In what other profession would any of you tell someone that he should work for the top company in his field but be paid less, instead of working for the #2 company, which will pay him more? The UFC, the UFC apologists, and paid hands have been gaslighting fighters for years.
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Corey Anderson is correct. Joe Rogan, not so much.
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I got some clown faces and thumbs down for explaining this in the Rogan thread.
I’m still devastated and not sure how I can go on 
.
Seems some can’t grasp this idea!
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Anderson made a lot more money in Bellator than UFC… but what happened to Bellator? Lots of shows have paid more than UFC … EliteXC, Strikeforce, Affliction, Pride, Bodog. What do they all have in common?
Those big Bellator contracts that are now part of PFL, do you think they’ll be renewed at the same rate? Comes down to timing. Anderson became available when Bellator had a talent budget in the tens of millions of dollars per year. You might be able to make a lot outside of UFC if the market is hot. Meaning there’s a lot of shows being funded by private equity/VC cash.
Now there’s really only one big buyer outside of UFC- PFL. PFL is smart. They only do 9 events a year for their main circuit and carry less than 100 fighters. More if you count the Europe circuit but those fighters make considerably less and don’t get the $1 million prize for winning the tournament.
There’s one business model that has been proven to be sustainable. That’s UFC. You can make a lot of money outside of UFC when the market conditions are right. They were when Corey Anderson became available and he 5x’d his pay. I see a big correction in the market coming.
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I don’t get Joe. He’s a UFC fanboy for sure but he’s wrong. He thinks that people’s only concern and fighters only concern is to be the man and to be the best in the world and they should want to be in the UFC…thats just his opinion. When most of us, including most of us on this forum who go to work, our main goal is to just provide a good way of living for our families and ourselves and to make as much money is possible
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I’m pretty sure PFL signed a pretty big HW star this past year to a pretty large contract, after buying bellator I think they make a run at bigger names moving forward.
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Maybe they’ll get a union or fighters association going when that happens. Who knows…
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If you really believe in your skills, UFC is the better gamble. If you understand that you’re average at best and probably not UFC champion material then yeah, go take the slightly more money in other orgs. Becoming a UFC champion or even fighting for a belt markets you way better than anything any other org can do.
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Even Danus says its an opportunity not a career. Rogaine always talks about a short window.
Name of the game is money, whether thats all upfront now or a long deal ala DC or Bisping
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That’s the whole point of this thread.
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You mean like Ngannou, who is making a fortune since he left? The UFC wanted to keep Mousasi, Sergio Pettis, and Lorenz Larkin, but they chose Bellator and it paid off for them. Larkin has spoken about this before. Additionally, numerous Bellator fighters spoke about how much more pleasant the environment Bellator was compared to the UFC, i.e., working with Coker versus Dana.
Maybe Bellator wasn’t quite the right vehicle, but at some point, there will be a large move of top guys to a better organization that will allow them to make more money. There will be guys like Ngannou who say, “I’ve beaten everyone I want to beat in the UFC, and now I want to make more money. I will have so many other opportunities MMA and otherwise, in this other organization.” Maybe the PFL can better market market Eblen, Nemkov, Mix, and all the other top guys from Bellator, which will make it more attractive to guys who will consider leaving the UFC because they can make more money and they can still fight some of the best in the world?
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I honestly don’t think so. I think it will be like it has been for the last few years. Some select fighters will make that jump but very few of them have been championship level. Guys that want to be champ and have the confidence to fight the best in the world will stay in the UFC, because they want to be considered the absolute best. On top of that, they know a champion in the UFC makes 5-10x more than a Bellator champion makes. In the PFL their model is sustainable in theory, but it does not guarantee consistent money as a champion. Because you’re not defending your belt, you’re essentially having to prove yourself as a champion every year, and you don’t get the million bucks unless you beat the 3-4 guys. You’re only considered the champion that night you win the actual season.
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This. Fighters have a small window, and we know what happens when they don’t recognize that.
Helping to build someone elses company vs building your own security.
Both are risks and potential rewards. Even smart guys have fucked it up.
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I never seen Beastin 25-8 fight one time after he left the UFC…good for him i guess
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But longtime UFC light heavyweight Corey Anderson, who made the move to Bellator in 2020 and challenged for the title there in 2022
QUICK, name the opponent he fought for the title in 2022, no googling
Can’t do it? Neither can anyone else.
And that’s the fuckin point. Any of these dudes getting paid outside of the UFC, is as a direct result of being in the UFC, or fighting guys who were in the UFC
All roads lead to one destination
Rogan is correct. Fighters outside of the UFC are spinning their wheels.
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No, that isn’t the point.
It’s Nemkov, by the way, without looking it up.
A.J. McKee, Aaron Pico, Eblen, Moldavsky, Mix, and on and on. They all started in the UFC, right, chief?
You managed to go like 0-3 in four sentences. Impressive. Does your rump ever grow sore assuming the position for Dana?
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If that’s true why did UFC buy Pride and Strikeforce? Fedor never fought in the UFC yet he’s an all time legend in the sport. If a fighter is skilled and puts on exciting fights people will tune in no matter what org they compete in.
And it seems as though you missed the point, that fighter that no one can name probably got paid more than he would have if he was in the UFC. Corey Anderson is making 5x more and who is he really? He was never a big name in the UFC but he’s still cashing out.
If a fighter wants to get rich fighting for the UFC they have to have immense talent, get a good winning streak, and have the X factor. How many millionaires (after taxes) have the UFC made? Over a 30 year period I’m gonna go out on a limb and say probably less than 100 fighters have become millionaires through the UFC. The biggest promotion in the world, the biggest roster, yet most of the fighters are dirt poor relatively speaking when you compare what they make to people make in other sports.
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Just to add some interesting stats…
Alexander Gustafsson, debuted in 2009, fought for the belt 3 times, retired after a 14 year career in the UFC. Estimated net worth: $400k.
Matt Serra, UFC hall of famer, Dana’s pal. Estimated net worth: $500-700k.
BJ Penn, one of the GOATs, easily one of the biggest names in the sport with a career spanning almost 20 years with the UFC. Estimated net worth: $4 million.
Then you look at Herb Dean, a REFEREE, and his net worth is $2.5 million.
How does that make any sense?
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Maybe fighters aren’t the only ones who make more in other organizations.
Yep, who’d have thought watching fights makes far more money than the fighters they’re watching.