Why Your Favorite UFC Fighters Go Broke
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 7 мар 2021
- UFC fighters don't get paid as much as you'd think.
INSTAGRAM
/ spencercornelia1
As the UFC has gained more mainstream popularity, some of its top athletes have become international superstars. Sold out arenas in Vegas and across the world, Fight Night on ESPN, millions of dollars pouring in from Pay-Per-View, and million dollar gates have contributed to the rise of the UFC.
What was once a fledgling company struggling to find its footing as a legitimate operation has turned into a multi billion dollar organization hosting live events throughout the world and developing little known fighters into international multi-millionaire superstars.
Here are a couple things that are really important when analyzing the finances of UFC athletes.
#1 - when a UFC athlete has reached the top and is able to command multiple six figures for a fight, he or she is typically only fighting once maybe twice per year. When you see someone earn $400,000 for a single night of work, that is essentially their yearly salary if they only have one fight per year.
#2 - unlike other professional sports, UFC fighters have gym fees, a coaching staff, a manager, sometimes medical expenses, traveling expenses, and an expensive dietary regimen given the demands of the sport.
#3 - when Reebok became the official sponsor of the UFC, a large portion of a fighter’s revenue was diminished as they were no longer allowed to have other sponsors on their outfits.
53% of UFC athletes have earned less than $100k total in career earnings. 69% of UFC athletes have earned less than $200k total. 84% have earned less than $500k. 91% have earned less than $1 million.
Topics covered in this video:
UFC fighter finances
Tyron Woodley spending money
How much the average UFC fighter makes in career earnings
Typical income for UFC fighters
Breakdown of a contender's finances
How easy it is for UFC fighter's to go broke
The Reebok deal was probably the worst thing I've ever seen in Sports.
For Reebok?
For the fighters ?
Or the UFC ?
I’m not a big fan so I’m just trying to learn
@@PInk77W1 For the fighters.
@@3094usmc ok. Cool. I thought that’s what u meant.
Good for Reebok. Sucks for everybody else. The only other place where people knew of Reebok was CrossFit.
VENUM is more worse than Reebok
*It just bumped 1k-2k in each tier*
The worse thing is this is 7 years after the reebok deal
The money in UFC is evident when Conor, who's at the top of the food chain, got his biggest pay day when he went to boxing
good point
i dident get it as i dont know anything about ufc plz explain
amen! UFC fighters get paid chicken shit. It's sad really :(
True ...but you’ll get your biggest pay day also if you fight FLOYD MAYWEATHER😂
@@satanwithinternet2753 ?
My first reaction when I saw my brother’s UFC contract was pure disgust. They call it the ”fight game”, but it’s a cut-throat business!
whos your bro what weight class?
@@lewisreeves9843 Oliver enkamp and Welterweight
@@YoosufMuneer ill have to keep an eye out for him
The UFC has really killed the dream of being a martial artist. Fighters train their asses off for all these years just to put it on the line in a cage that helps wrestlers for $5,000 - $10,000? That is lousy.
ILuv2troll you have to build your name you really think they are gonna give fat bags to no named fighters
Wild to look at this vs the career earnings of a sport like golf. The top 80 money earners in golf made more than Connor McGregor in his career 👀
Fore Real
Yea he was golfs greatest gift
@Daryl Mixan Mcgregor is that guy in MMA. The fighters were payed even worse before his arrival. Dana is such a scumbag paying some of his fighters peanuts
@@colin6673 they only are getting paid so bad because of the reebok deal. Fighters made good money by having their trunks full with logo's of brands that sponsored them
@@iguessso1790 Ye true but I'm talking about the fight purse specifically. That's always been shitty. I don't know why any fighter wouldn't just fight for Bellator. Better opportunities and more likely to get away with doping
The UFC has realized after the sport had gone completely international that they don't have to depend on fighters from wealthy g20 nations who expect a bigger purse.. they can bring in fighters from Kazakhstan, Dagestan, Africa, South America, etc to fight at equal to higher talent for less money without any complaints. A $20,000 to show and $20,000 to sign is absolutely nothing for an American where you're essentially in poverty if you make under $45000 a year. But for someone in a developing country, $40000 is a fortune. It's a shame but it's the way it is.
facts
That’s the best way I’ve seen this put. Thank you
Really that's dumbest thing I heard.
