifice everything and for no protection and get paid jack shit. There will be no compensation for permanent career ending injuries that will inhibit their ability to work even a normal job post MMA. They need to unionize to protect all fighters. It isn't about the top end money it's about protecting everyone contributing to the sport. As it is Zuffa is making assloads of money off these boys. Every other sport other than the fighting sports has unions to protect their players. The UFC will die in a couple of months if these guys got it together and started a players union and went on strike.

Your user ID should read fauxcapitalism. No one forces these fighters into the ring. They all know the upside and downside of the business. Dana White has provided a hand-up not a hand-out for anyone wishing to play by the rules, his rules. Those who make it to the big time do so on their own initiative, not by some union thugs threatening to tear down another successful American business demanding unobtainable concessions.

sorry for the spacing errors above

There are millionaires and there are guys that get paid 6k per fight. The ufc should cut the gap at least a little bit.

Man, so many dim-witted armchair economists complaining about this issue.



Yeah, let's pay them all millions of dollars when the company/industry can't afford it - that's a great business model! Or maybe, let's employ caps and pay all fighters the same - that will encourage greatness!



1) Some fighters make lots of money, and some don't. Anybody ever seen a bell curve? This is capitalism. Nobody's forcing these guys to become fighters. If they don't wanna take the risk of not making it big - DON'T DO IT (here's lookin at you, Nick Diaz).

2) The UFC can't just pay guys $25M a fight. The company would end up belly-up like the US economy is right now for spending beyond its means.

Nobody said anything about 25million. All I was saying is lets be real. Stating that there are 40 millionaires is erroneous.The UFC has seen some decline given the economy but not to the point that a guy has to train 6 days a week for six months on his own dime to perform for 6K. There needs to be revenue sharing. Dana and the fretita's dont make people rich people make them rich.

I remember the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. You have made lots of them millionaires. I bet Dana has made quite a few bucks himself. Love Dana White. Love MMA.

Nick Diaz is a great fighter and fun to watch, however, it takes more than the ability to fight to be successful in the UFC. Dana White holds people accountable, in and outside the ring, which contributes to its success. Diaz has issues that if he doesn't get under control will find himself kicked to the curb regardless of his success in the ring.

This is good to hear for mma. Proves it's a sport who has grown very fast and never stops growing.