Big Org pays $600 for a Fresh Pro FIghter

So one on EFCs fighters Patrick Luindula went on a rampage on facebook today because EFC released him. He reveals that he got paid 8000R  which is $600 dollars. seems pretty crazy for a big Org. I did some looking and it looks like UFC pays around $10000 for new UFC fighters which seems like more than a few years ago , i could have swore I saw guys making 5-6k to debut in UFC. Anyways what do other promotions pay their debut fighters, anyone know? Im kinda curious how they stack up with big orgs like ONE and Bellator and Titan, LFC ect.

heres the video



https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgodofwarmma%2Fvideos%2F1919416314958504%2F

* Edited at 02.13.2017, 4:25 PM ET *

Much of that info on fighter pay is speculation. International Organizations typically don't disclose pay. The best guess from the info available is UFC pays considerably more for entry level than their closest competitor. There have been fighters in Bellator getting a disclosed $500 to show, though usually $1,000 is their base. UFC base currently sits at $10,000 to show which is more than many smaller orgs pay their main event fighters and champions. Really there is only one truly Big Org and that's the UFC. The midsize orgs like Bellator and One can offer a six figure contract to a select few but they fill out the bottom of their cards with low pay regional fighters, well at least Bellator does. I've also read Titan FC main event fighters getting 5k+5k. There are probably some small orgs out there likely paying $100 bucks and 50% off coupon to Applebee's. The basic assumption is unless you are a champion level fighter in a midsize org like Bellator or OneFC or in the UFC you aren't making anything close to a livable wage fighting.

I'd be pretty ****** off if I was a bellator prelim fighter and saw them wanting to pay more than the ufc will for some fighters but so little for the guys whove been loyally slaveing away on the undercard

Unfortunately it's supply and demand.  There are a ton of guys with similar records who will take your prelim card slot, so it drives your value down.

I do believe the system needs to be reformed to help protect fighters, but I really don't know in what way it should be done.

Wow! I would've thought Bellator's entry pay would have to be at least $5,000 given they brand themselves as the #2 promotion on the planet and the #1's salaries are public (sort of).

If that's the case, to be honest, if I were an up and comer I'd rather fight for any of the other mid-level promotions and not Bellator since transition from them to the UFC is easier (Bellator -> UFC is virtually non-existent for 99% of the fighters).

So even if you're going to Bellator for exposure (because clearly it's not for a good payday), what does that exposure do for you if it just commits you to Bellator forever (or for as long as you're good enough) with crappy pay (since I'm pretty sure the only big paydays in Bellator are ex-UFC guys, Kimbo/Shamrock/Royce-esque guys and maybe once in a while you get a "favourite son" like Michael Chandler)? Most fighters want exposure to eventually land in the UFC (or at least increase their chances).

You end up getting dat Bellator exposure, but it basically does nothing for you until you're cut from Bellator and have a bit more leverage while signing with a Titan/LFA/etc promotion that could eventually land you in the UFC. Because if you end up being someone who's good enough to become Bellator champ, that means you were also UFC caliber (not necessarily champ, but belong there) and you could have got paid better while climbing up and with a higher potential ceiling.

I wonder how many younger prospects who believe they can become top fighters in the UFC would actually say no to a Bellator offer using that logic, because to me it seems pretty important yet I find it hard to see an up and comer saying no to Bellator.

* Edited at 02.14.2017, 6:14 AM ET *

Isn't Viacom in financial trouble?

this is part of why Im against extending the ali act for MMA.

So from what Iv heard that would mean rather than a ufc champ and a bellator champ you'd have an Independent Governing Body champ, the title fight would always be the #1 and #2 guys from their ranking whether they had traditionally fought in ufc, bellator, or otherwise, the ranking body says this is the title fight to make and then the promotions bid on who gets to host the fight.
people in favour of this point to what floyd mayweather makes, but dont tell you what the prelim fighters made.

I see that as encouraging promoters to spend an ever greater ammount on securing the main event and have no money left for the undercard. Its that way in boxing, big marquee fight at the top, everyone below no one cares about interchangeable fighters earning practically nothing.
When you have no interest in building up the next stars, marketing them etc because they arnt part of your organisation and could jump ship next fight the event becomes all about that one big fight, reinforcing the idea that as thats the only one impacting the event revenue its the only one that deserves compensating.

I dont want to be a fan of one fighter the way many boxing fans only bother watching a hand full of fights a year- Im a fan of the sport. I love the way UFC will try to make a whole main card not just a single fight with some things that happen before. And that they have these featured fightpass and prelim bouts that get there own marketing push, That'd go away under the ali act, promotions like bellator what seem to me closer to following a boxing model of promotion arnt pushing the 3rd fight of a 12 card bill, hell many 2nd tier promotions might not even announce that fight in advance. 

@bigj

The only reason the UFC pays "better" than Bellator is because they bought up all their competition and created a ******* monopoly.  When there is zero competition, wages stagnate across the board and they undercut talented fighters financially with ****** low ball offers.  IMO, the starting UFC wages should be $15,000 for new guys.  Now they are in a situation where they have driven down the quality of the product by diluting the market and not bringing in elite talent, and have failed to create any new big name stars outside of one person.  Now I think the bleeding out of the roster the UFC is doing will help it in the long run, because it will create competition and that competition is what will drive up wages of fighters; as well as the quality of MMA we get on our TV screens. 

* Edited at 02.14.2017, 1:04 PM ET *

@GreenHornet back in the day when wages were 2k+2k everyone was saying they at least should be 5k+5k then UFC upped it to 8k then 10k now people say it should be 15k when it hits 15k people will say 20k should be the minimum.

I completely disagree they have driven down the quality of the product. Fighters, fights, and the overall talent of MMA across the board is better than at any time in MMA history.