These fighters from foreign countries still have to pay taxes.(federal & state) deducted from pay. Than they have to pay for flights for them and crew. Also hotel stay for them and crew.
Guy coming from Africa to make (20+20) after taxes, management fee, flight & hotel costs for him & his team. He probably taking home $10,000 for the year.
@@rajsel8761 ufc pays for flights
@@aztronomy7457 nope; not true. They pay for thier TOP PERFORMERS/CHAMPIONS/CHAMPION CONTENTDORS. And that's also if thier management team negotiate it into contract. Sometimes, if ur really big u get the private jet. Also UFC will pay for ur hotel suites.
However, 90% of UFC fighters have to pay for thier own hotel and flights. Also they have to pay a fee for some medical expenses not alot (UFC covers majority of cost) but the fighter has to pay like $125-$200, deductions.
Alot of UFC ex fighters exposed this. Look at Dan Hardy interview, when he fought GSP for title. He had to pay for his own hotel, flights for him and his team. His regret was he wished he negotiated a better contract but was juts desperate to get title shot
'Signing it over to their wife's boyfriend.'
Ouch
Yo I listened to that statement for like 10x and then turned on the caption to see it well 😂😂 it's fucking painful man
RED PILED
MGTOW
🤣🤣🤣
hell yeah dude
I'm the wife's boyfriend
If you're not red pill in 2021 you're asking for trouble
THESE FIGHTERS NEED MORE PAY, I LOWKEY NOW FEEL BAD WATCHING THE UFC
Prelims are hard to watch when you realize some fighters gave it their all to get 10k and they still have to pay bills
Yeah I agree. Same pay. Give them retirement program, 401k. Something they get money to retire.
@@snickerszn8459 they need to find some way to unionize or something.
Being a UFC Fighter is just not worth it. Financially speaking.
Fedor never fought in the UFC because he thought he wasn't getting paid enough.
Wow... some of this I never considered. Brilliant work Spencer.
So Tom is also human.
Never expected a fake Guru revealers in a MMA channel
@rochiii 1) don't blow it, 2) keep it simple, 3) count your money
Woah Tom Nash
Big stonks
As the fans, we really should be playing a bigger role. These guys who entertain us are getting shafted and we're letting it happen.
100%
I’m keen but how? Boycott the events would be counterproductive.
It’s hard to advocate. Pro Dana fans are ruthless.
@@yaakw Wait, people are fans of that dude?
We should donate crypto to them, if these lame ass streamers are making millions, there's no reason fighters shouldn't, pirate all the ppvs, and help them out directly with the money you save, fuck dana white
Sounds to me like the fighters need to set themselves up a union like they have in just about every other major pro sport.
Randy couture tried to get one started
Good luck with that.
The problem with that probably is unlike the NBA or NFL these fighters can’t hold out and not get payed because most of them live pay check to pay check. In the NBA or NFL they can sit out for longer cause they’re so rich
@@bio-hazzard1233 They can afford to completely miss more events than the UFC can.
@@bio-hazzard1233 thats where union donations come in and strike insurance
The ultimate fighter is one of the most entertaining shows in history.
It's the only reality show where people are supposed to beat each other up.
I was thinking about that lol. It's the only show where drama leads to actual fighting haha
@@SpencerCornelia It changes the dynamic of the drama. Everybody can talk, but they are actually going to have to back it up.
And this is a rabbit trail, but seeing how different temperaments respond to the situation is so interesting too. Especially considering everything you shined a light on. They are desperate at the mid/low levels.
Ever watch Jerry Springer? 🤗
@@boogaethje6702 too much referee interference.
@@Urbrainongaming yeah probably shoulda got Steve Mazzagati to do Springer security.
Fighter pay is atrocious.
