Watch the uncut interview on UFC's channel. ESPN doesn't care about fighters, are you fucking kidding me. These were the same clowns that called the sport barbaric and criticized it for years. SUCK DICK ESPN.
Watch the uncut interview on UFC's channel. ESPN doesn't care about fighters, are you fucking kidding me. These were the same clowns that called the sport barbaric and criticized it for years. SUCK DICK ESPN.
The ultimate lie was Fertita saying that every fighter makes enough that he doesn't have to have another job and can train full time. How is a guy making $1000 a fight living off of this?
@TheLastFraudster what are you trying to say? Do you have figures for the lower level guys, averages, any kind of numbers? Try and argue about a new sport (mixed martial arts) that's been around for 20+ years or so Vs a sport (boxing) that's been around for 2000+ years.
@gottawachit I'm saying new sport or not, Zuffa is making an absolute fortune and only distributing around 5% of it's profits to fighters salaries. That along with how they try to cripple all other organisation so fighters can't make decent money elsewhere and just the way they treat their athletes in general. Doesn't take a genius to see the fighters are getting fucked here. Don't you agree?
@TheLastFraudster 1) Wheres the 5% part from. Sounds interesting. 2) How are they crippling other orgs? When Walmart goes against Kmart and Costco, do they try and play nice? 3) The UFC pays more than other shows, more than Strikeforce, more than regional shows and more than foreign shows. 4) "treat their athletes", paid for Miller's kid's transplant, Carwins surgery, immediate plane ride to get treatment of Nog's arm, free health insurance for all 300+ fighters in their roster
@TheLastFraudster 4 Cont) paid plane trips, free tickets for employees, great after match medical help, best surgeons for some fighters, better pay (yes, better pay), more exposure, more sponsors, and more frequent fights to keep them busy and making money. Yeah they treat their fighters better than most orgs
@TheLastFraudster 5) SF lost their main investor and was likely to bleed money with current payrolls. IFL paid their fighters starting at $500 a fight and gained no momentum and was failing. WEC fighters got better jobs with bigger pays. Affliction was bleeding money. EliteXC had "fixed" scandals and lost main draw, Kimbo. PRIDE was affiliated with Yakuzas and deemed to fail anyways. SENGOKU and DREAM seems broke and owes fighters' money. ROTC can't promote. WHAT ELSE?!
@gottawachit 6) The UFC's fighters always praised the organization. You might say "only because they got no other choice or cause they work for the company", but the fighters who are set for life of retirement still wants to participate with the UFC. Why if they are a bad org. Why do many fighters talk about the above and beyond treatment they get from the UFC and lack of from their old orga? UFC is the best place, quantity and quality. IN CONCLUSION: No I don't agree with you.
@gottawachit Sure, the guys who have lots of money think the UFC is great...because they have lots of money. Asking them doesn't prove anything. Ask the guys who aren't making anything.
That UFC is the best of the bunch is also meaningless, the best of ten piles of shit is still a pile of shit. They don't go above and beyond for everyone, they are very selective about who they help, mostly politics or press.
@LordShandor 1) "That UFC is the best of the bunch is also meaningless"- The lowest "to show" pays for lower guys: UFC = $4,000 Bellator $500 SF $1,500 Boxing $500. Tell me this. Which MMA organization is the best? More exposure, more sponsors, more fights, more income, more bonuses, more medical treatment, more special treatment, more aides in fighter expenses, etc.
@LordShandor 2) "Ask the guys who aren't making anything." - Roop and Phan gets $8,000 to show and they said wonderful things about the pay. Just because it says it on paper that they get x certain amount doesn't actually mean that they only get that.
"I just bought a house, and you have to remember, I'm on the lower echelon" - Roop
They were "always generous and I've fought with a lot of other organizations. They pay horrible." - Phan
@LordShandor 3) "They don't go above and beyond for everyone, they are very selective about who they help" - They still beyond for some, not like other orgs. They don't even have to. I remember J. Shields saying that Coker wouldn't even give him tickets to a show and he was their MW champ. Rampage criticized PRIDE's lack of medical attention after fights. Overeem says FEG still owes him money. The UFC pays their fighters, gives them frequent fights, good medical treatment, etc.
@TheLastFraudster 6) The UFC's fighters always praised the organization. You might say "only because they got no other choice or cause they work for the company", but the fighters who are set for life of retirement still wants to participate with the UFC. Why if they are a bad org. Why do many fighters talk about the above and beyond treatment they get from the UFC and lack of from their old orga? UFC is the best place, quantity and quality. CONCLUSION: I don't agree with you.
The fighters must be happy because if they werent all they had to do was talk to each other and have a lockout.. the UFC is nothing without its fighters..
What does ESPN expect? to have a no named fighter just added to the roster get paid $100k? let him build his fan base then pay him more..
@Styles991 exactly what every other corporations do. Degrees, multisuperlingual, experienced person applying for a job will likely get higher pay, simple
the promotion makes millions and they cut the fighters off a piece of it, it's suppose to be the other way around. that's why the ufc grew so fast, because they keep all the money and pay the fighter a fraction of what the make for them.
@MrMitchyCanuck Do remember that the UFC is a corporation and most corps tend to keep earnings to expand growth for their product. The UFC, undoubtedly, gives fighters 1) free health insurance, 2) better pay (amateur is around 500... dollars not grand), 3) More exposure, which leads to 4) more sponsorship, and most importantly 5) more jobs for many fighters because of the expansion for the fighters
@HipHopIsUnderground The difference are that NBA players, NFL players, MLB players, etc. are unionized. There is no fighter's union which means no collective bargaining on, say, fighter pay, or anything else. This is a huge difference.
@baserocks4323 As recently as 2006 the UFC was losing money. I get the union argument, but you guys are insane to think the UFC isn't trying to increase fighter pay. In 2011 they made a landmark decision to give fighters full insurance coverage, and allow sponsors which bring any fighter on a televised card anywhere from $5,000-$30,000 alone in sponsorship money. The fighters are making undisclosed money from video games and other UFC products as well. We don't know the real bottom line.
@baserocks4323 Also, the fighters could collectively unionize tomorrow if they wanted to. If total pay is as low as the released figures, which it's not (sponsorship/ppv buy bonuses/etc), then what's stopping them? UFC would have no capacity to stop their PPV giants from unionizing. GSP just came out and said he makes roughly 3-4 million per fight. The numbers released by UFC show I believe $500,000. Doesn't including PPV buyrate and other bonuses. The fighters are making more than we think.
there is speculation about how much TOTAL they pay, but there are two instances where court records revealed fighter pay. One revealed that Randy Couture was making more than 1 million dollars per fight several years back. Now, Alistair Overeem's court battle with his management has revealed that he made 2.2 million dollars for his UFC debut! Fighter pay is going up, and a lot of the guys in the middle of a UFC card make more than boxers in the same position. Not to mention 75K bonuses each ppv
@baserocks4323 Get your facts straight it's all public record now. His signing bonus was 1 million. He was paid nearly $400K based on his contract, but also makes $2 for every PPV buy after 500,000 buys meaning he made roughly 1.2 million dollars that night NOT $200,000 you claim. Not too shabby for a guy who's not even that popular in the mainstream of American combat sports. Bottom line is the payout is increasing exponentially and it's going to bring the numbers for the bottom guys over time
@imHIGHasFUCK420 guess what? the NFL, NBA and MLB have unions so their athletes dont get fucked....these fighters are great athletes and should be paid as such
UFC fighters shouldnt have to work other jobs, period.
@FusedHalos theyre talking mostly about smaller name guys I think, so PPV doesn't really count in this and also sponsorship cause thats what others pay the fighters not the UFC.
@steven3233 None are monopolies, because each major league sport has lesser leagues that provide competition. There is one stark contrast however. The UFC's ownership has unilateral power over the employment of its fighters. In the NFL, for example, there are multiple owners, and if one team cuts a player, he can still go play for another team. No one man has complete control over one athlete's career. That is why the UFC gets the monopoly accusations more than the rest, cause they act like one.
Glad ESPN is tackling this. It's well worth a hard look at how the UFC does business, especially since fighters have no union and therefore no recourse to protect themselves from financial exploitation.
@Lavarpsu10 Fighters can choose to not sign with UFC and go fight in Bellator, M1, or a bunch of small promotions, heck they can start their own company.
Dana always talks about how he wants to pay fighters boxing money, well its time for him to put his money where his mouth is and start paying these guys
@Solidstryker "Just because its coming from ken, doesn't make his point any less valid." lied about steroid use, has conflicts with UFC, etc. Yeah less valid but doesn't mean entirely.
This has been flagged as spam show
Watch the uncut interview on UFC's channel. ESPN doesn't care about fighters, are you fucking kidding me. These were the same clowns that called the sport barbaric and criticized it for years. SUCK DICK ESPN.
NeoOsiris19 1 month ago
Watch the uncut interview on UFC's channel. ESPN doesn't care about fighters, are you fucking kidding me. These were the same clowns that called the sport barbaric and criticized it for years. SUCK DICK ESPN.
NeoOsiris19 1 month ago
The ultimate lie was Fertita saying that every fighter makes enough that he doesn't have to have another job and can train full time. How is a guy making $1000 a fight living off of this?
LordShandor 1 month ago
RIP UFC
tinobar 1 month ago
THE UFC FIGHTERS ARE ALL MILLIONAIRES!
Soulflytribe04 1 month ago
form a union for fighters!
Steadno 1 month ago
Compare money Boxers get to MMA fighters and that says it all really.
TheLastFraudster 1 month ago
@TheLastFraudster what are you trying to say? Do you have figures for the lower level guys, averages, any kind of numbers? Try and argue about a new sport (mixed martial arts) that's been around for 20+ years or so Vs a sport (boxing) that's been around for 2000+ years.
gottawachit 1 month ago
@gottawachit I'm saying new sport or not, Zuffa is making an absolute fortune and only distributing around 5% of it's profits to fighters salaries. That along with how they try to cripple all other organisation so fighters can't make decent money elsewhere and just the way they treat their athletes in general. Doesn't take a genius to see the fighters are getting fucked here. Don't you agree?
TheLastFraudster 1 month ago
@TheLastFraudster 1) Wheres the 5% part from. Sounds interesting. 2) How are they crippling other orgs? When Walmart goes against Kmart and Costco, do they try and play nice? 3) The UFC pays more than other shows, more than Strikeforce, more than regional shows and more than foreign shows. 4) "treat their athletes", paid for Miller's kid's transplant, Carwins surgery, immediate plane ride to get treatment of Nog's arm, free health insurance for all 300+ fighters in their roster
gottawachit 1 month ago
@gottawachit Training insurance, not full medical coverage.
LordShandor 1 month ago
@LordShandor still more than other comps
gottawachit 1 month ago
@TheLastFraudster 4 Cont) paid plane trips, free tickets for employees, great after match medical help, best surgeons for some fighters, better pay (yes, better pay), more exposure, more sponsors, and more frequent fights to keep them busy and making money. Yeah they treat their fighters better than most orgs
gottawachit 1 month ago
@TheLastFraudster 5) SF lost their main investor and was likely to bleed money with current payrolls. IFL paid their fighters starting at $500 a fight and gained no momentum and was failing. WEC fighters got better jobs with bigger pays. Affliction was bleeding money. EliteXC had "fixed" scandals and lost main draw, Kimbo. PRIDE was affiliated with Yakuzas and deemed to fail anyways. SENGOKU and DREAM seems broke and owes fighters' money. ROTC can't promote. WHAT ELSE?!
gottawachit 1 month ago
@gottawachit 6) The UFC's fighters always praised the organization. You might say "only because they got no other choice or cause they work for the company", but the fighters who are set for life of retirement still wants to participate with the UFC. Why if they are a bad org. Why do many fighters talk about the above and beyond treatment they get from the UFC and lack of from their old orga? UFC is the best place, quantity and quality. IN CONCLUSION: No I don't agree with you.
gottawachit 1 month ago
@gottawachit Sure, the guys who have lots of money think the UFC is great...because they have lots of money. Asking them doesn't prove anything. Ask the guys who aren't making anything.
That UFC is the best of the bunch is also meaningless, the best of ten piles of shit is still a pile of shit. They don't go above and beyond for everyone, they are very selective about who they help, mostly politics or press.
LordShandor 1 month ago
@LordShandor 1) "That UFC is the best of the bunch is also meaningless"- The lowest "to show" pays for lower guys: UFC = $4,000 Bellator $500 SF $1,500 Boxing $500. Tell me this. Which MMA organization is the best? More exposure, more sponsors, more fights, more income, more bonuses, more medical treatment, more special treatment, more aides in fighter expenses, etc.
gottawachit 1 month ago
@LordShandor 2) "Ask the guys who aren't making anything." - Roop and Phan gets $8,000 to show and they said wonderful things about the pay. Just because it says it on paper that they get x certain amount doesn't actually mean that they only get that.
"I just bought a house, and you have to remember, I'm on the lower echelon" - Roop
They were "always generous and I've fought with a lot of other organizations. They pay horrible." - Phan
gottawachit 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@LordShandor 3) "They don't go above and beyond for everyone, they are very selective about who they help" - They still beyond for some, not like other orgs. They don't even have to. I remember J. Shields saying that Coker wouldn't even give him tickets to a show and he was their MW champ. Rampage criticized PRIDE's lack of medical attention after fights. Overeem says FEG still owes him money. The UFC pays their fighters, gives them frequent fights, good medical treatment, etc.
gottawachit 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@TheLastFraudster 6) The UFC's fighters always praised the organization. You might say "only because they got no other choice or cause they work for the company", but the fighters who are set for life of retirement still wants to participate with the UFC. Why if they are a bad org. Why do many fighters talk about the above and beyond treatment they get from the UFC and lack of from their old orga? UFC is the best place, quantity and quality. CONCLUSION: I don't agree with you.
gottawachit 1 month ago
The fighters must be happy because if they werent all they had to do was talk to each other and have a lockout.. the UFC is nothing without its fighters..
What does ESPN expect? to have a no named fighter just added to the roster get paid $100k? let him build his fan base then pay him more..
Styles991 1 month ago
@Styles991 exactly what every other corporations do. Degrees, multisuperlingual, experienced person applying for a job will likely get higher pay, simple
gottawachit 1 month ago
the promotion makes millions and they cut the fighters off a piece of it, it's suppose to be the other way around. that's why the ufc grew so fast, because they keep all the money and pay the fighter a fraction of what the make for them.
MrMitchyCanuck 1 month ago
@MrMitchyCanuck the ufc doesn't make millions, they make billions annually..
eLLriDe420 1 month ago
@MrMitchyCanuck Do remember that the UFC is a corporation and most corps tend to keep earnings to expand growth for their product. The UFC, undoubtedly, gives fighters 1) free health insurance, 2) better pay (amateur is around 500... dollars not grand), 3) More exposure, which leads to 4) more sponsorship, and most importantly 5) more jobs for many fighters because of the expansion for the fighters
gottawachit 1 month ago
@MrMitchyCanuck 100% agree totally.
TheLastFraudster 1 month ago
All major sports vs Zuffa
Revenue in Billions
NFL: $11B
MLB: $7B
NBA: $3.8B
NHL: $2.9B
MLS: $02.8B
Zuffa/UFC: $350-$400 million.
JREYNOSO 1 month ago 7
@JREYNOSO /thread.
normalpsychology 1 month ago
@JREYNOSO /thread.
normalpsychology 1 month ago
Idgaf, where I live fighters get jail time not money.
AndersForEverybody 1 month ago
espn was denied by the UFC and now they are bitter
skyw4lka 1 month ago
ESPN is seriously butthurt.
refuseit 1 month ago
ESPN, stop crying that the UFC went to FOX and not you guys
josh1212121 1 month ago 4
Ken is right
dogg208 1 month ago
ESPN is clearly butthurt over the UFC on FOX deal. They are no more a monopoly than the NBA is. And I'm personally not even a fan of Dana White.
HipHopIsUnderground 1 month ago
@HipHopIsUnderground The difference are that NBA players, NFL players, MLB players, etc. are unionized. There is no fighter's union which means no collective bargaining on, say, fighter pay, or anything else. This is a huge difference.
baserocks4323 1 month ago
@baserocks4323 As recently as 2006 the UFC was losing money. I get the union argument, but you guys are insane to think the UFC isn't trying to increase fighter pay. In 2011 they made a landmark decision to give fighters full insurance coverage, and allow sponsors which bring any fighter on a televised card anywhere from $5,000-$30,000 alone in sponsorship money. The fighters are making undisclosed money from video games and other UFC products as well. We don't know the real bottom line.
HipHopIsUnderground 1 month ago
@baserocks4323 Also, the fighters could collectively unionize tomorrow if they wanted to. If total pay is as low as the released figures, which it's not (sponsorship/ppv buy bonuses/etc), then what's stopping them? UFC would have no capacity to stop their PPV giants from unionizing. GSP just came out and said he makes roughly 3-4 million per fight. The numbers released by UFC show I believe $500,000. Doesn't including PPV buyrate and other bonuses. The fighters are making more than we think.
HipHopIsUnderground 1 month ago
there is speculation about how much TOTAL they pay, but there are two instances where court records revealed fighter pay. One revealed that Randy Couture was making more than 1 million dollars per fight several years back. Now, Alistair Overeem's court battle with his management has revealed that he made 2.2 million dollars for his UFC debut! Fighter pay is going up, and a lot of the guys in the middle of a UFC card make more than boxers in the same position. Not to mention 75K bonuses each ppv
HipHopIsUnderground 1 month ago
@HipHopIsUnderground $2 million of which was a one-time signing bonus.
baserocks4323 1 month ago
@baserocks4323 Get your facts straight it's all public record now. His signing bonus was 1 million. He was paid nearly $400K based on his contract, but also makes $2 for every PPV buy after 500,000 buys meaning he made roughly 1.2 million dollars that night NOT $200,000 you claim. Not too shabby for a guy who's not even that popular in the mainstream of American combat sports. Bottom line is the payout is increasing exponentially and it's going to bring the numbers for the bottom guys over time
HipHopIsUnderground 1 month ago
Holy shit Ken looks bad... Wow.
Chubzdoomer 1 month ago
its hilarious how they say they pay their fighters only a few thousand bucks per fight ...then they show GSP who makes like 3.5 million per match
thericate 1 month ago
@thericate They said the fighters low on the card, and it's the truth.
baserocks4323 1 month ago
shamrock looked like he just finished crying , probably wanted another contract and lorenzo said no
thericate 1 month ago
Ken Shamrock the same guy that trys to ripoff the smaller promotions
gotbletu 1 month ago
this brings up a good point.
NFL has a monopoly on prof. football.
NBA has a monopoly on prof. basketball.
