ESPN releases an article concerning the pay of UFC fighters as a whole, as well as compared to other sports leagues (not overall, but as a percentage of the league's revenue).
Some quotes:
"The [UFC's] payout percentages in terms of revenue generated are far from the percentages paid to athletes by the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL," Maysey said. "If I'm taking all revenue from all sources, I would put it around 5 percent."
Not: Most other league revenue is around 50%. I think there was a point in the article where they note boxers usually get around 70%.
"We're basically fighting for crumbs," said one current UFC fighter, a veteran of more than a dozen years in the sport who also asked that his name be withheld for fear of reprisals from UFC management.
"The top 5 percent [of fighters] are definitely making good money, but you've got to look at the guys at the bottom of the card," the fighter said. "They can't fight anywhere else. If they make $10,000 a fight and fight every six months, they can't make ends meet."
Here's the story:
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/pag ... ul-hit-all
Dana is already on the defensive, as well as the offensive, some tweets:
"I'm in Rio but my stuff is ready to roll!!! I'm excited to smash and discredit ESPN and the piece they did!! So pumped!"
"He and ESPN are gonna get beat down with this story. U guys will see how media spins and LIES!"
"UFC doesn't mean shot to them especially now that we are on FOX. ESPN has to own and control EVERYTHING!!!"
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ycn-10832167
I'm interested in people's thoughts on this. Like most things, I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. Fighters getting 5% of revenue is an absolute travesty and I would be SHOCKED were that true. That said, some of the fighter purses I see are kind of small, and I'm not really the guy to believe that these guys walk back to the locker room and get million dollar undisclosed checks from Daddy Dana just because he is in a good mood. That said, they signed the contract, and it is what it is.
Any thoughts?