Former UFC Fighter Reveals Insanely Low PPV Title Fight Payoff, UFC 170 Countdown & Preview
- UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey defends her title against Sara McMann this Saturday at UFC 170. You can watch an extended preview for Saturday's pay-per-view in the video above. Also, make sure to join us this Saturday for our live coverage of the event. We will have quick preliminary card results, followed by detailed round-by-round coverage of the main card.
- Former UFC fighter Nate Quarry, who was a contestant on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, wrote a blog post on The Underground MMA forum taking the UFC to task for how they handle fighter sponsorships and payoffs. Quarry noted that when he faced UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin for the title in the main event of UFC 56 in 2005, a fight he lost via first round knockout, his payoff was only $10,000.
"I fought for the world title for $10,000," Quarry wrote. "Not a penny more. No bonus. No cut of the PPV. The gate alone was 3.5 million dollars. [Editor's note: The live gate was reportedly $1.986 million, while the total fighter payroll was $294,000] The third highest gate in UFC history at the time. And they must have loved the fight cuz they show the final punch at the start of EVERY UFC PPV. :-)
"And that's fine. Because it's a business. But sooner or later the allure of fighting in the UFC will not be as attractive as fighting for an organization that takes care of you, appreciates you, will let you have sponsors to help make up the income gap, doesn't trash you when you think for yourself, and on and on. Just like every business you work for. It's funny to me to hear people cheer for Dana when he says things that if he was your boss and he said them about you, you would be looking for another job. But when you're signed to a contract, you can't go anywhere. No matter how much you want to.
"When I retired I received a form letter, EMAILED to me that said, 'Should you choose to fight again you are still under contract with the UFC.' I didn't even get a hard copy with a real signature that I could frame.
"As I said, I love what the UFC has done for me and my family. And specifically what Dana has done for me. But I also know it's a business. And that's the best piece of advice I can give to wanna be fighters. Fight for the love of the game. But you better treat it like a business. Because the promoter handing you a contract sure will."
- The Countdown to UFC 170 special premiered on FS2 earlier this week, you can check it out below:
Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann:
Daniel Cormier vs. Patrick Cummins:
Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia: