For the UFC. Before the Zuffa took over fighters were in underground fights fighting for a couple hundred dollars....if that. So any professional fighter making thousands of dollars per fight should....in a way....consider themselves lucky. 
Surely fighters back then had time to have jobs as well, as the talent pool was not nearly as deep. Now that you have to train about twice daily to make any sort of money, the pay has to be higher.
Great thread.
The UFC wouldn't be making money without fighters, either. 
Well you wouldn't even be around if you're dad didn't forget to pull out of your mom. Considering how you turned out, they don't deserve much praise.
Well that's great to know, thanks for that op
The "mma wouldn't exist if not for the UFC" is old and inherently flawed. NHB, Vale Tudo, Pankration has always existed in some form. Eventually someone would try to cash in on this. For reference, Pride came into existence in '97. While the UFC existed in '93, it wasn't until 2000 Zuffa bought the UFC. There's no denying, for better or for worse, that Zuffa's UFC is in a large part responsible for the sport of MMA as we all know it today. But if Zuffa never bought it, to say the sport would have definitely just rotted on the vine and died, is just an assumption. MMA was already in motion over in Japan and elsewhere prior to Zuffak/ UFC. Some other entity could have bought up the UFC and taken it in a different direction altogether. Please stop this argument. Yes, we know Zuffa has been the major mover in shaping MMA's modern incarnaton, but to say without them that there's no MMA is a very majorly flawed assumption.
dhughes - A lot of computer geeks in the 60s struggled to find employment or profit outside of military contractors. Average starting salary for a CS major with an undergrad degree is around 68K in the US and are in high demand everywhere. Are they lucky?I totally agree with you.(I posted this thread while in a pissy mood and tired of people bitching about fighter pay) I believe the current MMA is still evolving and will continue to evolve. Decent money only started a decade or so ago. How long did it take nfl, nba, mlb, or even nhl to millions of dollars? I do think some of the UFC contract stuff is BS but that's what you get. If you don't like it...find another career or organization.
The skill sets required to make good money working with computers is also much higher than it used to be. If you want to get into the field you can't just mess around with computers in your spare time. You will have to invest in an education or spend a lot of time studying (trane your brain). This effort and time is compensated by better pay. They get paid more but have to work harder to qualify as the field continues to grow and evolve.
Sound familiar?
Supply, demand, growth, change are factors you might consider.
CrazyMikeMMA - The "mma wouldn't exist if not for the UFC" is old and inherently flawed. NHB, Vale Tudo, Pankration has always existed in some form. Eventually someone would try to cash in on this. For reference, Pride came into existence in '97. While the UFC existed in '93, it wasn't until 2000 Zuffa bought the UFC. There's no denying, for better or for worse, that Zuffa's UFC is in a large part responsible for the sport of MMA as we all know it today. But if Zuffa never bought it, to say the sport would have definitely just rotted on the vine and died, is just an assumption. MMA was already in motion over in Japan and elsewhere prior to Zuffak/ UFC. Some other entity could have bought up the UFC and taken it in a different direction altogether. Please stop this argument. Yes, we know Zuffa has been the major mover in shaping MMA's modern incarnaton, but to say without them that there's no MMA is a very majorly flawed assumption.I never said MMA exists because of the UFC. I am talking about current money being made by fighters. The best paying organization is currently UFC. When other organizations tried to pay fighters more they all were in the red and got bought by Zuffa. So far they are the only ones that figured out how to pay their fighters and still stay in business.
chicken meet egg, egg
fgil30 -You said fighter's wouldn't make any money if not for the UFC. If fighters dont make money it's not much of a sport as most fighters won't fight. If its not a sport, its not MMACrazyMikeMMA - The "mma wouldn't exist if not for the UFC" is old and inherently flawed. NHB, Vale Tudo, Pankration has always existed in some form. Eventually someone would try to cash in on this. For reference, Pride came into existence in '97. While the UFC existed in '93, it wasn't until 2000 Zuffa bought the UFC. There's no denying, for better or for worse, that Zuffa's UFC is in a large part responsible for the sport of MMA as we all know it today. But if Zuffa never bought it, to say the sport would have definitely just rotted on the vine and died, is just an assumption. MMA was already in motion over in Japan and elsewhere prior to Zuffak/ UFC. Some other entity could have bought up the UFC and taken it in a different direction altogether. Please stop this argument. Yes, we know Zuffa has been the major mover in shaping MMA's modern incarnaton, but to say without them that there's no MMA is a very majorly flawed assumption.I never said MMA exists because of the UFC. I am talking about current money being made by fighters. The best paying organization is currently UFC. When other organizations tried to pay fighters more they all were in the red and got bought by Zuffa. So far they are the only ones that figured out how to pay their fighters and still stay in business.
And, as stated, if zuffa didnt buy up the ufc and be willing to take it on the chin for years and years, they might not be who we are talking about today. My point is that the sport was already was in motion to move forward before zuffa and SOMEONE could have moved it forward. We cant say if not for zuffa....etc.
fgil30 - For the UFC. Before the Zuffa took over fighters were in underground fights fighting for a couple hundred dollars....if that. So any professional fighter making thousands of dollars per fight should....in a way....consider themselves lucky.Hello, chicken. This is an egg.
Meh... they would probably be fighting in Japan, making more money and getting treated like royalty.