MLB has a monopoly on prof. baseball.
fuck you ESPN. Fuck you straight in the behind
imHIGHasFUCK420 1 month ago
@imHIGHasFUCK420 guess what? the NFL, NBA and MLB have unions so their athletes dont get fucked....these fighters are great athletes and should be paid as such
UFC fighters shouldnt have to work other jobs, period.
nikolasramsay 1 month ago
Lmfao a few thousand...try a few hendred thousand
Kaneda2Tsushin 1 month ago
Fighters also make money from sponsorship and they get a % of PPV buys.
Just saying the base salary isn't all they make..
FusedHalos 1 month ago
@FusedHalos theyre talking mostly about smaller name guys I think, so PPV doesn't really count in this and also sponsorship cause thats what others pay the fighters not the UFC.
gottawachit 1 month ago
Ken Shamrock is a legend and a pioneer of the sport. Not to mention the fact that he is right. Show some respect, punks.
GreenLantern141 1 month ago
@GreenLantern141 Ken Shamrock lost a big court case to the UFC over pay. He owes the UFC tons of money.
JREYNOSO 1 month ago
When is this going to air?
psanchez84 1 month ago
when did shamrock get on crack ?
muayjoey 1 month ago
How can ESPN call the UFC a monopoly.
What competition does the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL have? How on earth can the UFC be considered a monopoly and not those.
This is why is ESPN is a joke
steven3233 1 month ago
@steven3233 None are monopolies, because each major league sport has lesser leagues that provide competition. There is one stark contrast however. The UFC's ownership has unilateral power over the employment of its fighters. In the NFL, for example, there are multiple owners, and if one team cuts a player, he can still go play for another team. No one man has complete control over one athlete's career. That is why the UFC gets the monopoly accusations more than the rest, cause they act like one.
U23Z26I9 1 month ago
Love the hair Ken!
aldojr86 1 month ago
The four letter finally doing something right.
ufc is garbage.
TheLordHighXcutioner 1 month ago
@TheLordHighXcutioner Stick to watching ice skating flamer.
buddeNs92 1 month ago
Ken really does look like shit
jamiegee123 1 month ago
good lord ken looks terrible
tememongo 1 month ago
Anyone can start a promotion and grab fighters who aren't under UFC contract.
Guess what that means?? NO MONOPOLY!
A monopoly means that a corporation is the sole provider of a certain product/service, enforced by the state's laws/guns/thug cops.
GtheMVP 1 month ago
when does it air?
eachneverydaynosleep 1 month ago
Glad ESPN is tackling this. It's well worth a hard look at how the UFC does business, especially since fighters have no union and therefore no recourse to protect themselves from financial exploitation.
Lavarpsu10 1 month ago
@Lavarpsu10
bu..but...but the ufc pays its fighters huge secret locker room bonuses
dickbuttAIDS 1 month ago 17
@dickbuttAIDS hahahahahaha thats jokes
ItsBerrey 1 month ago
@Lavarpsu10 Fighters can choose to not sign with UFC and go fight in Bellator, M1, or a bunch of small promotions, heck they can start their own company.
GtheMVP 1 month ago
Dana always talks about how he wants to pay fighters boxing money, well its time for him to put his money where his mouth is and start paying these guys
dickbuttAIDS 1 month ago 2
They had a sepcial on how UFC was growing to new heights a few years back and now this? Wow.
jonremache 1 month ago
Interviewing Ken Shamrock destroys any credibility this piece might have had, ESPN sure looks butthurt over the FOX deal.
shikeroger 1 month ago 38
@shikeroger In that piece Ken Schamrock made a perfect sense.
Sumalia 1 month ago 2
@shikeroger
Just because its coming from ken, doesn't make his point any less valid.
Solidstryker 1 month ago 2
@Solidstryker "Just because its coming from ken, doesn't make his point any less valid." lied about steroid use, has conflicts with UFC, etc. Yeah less valid but doesn't mean entirely.
gottawachit 1 month ago
@shikeroger lol so true
xenniex2 1 month ago
ESPN management has never liked MMA. Probably annoyed at the UFC for taking their talent and signing with FOX, their main sports competitor.
JREYNOSO 1 month ago