If Tito, Couture, Arlovski are worth what they demand, then the market will pay them. Zuffa will capitulate if that is what the market bears. And guess what? If they end up not getting what they want, then the market has spoken. They ain’t worth what they think they’re worth.

The last 8 years has seen lots of promotions come and go, but the only thing constant is that the UFC is still around and profitable. Perhaps the UFC knows what they’re doing?

Now, compare that with the UFC. Most fighters chomp at the bits to take the minimum contract just so they can prove themselves. They know that at the current time, nobody gives a damn about the under card fighters. People don’t buy tickets and watch PPV for the under card fighters. The main card is what sells therefore that is why they demand the higher pay money.

Now, if the minimum contract is 20k, then Zuffa will take a very close look at who they sign. No more Frank Edgar, no more Houston Alexander, and no more Tim Boetsch who comes out of nowhere. The up and comers will never get a chance to prove themselves. Furthermore, they don’t even get the 3 fight contracts. They just get the 1 fight contract and if they lose, goodbye forever! They never get a second chance!

Why pay 20k for a nobody when you can pay 20k for a fighter who’s been around and the fans know about them. You will end up with a promotion that keeps pitting the same fighters over and over again. You may never see a Houston Alexander come out of no where.

Right, and that seems to be the case right this second. It was the case 5-6 years ago when Pulver and Penn jumped ship and it still is now in 2008 as Tito, Couture, Arlovski, and potentially others are preparing to leave.

Oh yes, 84 grand is going to bankrupt Zuffa alright. That’s an extra 84 grand that goes towards the pockets of 9 fighters combined (half of the card). That’s like not even adding another Brandon Vera onto the card. That’s nothing for Zuffa. With the meager increase it takes to ensure that all fighters can ply their trade full-time, they can easily afford to be beat competition on the open market for mid-level and top-level fighters.

I honestly don’t know what these guys should be getting paid because I don’t know the costs of running a MMA promotion and I’m not going to pretend that I do. What I do know is that 9 fighters that you cited above willingly signed the contract that they were offered despite your claims about how terrible they are. If they could have gotten a better offer from someone else, why didn’t they take it? But to me, this is a classic case of too much supply (fighters) and not enough demand (sport of MMA). Until the demand exceeds the supply, fighters on average will get salaries on the lower end regardless of whether there is a union or not.

official payscale
* Anderson Silva ($120,000) def. Rich Franklin ($45,000)
* Tim Sylvia ($200,000) def. Brandon Vera ($100,000)
* Alvin Robinson ($6,000) def. Jorge Gurgel ($7,000)
* Stephan Bonnar ($44,000) def. Eric Schafer ($6,000)
* Alan Belcher ($22,000) def. Kalib Starnes ($7,000)
* Yushin Okami ($24,000) def. Jason MacDonald ($17,000)
* Demian Maia ($10,000) def. Ryan Jensen ($4,000)
* Josh Burkman ($20,000) def. Forrest Petz ($6,000)
* Matt Grice ($6,000) def. Jason Black ($8,000)

Total Disclosed $652,000

Change
Alvin Robinson $6k -> $16k (+10k)
Jorge Gurgel $7k -> $16k (+9k)
Eric Schafer $6k -> $16k (+10k)
Kalib Starnes $7k -> $16k (+9k)
Demian Maia $10k -> $16k (+6k)
Ryan Jensen $4k -> $16k (+12k)
Forrest Petz $6k -> $16k (+10k)
Matt Grice $6k -> $16k (+10k)
Jason Black $8k -> $16k (+8k)

Added Pay: $84,000

Oh yes, 84 grand is going to bankrupt Zuffa alright. That’s an extra 84 grand that goes towards the pockets of 9 fighters combined (half of the card). That’s like not even adding another Brandon Vera onto the card. That’s nothing for Zuffa. With the meager increase it takes to ensure that all fighters can ply their trade full-time, they can easily afford to be beat competition on the open market for mid-level and top-level fighters.

A lot of UFC fans on the internet over-rated the amount of profit the UFC pulls in. But MMApayout has the figures for all to look at. They made an estimated $40+ million pre-tax profit in 2007. That’s 20% for over $200+ million in revenues. In 2006, they had $76 million pre-tax profit. So the answer is somewhere in the middle. The UFC isn’t raking in huge profits but they’re profits are still very good in relation to most profitable corporations out there. Just like how some UFC fans over-rated the amount of profit the UFC makes, I think some of you are making a huge deal about the S&P credit rating. Don’t let that rating fool you. If you read the report, it will tell you that Zuffa is doing very well. Just not as well as before because of the increased operating costs and the huge amount of money they needlessly blew in the UK.

The UFC should be paying their headliners their value, otherwise they face the possibility of headliners leaving, which seems to be happening. I know we had this argument already, but I’m not sure how much more black and white it can be.

I actually agree with this statement overall. Where our opinions differ is what that value amounts to. Most UFC haters think that UFC vastly underpays its fighters based on its profits without knowing its expenses while I tend to believe that the open market will ultimately prevail. Meaning that if someone else thinks they can pay the fighter more and still run a profitable show, it will ultimately happen.

If the UFC loses more fighters because they aren’t matching the fighter’s open market value, then I would agree that they are fools. But this so far has only happened with Randy and most people seem to agree that Randy was being compenstated fairly well. And this is something that will ultimately correct itself (beauty of captialism at work), because if other orgs are willing to step up in pay, the UFC will be forced to elevate their pay scales as well.

The UFC should be paying their headliners their value, otherwise they face the possibility of headliners leaving, which seems to be happening. I know we had this argument already, but I’m not sure how much more black and white it can be.

As for them paying more than their competitors, those statements are kinda funny. Nick Diaz and Jake Shields make more for EliteXC than most of the dudes in the UFC. Period. A guy like Karo Parisyan has been #1 contender and has beaten the current champion and he’s not anywhere near a title shot at the moment for all the work he’s done. Plus guys like Shields are banking more money than he is. If you don’t think that when Karo’s contract has a fight left that he won’t ask for a lot more at the bargaining table, you’re kinda crazy. If you expect Dana to start altruistically start offering nice deals, you’re really nieve.