Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: UFC 115 a Possibly Good Card, Though Very Skippable; Reader Response From Last Week
Jun 9, 2010 - 9:09:15 AM HYDEN BLOG: UFC 115 a Possibly Good Card, Though Very Skippable; Reader Response From Last Week

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor

UFC 115 is this Saturday, headlined by the fight between Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin. If the fight was taking place in 2006, it would be a mega-fight of epic proportions. The reality is that Rich Franklin has lost two of his last three fights and hasn't been the same since getting crushed by Anderson Silva twice. The truth is even more harsh for Liddell. Chuck has lost four of his last five fights and, at 40, he's not going to be able to reclaim his lost greatness.

I'm a huge fan of both of these guys. I remember the wars Chuck had with Randy Couture and the battles with Tito Ortiz. Unfortunately, Chuck's not the same fighter he once was. He's gotten old right in front of us. Rich Franklin is 35, which isn't ancient for a MMA fighter. However, he's never seemed to recover after his 2 losses to Anderson Silva in 2006 and 2007. Both of these guys used to rule their respective divisions, Rich in the middleweight and Chuck in the light heavyweight. Time moves on, however, and it's passed them by.

I think Rich wins this fight, but that doesn't mean as much as it once would have. The entire UFC 115 card is littered with fights that have no real bearing on the future. Whether Rich Franklin wins or Chuck Liddell wins, neither guy will ever get close to the title again.

Mirko "Cro-cop" Filipovic fights Patrick Barry. Again, neither guy will ever likely get a title shot. I love Cro-cop, and I root for him, but he doesn't have it anymore. Some would say he never had it.

Paulo Thiago faces Martin Kampmann in the only fight on the card that might possibly have title implications in the future; and that's only if the winner strings together another couple wins after this one.

Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel and Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald might be good fights, but have no bearing moving forward. On the prelims show that will air on Spike TV, Tyson Griffin fights Evan Dunham in what should be a really good fight. However, Gray Maynard or Kenny Florian has the first shot at the winner of the fight between Frank Edgar and B.J. Penn, so it doesn't seem likely that the winner of Griffin vs. Dunham will get anything other than a normal win.

It just doesn't seem as though there's much at stake at UFC 115. It might be a good night of fights, though as with any card it could potentially disappoint. With nothing hanging in the balance, and a good probability of Spike showing this pay-per-view for free in a few months, this is a very skippable show.


READER FEEDBACK

The blog piece- [CLICK HERE]


PAUL CARVER- "Your short piece on Fighter Pay was interesting too by the way. Mr. White once explained that Main Card Fighters (or the most prominent draws I suspect) do participate in the overall PPV revenues as a supplement to their posted 'pay figures'. Nevertheless, and as an example- does it really make sense that Mr. Miller received but $15,000.00 for his fight against Mr. Bisping? A three round fight-fest with a recognizable middleweight contender in what many would call a 'co-main event' of sorts? Seems far too on the meager side of things..."


BRAM CRAIG- "I just wanted to chime in on the salary debate. The bottom line is that we don't know what these guys have stipulated in the contracts. I'm willing to bet that the UFC takes care of ALL medical bills pertaining to fight injuries under trot employ. Perhaps also included is training injuries. That would make the most sense and account for a huge cost. As well, the insurance costs alone have got to be staggering. Without knowing the precise business costs of the UFC I would say it is useless to argue that the MMA fighters are underpaid.

Lastly, the UFC has a very good business model going on. They have all the control. That is the way it should be. Look at the NFL. They pay college players millions of dollars and they may never do anything (Leaf, Russell, etc.). Boxing has a very poor product with extremely disappointing fights and retarded fighters that get paid waaaaay too much just to mash their brains pointlessly.

MLB has no control over the teams and how they spend money. Really, these other sports are draining their funds and getting worse as an overall product. I would expect a fighter to get paid somewhere between $15k-500k/fight depending on notoriety and ability. That's either including or excluding bonuses and such.

As well, the fighter also would get licensing dues. There is simply too many numbers floating around that the average joe is not contemplating when they see the release of fighter takes.
In the end, all I care about is watching guys get paid to do something that they were doing for fun or as a hobby before."


MACHIEL PIETER- "I was unable to post this comment so I'll email it. I think you are looking at the MMA market from a flawed perspective. First off, you need to take into account that the UFC does not see 100% of the gross revenue of a PPV show. In fact, it is far less, probably 50% or so (it's impossible to determine an exact figure, but this is around what other companies such as WWE get).

