Do UFC fighters get just 7% of the pie? Anik and Schaub debate salary, revenue share

Silverball said:
Anik: I know there were some internal conversations recently about that topic, and about that percentage. Rest assured that Lorenzo Fertitta and the others... by large want to do good by the fighters. This whole notion that there's this greed going on, it's not the case... There's really not an appreciation for the whole operation, and the machine, and the costs involved, and moving into new territories, and the money they've spent on New York City to try and get that done.

Schaub: You know what Jon, and I don't mean to interrupt you, but I just don't care. I'm the one dealing with the head trauma. I'm the one dealing with the injuries. I'm with the one that has an average career one and a half years with the UFC. By the time they get that going, for everyone fighting right now, it's not going to matter to us.
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This is very telling statement. Ufc is working to grow their business and to do that it takes capitol that would otherwise go to the fighters. Not to mention what the insurance the ufc and nobody else offers costs on top of the crazy drug testing they do. The fighters of course want that part of the pie. It's completely understandable. That said schuab or any other fighter for that matter feels undervalued they are more then welcome to fight out his contract and find out exactly what his value is worth.
 
Kingtony87 said:
Ufc is working to grow their business and to do that it takes capitol that would otherwise go to the fighters.
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It's certainly understandable they want to grow---but their ambition has been very unreasonable so far. Waiting for UFC Jamaica any day now.
 
Zeph said:
Well, it's not a fact. It's Florian's opinion that some checks like that are being cut, but there has been no proof. The largest one I've heard about is 300k to Shane Carwin for the Lesnar fight, which did 1.16mil buys. Boxers often make 7-8 digits headlining fights which do over 1mil buys.
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Did Carwin really only get $300,000 bonus for the Lesnar fight? That is very telling if it is fact.
 
I really like what @WoodenPupa has added to this thread. The only thing I would add past what he has been saying is that this company started with people who just wanted to fight and prove themselves. Sure, they weren't paid much, but most of those guys weren't in it for the money. Now that the company HAS grown to be more than just a Gracie theater, it needs to remember that without the fighters, there is no UFC. I'm sure it could fire every fighter right now and hire scrubs, but who would watch? Would you? It's at this point that it really needs to start taking care of the fighters, before they are forced to.

Continuing on this path is leading to two outcomes: a fighter union or government intervention. Sure, you can say that people like Sage and Wonderboy are happy where they are with the money they are getting, but they are the bottom tier. Until the top tier actually starts speaking out, or until people who have a powerful voice and and have no ulterior motives to out the UFC (former fighters like Florian, Schaub, GSP, and Sonnen) start speaking out, I don't think things will change.

It's kind of a scary time right now. The Fertitas sound like they want out of the business altogether - if they ever really wanted to be in it at all - and Dana has certainly taken a huge step back from where he was just two years ago. I'm wondering if those three aren't just going to jump ship soon, having made all the money they think they will make from it. Reebok is paying them, Fox is paying them, and they're possibly thinking this is as good as it's gonna get before something steps in and creates more trouble than it's worth (lawsuits, government regulation, fighter union, some upstart commission changing a bunch of things).

If I were a gambler, I'd bet there are some big changes coming for the UFC shortly after 200.
 
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