The vast majority are just meat for the grinder. It would seem there's little if any point in investing in them.
They have to wear Reebok, plus get blackmailed by that douch from Monster if they don't take pics with him they won't get paid let them find sponsors like the old days
No one puts a gun to their head to fight.
@@petergianakopoulos4926 True no one forces them to sign, but that doesn't make it any less of a poor deal
@@D1Snr we agree sir.. the headliners need to leverage their deals to help the undercards
Yea.. I really woke up when I realized this a few years ago, quit pro fighting, started my own company. It’s easy to be carried away by highlights of someone else’s life. In the meanwhile not knowing the flip side of it.
It's easy to believe that just because you're somewhat famous, you can spend like you're rich. Some people forget that your paycheck, savings, and investments are the ultimate determinant of the lifestyle that you can have.
Often the problem (in sports not especially ufc) that the people think they will always get more money and will always be better and they also live a lifestyle thats priced with the money they make now and dont think about their retirement in football (soccer) you can maybe make it to 35 in the ufc you start later but can go till you are maybe 40 but that means you have if you are lucky 15 years of work and then you have to be set for life and people dont think about that
Dana White follows the Vince McMahon model for his business.
Vince is Dana's idol
@@jonaslafleur2429 Real tawk pimp
At least Vince pays more than Dana
@@aayushmanpradhan4951 true
They are same person i hope dana ends up the same way.. asshole man genuinely
Awesome video and great insight! I would love to see you tackle WWE wrestlers and how being independent contractors affect their earnings.
Tyron is a good friend of mine and he doesn't lie when he talks about this stuff!
Hope to see him fight in bare knuckle FC soon...🙏
Why did you let him rap I thought you said friends
@Henzo88 2 million he made
This is common with boxers too. I'm an aspiring pro MMA fighter myself, but I've never even heard nor cared about financial independence until I'm 25. Believe me, most athletes have a dream of becoming the greatest in their respective sport, but topics like these almost never come in mind (no Plan B). Once they get their paycheck, they want to reward themselves with lavish lifestyle after months of gruesome training. Can you blame them, though?
With the money they're making now, despite making far less than boxers, they still have potential to make it grow much more if only they knew how to manage their money and invest. This is gonna be my message ONCE I BECOME UFC CHAMP!
I can already do it right now with my minimum wage job, I can do more with $130K per annum.
I'm 15 and aspire you become a MMA fighter and I hope the next UFC president is more generous.
I've never heard the mafia and commisioner angles mentioned before, great research!
Me neither but is not surprising, Nate Diaz said it in one interview it was something in the lines of "those guys are gansters, right there"..
Yea the UFC is a ripoff as far as fighter pay.
I guess it's cause they're contracted for each fight and not a time period like literally every other sport
Tyrone bought 7 cars what a genius
lol
They didn't come from money and have no concept of it plus they don't think very far ahead. Tyrone comes across as a generally intelligent guy but I bet math wasn't his thing.
@@dutchdna Tyron Woodley comes across as anything but an intelligent guy lol
@@MsCwebb Just because you don't understand him doesn't mean he's not intelligent ;)
@@dutchdna Just because you understand him doesn't make him intelligent 🤪👍
I always love your take on these kind of athlete related things !
Who would of thought modern day gladiators would get treated poorly by their higher-ups?
Great work researching this one, learned a lot.
Would've*
I like how you are objective, fair, and think critically.
Great video, bro
Been saying this for years, history will show that Dana White was a horrible human.
Great video Spencer! Live and learn experience indeed. Ever since retiring I am going through my Entrepreneurial journey now👍
I love how Spencer goes into deep dives no matter the topic!
Dope video, I had just watched my first UFC event this past weekend too.
They need to change the company to The UFP:
The Ultimate fighting plantation.
The comparison of ANYTHING current to democrats before the Civil War literally enslaving people is fucking disgusting.
@@SamBrickell Americans* before the war
This.
@@dantheman4838 Americans* (except Republicans) before the war
@@nonyabiznizz Very true. The Republican party was founded 10 years before the war started and they wanted to end slavery so they could deport all the slaves instead...lol.
They take their paychecks as contractors. As opposed to getting an llc
Yea. Allows them to deduct expenses at least
@@SpencerCornelia man, they need to watch this channel. The tax man is always getting paid first. Lol
Amazing work, thank you for shedding some light on this subject.
Liked how you gave a realistic depiction of the life when one is trying to get into UFC ,you should do this for all professions and make a series out of it will help me in deciding what career to go for
Floyd blessed connor
Connor blessed boxing
@@qj7958 Conor sold that fight. He was the perfect promoter for the hype and forced Floyd to sign for his Biggest pay day, both parties benefitted from that fight.
@@qj7958 Conor talks himself in big fights. He promoted that fight well while Floyd collected an easy payday. As much as I depsite McGregor, I got to give him credit for tuning in anyway.
@@bradolfpittler2875 Connor can’t box it was embarrassing.
@@Marc-Anthony00 at least he had the balls to face Floyd in his own game.
Floyd on the other hand wouldn't even dare to fight in mma. he was even too afraid to try kick boxing... which was way more embarrassing.
I’m a huge fan of MMA. Love it when you make these types of videos 🍻
spencer be the only one to be realistic and only talk facts, appreciate hard work and expose fake people at once. love ya bro
Excellent video, and great from Tyrone on speaking so openly.
50,000 bonus uncle Sam gets 15k, the rest is to spend and save smart....always live within your means....knowing that it can end in the blink of an eye.
Most fighters lack the knowledge, education or the right mindset, and when they see some money its time to burn it as if theres no tommorrow, at least, UFC should get them a 401k plan for retirement, more so if they hold their contracts for forever just like GSP that was unable to fight Dela hoya.....
I make more money then that and I don’t get my face beat in
@@burnaby604 that's a good thing, alot of these men and women dont have great educations or come from affluent backgrounds and some are super smart and some do come from families well off...all about choice....some run businesses....but we all don't have luxuries of the sort....some have to train and go to a regular job to make it....for sure everyone's life is different, different circumstances.
You should do why military personal go broke. It’s funny and sad
Because their wives leave them, take the kids and accuse them of violence?
It's not that funny.
Let me add I'm a combat veteran before one of y'all start crying ok
Good on you for bringing this up. It needs to be talked about more.
Nothing funny about it , kid . Lost my wife n kids in 09 , iraq marine vet who been battling addiction and depression since..
Great video!
Bro,I love this type of videos.
I love this channel bro you always cover my interest! Next time you come to the Cincy area I got you!😂💯🔥
Let’s not forget the fact that Zuffa stopped fighters from attempting to create a union for MMA fighters.
I wonder how many of their casino employees are unionized
Yeah no shit no employer wants a unionized workforce you say this like it's some taboo thing. Look at Bezos saying that diversity is needed for his work force because it discourages Union building
@@ryand589 just because he said it doesn't make it correct.
Hey spencer, Great video and thank you for updating the subtitles !
This is brilliant!
This is why combat sports in general is a promoters’ game and not an athletes’ sport
Good point
Boxers have the ability to get a higher percentage of the revenue than UFC fighters though. That’s because it’s not just one organization monopolizing boxing like the UFC has basically done to MMA.
@@EnduroDreaming yeah but its only the big stars. Trevor Bryan is the Regular WBA champion yet he's not making millions.
@@thenedsmmachannel8970 even a guy like Bryan will likely get life changing money soon.
@@micahjohnsonboxing6409 but its not likely. He may never see a million dollar payday. Boxing is just as bad if not worse since the promoters probably take a MASSIVE cut and the politics involved on YEARS of delay in negotiating for the "big fights" almost never materialize cause of the greed of these promoters/managers.
Such an awesome video, I'd love a part 2.
I love how you connect dots. Especially, when you call out corruption.
Another great video bro but I got to say this. You got to catch yourself when you say things like a fighter makes X amount for “one night of work”. Anyone who performs on a stage at a high level has put in countless hours behind the scenes that no one ever sees or seems to count on their way to becoming an overnight success.
