Every accusation is based upon speculation of what the ufc makes. They havent released what they make nor do they have to so espn basically made a piece around many peoples assumptions of what the ufc makes. Also comparing the UFC starting rate to The NFL, NBA, NHL, Or Mlb is completely a completely unrealistic comparison. All the other big sports leagues have had network deals and exposure for a long long time. These are well established leagues and to compare them is irresponsible on espns part. I am a huge sports fan and this piece is embarassing for espn. They have no real facts or no concrete evidence for any of the topics in their piece and it shows when you watch it. If i was dana white i would not even be mad at this piece at all because is SAYS nothing BUT assumes EVERYTHING. iT was very underwhelming to me i was expecting a better story but you cant have a story without hard evidence.
Not only do the big sports leagues have major sponsors and are established entities the players play around 100 games per year (with the exception of the NFL which is 18-22). 4 fights is on the high end for fighters. And the UFC brings in no where near the revenue that the major sports leagues do. Very unfair and irrelevant comparison by espn and everybody that uses this argument.
I agree it was a total waste of time.
There is no way to define it as a monopoly legally, there is nor gross travesty or injustice going on. The up and coming 18-26 year olds in the UFC make more than they would in the "real world"...and get to do something they LOVE for a living. With benefits and perks. Win 3 fights a year and you are making 6 figures easily.
Josh Gross was surprizingly more balanced about it all than I expected though.
Yep, much ado about nothing.
All UFC needs to do is release their finances.
That's obviously never going to happen though.
what I found funny is how they focused on the prelim fighters who make a very fair amount of money. Yes it seems low for a prelim fighter to make 6/6 or 8/8 but half of these guys were making 500 dollars in their last fight.
Sure the pay is low compared to the rookies or newcomers on Ufc cards but the Ufc basically runs their own minor league system. A lot of the guys on the prelims are basically minor leaguers. Unlike a back up QB their is no chance they are coming in and headlining the card and becoming an integral part of the org. By the time these guys are established enough for the Ufc to promote them they are done with their first contract and on to a bigger one.