UFC No Longer Using WWE Model?, Latest UFC 166 Countdown Video, UFC 164 Salaries
- UFC 166 is set to take place on October 19 and will feature the rubber match between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Junior dos Santos. The pair have been the focus of the latest installment of UFC Countdown shows, and you can watch the second episode featuring the two above.
- In a feature piece for Fighters Only, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta admitted for the first time publicly that, early on, the UFC patterned its business model after the WWE. Those days are gone now according to Fertitta, who is looking ahead to converting the promotion to a global media entity.
"You're going to see a transformation in our business going historically from where we've been operating like an events company," said Fertitta. "We're going to transform into a true global media company in the sense that we are really the only entity out there who produces and controls the content.
"The next step is to take control of the distribution rights. So you saw an announcement where we launched a joint venture with Televisa in Mexico and Latin America on a 24-hour network.
"Moving to 2025 I want to be more like the Discovery communications. A global media company, create our own content, by selling sponsorships and commercials, and we further that by controlling the distribution point of actually owning the networks or having joint ventures, owing a portion of the network."
- MMAJunkie has obtained and released a list of the fighter payouts from August's UFC 164 event. Frank Mir, Josh Barnett, Ben Henderson and Ben Rothwell topped the list, out-earning Anthony Pettis, who took home the lightweight title that night. The full list of fighter salaries is below.
Anthony Pettis: $54,000 (includes $27,000 win bonus)
def. Benson Henderson: $110,000Josh Barnett: $160,000 (no win bonus)
def. Frank Mir: $200,000Chad Mendes: $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus)
def. Clay Guida: $44,000Ben Rothwell: $108,000 (includes $54,000 win bonus)
def. Brandon Vera: $70,000Dustin Poirier: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Erik Koch: $15,000Gleison Tibau: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus)
def. Jamie Varner: $17,000Tim Elliott: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Louis Gaudinot: $8,000Hyun Gyu Lim: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Pascal Krauss: $15,000Chico Camus: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Kyung Ho Kang: $8,000Soa Palelei: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Nikita Krylov: $8,000Al Iaquinta: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Ryan Couture: $15,000Magnus Cedenblad: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Jared Hamman: $14,000