Same in Showbiz= 20% for the agent, 10% for a lawyer, 10% for stylists and 40% goes to the tax man. The last 20% is to pay the home bills, trainer and transportation. I was taught by the guy who taught Dave Chappelle the biz. He said if you don't put your foot down the friends, family and broads will bankrupt you.
Amazing Video, Thanks for covering interesting topics such as this !
wow man just another awesome video. I never realize how many expenses fighters had. imagine how much less WWE stars make.
Tyron letting ppl know thats why he's fighting way past his prime.
He made 2m from the jake paul fight; smart man
I feel for these guys. They put their health on the line to entertain people and then they are kind of just thrown away at a really young age when they start to decline in talent. A lot of them get in really young and don't really fully understand what they are getting themselves into. :)
The capitalist world is tough 🤣
@@learn1718 Indeed! Have a good one Lo. :)
This is the Capitalist business Model 101. Certain fighters with a bit of Savy knew to steer clear of the UFC, like Fedor, Michael J-White etc. They may turn a blind eye to steriods in Japan but at least they recoqnize the damage to the human condition & properly compensate their fighters, Bellator also.
Excellent video - as always.
Wow! Very well said Spencer
" if you don't have ownership, you're at the mercy of the owners desires"👍🏾
@William the real point of that statement was, if you want control over your life, one must put themselves in an ownership position
Not really. It's an agreement you made with someone else. You're free to not agree.
@@SamBrickell good luck when there's monopoly
Great video as usual, Spencer. I think those numbers include just the disclosed fighter pay. Fighters get ppv points so essentially a share of ppv earnings as well.
Yes I should have added that. But point still remains since my example fighter is someone earning $500k a fight. I'd estimate most aren't earning that
Only the biggest stars get PPV shares
im a new fan and I gotta say your intro for the UFC was great!
Very informative video. Thank you for your insight!!!
I'm a simple man. When I see a "... Go Broke" video, I watch. Simple as that.
ahahahahahahahhahahaha I legit laucheddddddddd......................Broke
This makes me appreciate my career and home business a hell of a lot; while I don't have the big paydays the fighters get, I receive decent wages for the jobs I work and can do them for decades to come. By retirement my total figure earned will be well above the average UFC fighters and I've built everything modestly rather than gone all in on some crazy expensive house etc etc
Great video
great work. love your content
“Sign away their money to their wife’s boyfriend.” Lol. Nice red pill for the viewers
Haha. Mix of red pill and wall St bets jokes
@@SpencerCornelia please tell me you're not actually red pill. It's hard for me to feel safe watching you if you're chucking along with dudes who actually hate women.
At 12:20... "My buddy Kenny pointed something out to me though..." cheers to Kenny for the insight, my mind is blown.
Good job man, this was an eye opener
Awesome work Spencer. I have been watching this sport from years now and used to hear about big paychecks That fighters receive. Never realised that it is very short term and career can end anytime
Oh yeah, any combat sport especially. One hit can change everything
Thanks for the great insight. Just to comment on my area of expertise, the fighers won't be taxed at the gross level. All the management fees/gym costs/medical expenses etc. are tax deductible so their taxable income will be a lot lower. Nonetheless, it's unfortunate only handful of fighters get paid big money and many of them go broke.
good point
You reached out to Myles Jury?! I love this channel so much.
I did not. Grabbed it from an article online. Didn't realize he had a RUclips channel or content. Seeing comments about him
Miles did a reveal of his expenses a while back.
Thank you for this video
I'm an aspiring fighter and this video is going to help a lot of people including myself
awesome video man !
Oh wow, how the story came through is never a rag to riches story to begin with. Nice one Spencer.
posted this on sherdog. you deserve more views
Thanks!
Amazing vídeo
Amazing video.
As a pro kickboxer, I wasn’t aware that most of these high level UFC guys had any money to begin with. I tell everyone who will listen that there’s no money in fighting. This is all just a passion project for 99% of the fighters.