Fighters like Rampage and Rashad get a large PPV bonus based on the performance of the event (this usually amounts to seven figures on its own, especially for a event like UFC 114 that should do 700-800k buys). The $250,000 base salary, combined with PPV bonuses and sponsorship money, probably amount to $1.5 million or so.

Now, you compare this to the salary of an NBA player, but let's remember a few important things in comparison: In the NBA, players get a long term contract, usually for multiple seasons. Their salary is compensation for their performance in AT LEAST 82 regular season games. An MMA fighter's salary for a single event is compensation for 15-25 minutes of work on a IN A SINGLE NIGHT. In the NBA, there is a players' union, and if the players feel the need to collectively renegotiate with the league, they can and do go on strike.

In MMA there is no union, no collective bargaining, and thus fighter salaries are set up on a tiered scale based on performance and marketability. Beyond that they are also determined by the market for MMA talent. Why should the UFC pay Rashad and Rampage more than they could get anywhere else? They absolutely shouldn't, from a business perspective, so they don't.

Let's also remember that MMA has only become profitable in North America in the last five years, so it's just ridiculous to compare it to leagues such as the NBA, NFL, etc. that have been around for decades and have had their financial market reevaluated time and time again. The bottom line is that there is just a lot less money to be made in MMA, and the lack of any sort of union leaves salaries to be determined by promoters who set the market value. Can you imagine if there were no NBA players' union? Do you really think that the owners would pay anywhere near what they do now due to sheer prudence?

Now, I certainly agree with you that MMA fighters DESERVE to be paid more, but this is reality and reality sucks. So that is the answer as to WHY MMA fighters are paid the amount of money they are paid, though it does not mean they are "underpaid" in a young market where they have no union. Cheers for bringing it up though as it will continue to be a very important topic as the market for the sport continues to grow."


COURTENAY TAYLOR- "Finally someone who understands that as much good as Dana White does for the UFC, it is just for the UFC. No one else, not the fighters, not the fans, not the sport. Not to say as a result of his managing skills other things to do not benefit fighters the sport etc but that is not his goal.

I am almost turned off of the sport because it seems to be controlled by 3 or 4 people. This could be perhaps one of the most brutal professional sports and yet fighters are under-compensated for their efforts in relation to overall profit. In order for the Sport to progress and fighters to get paid better we need two things. One, a fighters (union) and two, more competition for the UFC. Please wake up and throw dictators out of the sport like Dana White. like all dictators, they are only there to fatten their own pockets and that of the owners.

PS: It's a travesty what is being done with Anderson Silva's career, just because Dana White is pissed they prevent him from fighting the best. Let the man fight who he wants. He is like Michael Jordan of the sport soon his prime will be over."


BRYCE NOMURA- "I just read your article and I'm sure everyone wonders why the salaries are so low. My question is, why don't the UFC fighters form a union?"


SHANE OLIVIER- "Hey Frank, although I totally agree about fighters being underpaid, many fighters especially the main card fighters do get a percentage of PPV numbers. They don't disclose those earning to the public that I've ever seen but I have read and heard interviews saying they do get PPV percentage."


CLIFF- "Great post man.....that's an excellent point that NOBODY talks about. I hate to say anyone 'should' be making a certain amount but when you compare salaries, especially to boxers... why shouldn't they be making million?

The reason MMA fighters are so underpaid??? MMA fighters fight for promotions not themselves. MMA fighters do not hire promoters to promote their fight and handle their money themselves. MMA fighters are told/negotiated with on what they will make. It's absurd, it's absolutely appalling for the UFC to rake in over 40 mill and 2 of the 'faces' of MMA don't make much more than the leftovers. Actually they probably do get the left overs. Great article man...

Frank, I wrote an article for a site about the rampage/Evans fight. I believe that their 'hatred' is fueled by UFC executives. Just hear me out, what is the answer to 99 out of 100 questions? Money. Before Jackson/Jardine no one knew that the two didn't like each other. Then all of a sudden Rashad confronts Jackson after his victory over Jardine. The feud is born, on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Rashad openly stated that Dana White told him to go into the cage and confront Rampage, 1st clue.

Then all of a sudden the two hated each other and from the opening credits until the end of the show the two were at it. The UFC spent ALOT of time hyping their feud on the show. Alot... Now think about this. If Dana White had promoted UFC 114: Rampage v Rashad... and the two were buddies, would it have been the UFC's best selling non-title PPV? No, did UFC executives know that, yes. Now, think about all the questions circling around the MMA world about the PPV buyrate's of previous PPV's. What's the answer to 99 out of 100 questions, $$$$ and I'll bet anything the two didn't have any ill will towards the other, they both wanted to sell a fight."


Comments or suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com