UFC Fighters Receive Ample Compensation Across The Board

UFC Fighters Earn Nearly Same Amount As Boxing Counterparts

While top UFC fighters "don't make nearly the amount that the top boxers make," there is an "incorrect perception that the other UFC fighters are being underpaid compared to boxers of the same level as well as fighters" in the MMA community, according to Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) payment verification sheets for the April 19 Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe fight indicated that Hopkins and Calzaghe each were paid $3M, while the next-highest paid fighter on the card, Audley Harrison, received $20,000 and nine fighters on the card made $5,000 or less. NAC records from the March 15 Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight revealed that Pacquiao made $3M, Marquez earned $1M and five of the 14 fighters on the card made $3,500 or less. However, records from the February 2 UFC 81, the "last major UFC show" in Nevada, reveal that the "lowest base pay for any of the 18 fighters on the card was the $4,000 that Kyle Bradley made." UFC also paid out $60,000 bonuses for "knockout of the night, submission of the night and fight of the night," and most of the fighters had "bonuses for winning, so the opportunity was there for them to double their pay." Several agents have said that the UFC "occasionally pays its fighters bonuses it chooses not to announce to the public." Iole notes Fighting in the UFC also makes an athlete "significantly more attractive to a sponsor." Fighter Chuck Liddell makes "around $6[M] a year between his salary and his sponsorships and was making at least $9[M] little more than a year ago." Liddell was paid $75,000 monthly from Xyience and "received $1[M] for just two weekends of promoting the movie, '300.'" Agent Dean Albrecht: "The UFC will pay you if you perform. It's like in the NFL. They're not going to rip up your contract after one great game, but if you perform over a period of time, they'll pay you and pay you extremely well." Meanwhile, Iole writes the IFL is "bleeding money and likely won't last past its next show," and EliteXC "may not have the funds to last the rest of the year." But the UFC "continues to thrive" and will "provide a place for fighters to sell their wares long into the future" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/30).