As for creating new stars When Liddell and Couture left that was it no more stars, then same with GSP and Anderson when they lost/left then people said that's it they will never have another star, then came Ronda and Conor and someday there will be another. There isn't enough room in the market for more than just a few big name stars at any given time. Despite all the arm chair business men spouting how UFC product is failing and is dying they have had their biggest PPV year ever and MMA is a mainstream sport.

The reason UFC pays more than Bellator is because they can afford to. UFC doesn't lose anyone they believe is truly valuable. UFC used the same tactic with Strikeforce. They let Strikeforce outbid them for talented fighters who don't move the needle eventually Strikeforce burried itself under a bloated payroll until they sold. Look at the guys Bellator has signed away, talentes guys but Bellator hasn't moved the needle with them.

Sports like MMA and Boxing will always have guys fighting for cheap because the supply of fighters outweighs the demand for fights, and fight slots available.

* Edited at 02.14.2017, 3:22 PM ET *

@bigj

"back in the day when wages were 2k+2k everyone was saying they at least should be 5k+5k then UFC upped it to 8k then 10k now people say it should be 15k when it hits 15k people will say 20k should be the minimum"

Are you honestly arguing for the freezing and stagnation of fighter wages?  When the UFC can legitimately afford to pay guys more?

"I completely disagree they have driven down the quality of the product. Fighters, fights, and the overall talent of MMA across the board is better than at any time in MMA history. "

The level of skill has improved greatly, don't get me wrong.  But no one showcases that.  Almost everyone, outside of a select few, fights way too safe.  Everyone is bland.  No one is interesting or an individual, which is further shined a spotlight on by the Reebok deal.  Plus the UFC stretches the roster way too thin by putting on way too many cards, as well as not building up the name value of fighters they already have because they always sign randoms from the regional circuit that have (at most) 5-6 fights to their name to fill out the prelims.  Like when was the last time we saw Darren Till?  Why have a guy and not give him a fight, especially when you sign a new fighter with no name value for the same price as Till?  Granted injuries may be a factor, but the UFC is overloaded with fighters.  IMO, if the UFC wants to keep considering themselves as "the gold standard in MMA", then they should be shelling out cash for the best of the best only.

"As for creating new stars When Liddell and Couture left that was it no more stars, then same with GSP and Anderson when they lost/left then people said that's it they will never have another star, then came Ronda and Conor and someday there will be another. There isn't enough room in the market for more than just a few big name stars at any given time. Despite all the arm chair business men spouting how UFC product is failing and is dying they have had their biggest PPV year ever and MMA is a mainstream sport. "

I'm not saying they are dying, I am saying they are relying too heavily on a strategy that is not beneficial long term.  And that strategy is banking on one to two megastars to always make bank and not supplementing them with any one else of note.  Sure GSP and Anderson were the main guys on top, but you also had names like Rampage, Bisping, Griffin, BJ, Florian, Brock, etc.  Who does the UFC have outside of Conor and Rousey? Nate, Bisping, and Jones when he isn't being a dumbass. That's it.

"The reason UFC pays more than Bellator is because they can afford to. UFC doesn't lose anyone they believe is truly valuable. UFC used the same tactic with Strikeforce. They let Strikeforce outbid them for talented fighters who don't move the needle eventually Strikeforce burried itself under a bloated payroll until they sold. Look at the guys Bellator has signed away, talentes guys but Bellator hasn't moved the needle with them"

Ryan Bader isn't truly valuable?  Rory MacDonald isn't truly valuable?  Sure they aren't megastars like Conor, but those are some pretty big names for the UFC to be letting go.  And who, might I ask you, will the UFC replace them with?  Jared Cannonier? Sheldon Westcott?  I don't know if you have noticed, but the UFC has been releasing a lot of valuable fighters from its roster like Mizugaki, Blanco, and Cirkunov (because why pay a top 5 LHW, amirite?) and they are going to dump even more.  While those names may not have the ability to do gangbusters on PPV like Rousey, they sure as **** can draw for TV and they can certainly draw more eyeballs than the "valuable" guys the UFC is trying to hold onto.

"Ryan Bader isn't truly valuable?  Rory MacDonald isn't truly valuable?  Sure they aren't megastars like Conor, but those are some pretty big names for the UFC to be letting go.  And who, might I ask you, will the UFC replace them with?  Jared Cannonier? Sheldon Westcott?  I don't know if you have noticed, but the UFC has been releasing a lot of valuable fighters from its roster like Mizugaki, Blanco, and Cirkunov (because why pay a top 5 LHW, amirite?) and they are going to dump even more.  While those names may not have the ability to do gangbusters on PPV like Rousey, they sure as **** can draw for TV and they can certainly draw more eyeballs than the "valuable" guys the UFC is trying to hold onto."

Ryan Bader is a good talented fighter. But he isn't a draw. He is valuable up to a certain dollar amount after that you wind up paying him more than he can generate. The odds of Bader ever being champion is slim and he is not super charismatic. He is worth more to Bellator than the UFC but the question remains can he be a draw and is the likely six figure deal they had to pay him going to generate enough ticket sales and high enough ratings to justify the cost.

Rory MacDonald is a good talented fighter as well. He had his title shots and fell short. He is probably the single most valuable fighter UFC gave up and Bellator likely paid top dollar for him. Whatever it was it was more than UFC thought he was worth it wasn't more than they could afford.

Mizugaki isn't really valuable he is 7-6 with the UFC, Blanco honestly is an overhyped journeyman.

@bigj

The point I am trying to make is that they are recognizable names (even Mizugaki and Blanco) that you can use to build up or have to job to build up new fighters into stars for your organization.

I agree with Hornet, they are relying on one or two stars and there is not much else. It's a shame.

* Edited at 02.15.2017, 6:56 AM ET *