That's exactly why I'm joined the military got my bachelors as a financial analyst saved a ton of money and invested early now I can train all the time and work towards going pro
So you will do all that for no money?
Love all your vids with athletes. Hoping for more.
amazing thanks for this
UFC and MMA is still in infancy and if all things go right would be much more popular. It needs to bring in more revenue
How tf are they supposed to do that when every event they do is a banger
The problem is not whether UFC is making money or not. The problem is pay structure. Most of the money doesn't go to fighters, that's what must change.
John Jones is just the begging of the problems for UFC and no matter how hard they try it's a red flag. They should just fix this of UFC as a company will fall.
I really don't think you can say it is in its infancy. if you go look at the top PPV buys, one thing you will find is it is filled with UFC events. Dana was trashing Jones for asking Deontay Wilder money. meanwhile, Jones outsells Wilder on average. MMA is huge and unless fighters start to organize it getting bigger is not going to make their situation much better.
The last 30 seconds or so was eye-opening for me, and I consider myself a pretty big fan of the sport.
Great analysis, thanks!
Your content is unparalleled!
I felt it when ufc took away those sponsorships. Smh
It bacame a problem when Jones relinquished his belt. I am even surprised he still wants to fight.
Being from Portugal, everyone talks about Cristiano Ronaldo's huge piles of money, the salary, prize awards, sponsorships. Good to see someone mentioning the little guys, the ones who don't blow up all the charts, the ones who have to scrap by. Abd this is not to diss CR, it's very clear he worked a fucking lot to get to where he is, but getting perspective about Money, as Spencer is always doing, is one of the biggest lessons one can get
I love these videos
dude youre a sick youtuber man your content is awesome one of my new favorites
Mad respect for the amount of research that has gone into making this video. So articulately put! I hope UFC fighters who are rising to the top come across this video and mkfers start learning about investments.
To quote a revered financial advisor Michael Smith:
Don't blow it.
Keep it simple.
Count your money.
great video
Channel is taking off bro!
Since all of you are first, I'll be second. Shout out from South Africa
Awe bru
I am the first as well as the second. So stop the discussion!!
🇿🇦✊🏾
Smart
Aweh
As someone who aspire to become a ufc champ and also understand how stocks and franchise work , i will never ever go broke if i make millions from ufc bouts !
Good luck on achieving your goals! 🙂
@@theeternalgus9119 thank you and good luck too !
Super informative video. Subbed.
Good video!
Man I knew they made less than boxers but when you explain this way it's basically nothing
That's not true. There is no middle class in boxing.
@@kylemcmurtry385 Exactly. Club level pros make next to nothing.
I really appreciate all your videos I've learned so much about the reality of things if you get caught up in the flash and glamor and as an upcoming fighter myself it's absolutely crucial for me to put a large amount of money into investments. Cheers 💪🔥
This dude is so insightful informative and funny all mixed into one. I make regular job salary at 25 and I appreciate the insight some I’m nooooo where near these guys income level but the point of long term success and spending wisely is great. Keep up the great work man.
Nice video, very engaging from beginning to end. Nevertheless, I'll like to say this here. The poor mindset immediately sees a surplus as an opportunity for consumption, but the rich mindset seek to spend their time, resources, and energy on work that continues to pay off the effort that has been invested.
Invest in gold, cryptocurrency, silver buy stocks and commodities, Forex, real estate. Just invest and save yourself!
Facts!!
I mean I see your point. Some people have money and are willing to invest. But the problem is where to.
Hey, this is 2021, people who aren't even traders make money from the financial trade market.
And moreover there are already financial analysts and trading experts (PhDs) who have shelled out theories and ideas for years on how bitcoin crypto technically grows.
Would the UFC have lower or higher operating costs that of other major sports leagues like MLB or soccer leagues? I would guess lower, making the revenue split an even worse deal for the fighters.
If it is the athletes themselves who pay their coaches, gym and nutrition, you can be sure that you are right.
@@fmac6441 yup, basically independent contractors