As the sport grows it is the only logical outcome. At some point the UFC will not be able to support enough fighters and they will go to other organizations.
The problem is that, right now, to most of the casual fans, UFC = MMA. Many of my friends, who watch MMA events and come over for PPVs and stuff, thought that Fedor and Werdum were fighting on a UFC card for who got to face Lesnar. They were confused as to why Joe Rogan wasn’t announcing. As long as Dana White (who I give plenty of respect to as a brilliant businessman for the stranglehold he has on the branding) keeps UFC synonymous with MMA in the minds of many fans, fighter pay won’t go up, because the competition won’t be there.
Part of the problem is that there is also so much volatility in MMA cards, because they get injured so often during training. Big boxing matches rarely get changed because one of the headliners gets hurt in training. In MMA, this happens every other card.
If GSP wanted to fight Anderson Silva, they could get an independent promoter to put that fight on and draw 400k PPV buys with a bunch of no-names filling out the rest of the card, and they could make 5 mil a piece off that fight. The problem would be that the guy who loses would be kind of screwed as he would lose major drawing power and wouldn’t have the UFC to go back to. So right now, I think it’s too risky for somebody to leave, because the branding of the UFC name is so strong that it cuts out viable competition. Eventually competition will emerge or they will unionize, it’s a matter of time and it has happened in all sports.
[quote]Schwarzfahrer wrote:
Zeb, you don’t think Zuffa will inflate a promising champion via money like they do in the NBA, FIFA etc, at some point in the future?
It certainly paid out for them.[/quote]
I don’t think Dana White and company will ever pay even one thin dime more than they have to in order to get two skilled men inside of a cage to engage in combat.
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
If GSP wanted to fight Anderson Silva, they could get an independent promoter to put that fight on and draw 400k PPV buys with a bunch of no-names filling out the rest of the card, and they could make 5 mil a piece off that fight.[/quote]
Well, except Dana probably has clauses in both their contracts to prevent that. They probably owe him a certain number of fights, and then may have to resign or take a year off to fight without huge penalties. Whether or not such a noncompete agreement would stand up in court is uncertain, but try to get signed to a non-UFC fight with a legal battle like that over your head.
Further, the UFC would blacklist them, and any fighter who was on the card. The entire undercard would have to admit that they were never going to go to the UFC, and would have to accept even lower earnings than a UFC noname. So the overall effect right now of two major fighters in a highly competitive weight class going rogue would only be to lower the overall fighter pay for one big retirement payday for the two of them. And Zuffa are the assholes?
[quote]Schwarzfahrer wrote:
I think we are only repeating arguments at this point.
So let me repeat mine 
No, really, I think it’s something most here underestimate: the power of a high paid hero.
Many heroic athletes are overpaid for reasons you could call Marketing and also PR.
It’s crazy how effective that is.
Once you’re the most “expensive” athlete or among the top, EVERYONE looks at you and it’s only getting easier maintaining that aura - at least as along performance is good.
Such a guy is definitely harder to come by in MMA then in Baseball or Boxing, where every great fighter is fed cans for at least half of his matches.
[/quote]
I agree with you for sure… I was just making that point for whoever was saying the garbage about they make money from sponsorships or recognition etc… for their gyms.
No other athletes have to go the back alley route to make money and hopefully in the future mma guys won’t either.