The Fighter Pay Debate

Most MMA fans are probably aware of the recent debate about fighter pay in the UFC provoked by a critical episode of their OutsideThe Lines programme. Here's my take;

1. You may criticise me for being overly pro-UFC but I really don't think that Dana and the Fertitta's are in it for the money. It's clear these guys love the sport and if anyone can help MMA grow into the sporting mainstream it's them. The Fertitta's sunk millions of dollars into the UFC when it wasn't making money, they didn't do that so that they could rip off fighters for a few thousand later on.

2. As discussed in the UFC's official response to the programme, not all fighter pay is disclosed, discretionary bonuses are common, the bottom line is that if you perform you make money, who can argue with that?

3. The top guys get percentages of pay per views and earn millions, exactly as it should be, it's a meritocracy, but even middle ranking fighters can make money. Chris Lytle earned 10 fight bonuses in his career, that's over $700k just in disclosed bonuses and this guy never fought for a title.

4. Being part of the UFC gives fighters incredible exposure. The millions of dollars spent on marketing does filter down to the men in the ring. It allows them to sell banner and clothing sponsorship for thousands of dollars. It gives them access to deals with clothing companies like Tap Out and Affliction. How many fighters own their own gyms or schools? What better publicity for your gym then being a current UFC fighter.

5. UFC fighters get paid for publicity and PR events. Matt Mitrione talked on the MMA hour about getting a cheque in excess of $10000 (which he accidentally left in a taxi) from a UFC corporate event.

6. The UFC has just introduced free health care for all fighters, purely at their own expense. Is this the move of a ruthless corporate giant that takes advantage of its employees?

7. The report claimed that they spoke to 20 UFC fighters (none of whom wished to be identified) who criticised UFC pay. Firstly, even if this is true you can get someone to "criticise" almost anything depending on how the question is phrased. Secondly I work in recruitment, and I guarantee you that every company I deal with has at least 25% of its employees that feel they are underpaid. It's human nature

8. They used Ken Shamrock to validate their argument.....enough said.


Don't get me wrong I think that it's an interesting debate, but this programme seemed vindictive and half assed.

UFC 142 A Crazy Night

There's no wonder that MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world with crazy action/incident packed cards like UFC 142! Here are some of my thoughts.

1. Anyone at middle weight fancy tangling with Rousimar Palhares? No seriously, any takers? What no one? This guy is a little gorilla who can beat anyone in that division if he can grab hold of a limb.....a scary human being.

2. Barboza's KO will be replayed for years to come. Etim fell like a toppled statue, it was terrifying and hilarious at the same time. If this guy can prove he can handle the attention of an elite wrestler he'll be in title contention before too long.

3. The Belfort v Johnson fight was a little weird following all the antics at the weigh ins. I loved the fact that Vitor overcame some adversity to win the fight. I think he'll get another shot at Anderson eventually, he's a top fighter. It's being reported that Johnson has been cut from the UFC. This might do him some good. He's undoubtedly talented but needs to learn some professionalism and humility, this might just be the catalyst. One thing that needs mentioning in a night full of controversy is the two "stand ups" from Dan Miragliotta. The first one was earlier than I've ever seen him stand two fighters up but Johnson wasn't being overly active so I kind of let it slide. The second one when Johnson was on top working the head and the body was unbelievable. He's never stood two fighters up like that before. If I were a conspiracy theorist it would be easy to imagine someone having a word in his ear to the effect of " whatever happens don't let Johnson lay on him for three rounds", especially after what happened at the weigh ins.

4. Firstly before I talk about the controversy Erick Silva is a beast. He comes into the ring with a rare intensity, like Wanderlei of old. This kid has a huge future in the UFC. For what it's worth I thought it was a poor decision to disqualify him from Yamazaki. In my mind there was only one clear blow to the back of the head and in any scramble one or two will slip through, we see this in so many fights, event after event, it's unavoidable. For me the rule is to stop someone deliberately hammering away to the back of an opponents head. Despite this we really can't have Joe Rogan (who I love by the way) chastising referees in the ring immediately after the fight. It's unprofessional, Yamazaki made what he felt was the right call in the heat of the moment.

5. I'm really starting to appreciate just how good Jose Aldo is. I thought Mendes would push him but he never got close. Aldo's take down defence was most impressive, he could be champ for a while. It only added to the craziness of the night when he ran into the crowd after the fight nearly causing a riot.

Bye Bye Brock

So UFC 141 is all over and so is Brock Lesnars MMA career. I have to hold my hands up and admit that I called this one wrong. I really thought that Brock would take The Reem down and pound him out. The fight itself was weird, Brocks heart just wasn't in it he seemed content to take his punishment and get the hell out of there, no doubt with a healthy pay cheque to boot. His admission after the fight that he had intended to retire if he lost or after one more fight if he won shed some light on his lacklustre performance. I think fans have every right to feel a little short changed, in the pre fight hype Brock was talking about becoming the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time now he had his health back. In reality he was just selling some extra PPV buys for his final appearance. Fair play, he won and defended (twice) the belt and brought excitement and media attention to the UFC but it wasn't a great way to bow out.

Overeem on the other hand can't be faulted, he turned up, looked super confident, was aggressive and now has a chance to be the UFC heavyweight champ. I still don't think he answered the question about how he would handle an elite wrestler. One half hearted single leg attempt from Brock didn't even cause him to break sweat. One thing that struck me as weird was the UK flag on the fighter head to head graphic. He may have been born in London and we'd love to claim him as our own but the guy is a proud Dutchman.

Nate Diaz looked awesome in his destruction of "The Cowboy". His last two performances have been great. I have to say I'm really warming to the Diaz brothers, they are both really exciting to watch. I like the animosity and intensity they bring to the cage. That's what I tune in to see. Neither of them have answered the question of how they can deal with an elite wrestler yet but that test will come again soon enough.

Speaking of elite wrestlers Johny Hendricks scored a super KO win over Jon Fitch. It was a great left hand strike and I have no concerns about the stoppage. Fitch was out. I have to say I do feel a little sorry for Jon Fitch, I think he kinda got screwed by the UFC with this match up. It's clear he has few friends in the UFC hierarchy and that is partly to do with his own outspoken nature and "practical" (boring) fighting style. This guy has to win twice as many fights as anyone else to get back into title contention despite being most peoples No 2 ranked WW (prior to this fight). Fitch should not have been fighting anyone outside the top 10, this was a clear lose/lose situation and a horrible stylistic match up. I can't help but think that Dana White would've been secretly rubbing his hands with glee at this result.