At first sight, UFC may seem like a sport where there is no shortage of money. But the harsh reality is that it doesn’t matter how much money circulates through the entire empire of UFC, the fighters remain underpaid. Only about 20 fighters out of more than 2500 fighters actually make millions. Some other fighters even struggle to make their ends meet.
Top Earners of UFC in Comparison to Other Sports
By comparing the Net worth of UFC fighters with other sports athletes, we can see the clear difference between the reality of payment in this business in the same way that one might compare between top online casinos for real money in Canada.
Here is the list of top 5 earners in the UFC:
-
Conor McGregor (Net worth: $110 million) is an Irish professional MMA fighter in the UFC.
-
Rorion Gracie (Net worth: $50 million) is the co-founder of the UFC.
-
Georges St-Pierre (Net worth: $30 million) is the three-time former Welterweight Champion of the UFC.
-
Brock Edward Lesnar (Net worth: $28 million) is the former UFC Heavyweight Champion.
-
Jay Dee Penn (Net worth: $22 million) won both the Lightweight and Welterweight UFC Championships.
Here is the list of top 5 earners of Boxing:
-
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Net worth $380 million)
-
George Foreman (Net worth $250 Million)
-
Manny Pacquiao (Net worth $200 Million) And Oscar De la Hoya (Net worth $200 Million)
-
Lennoxx Lewis (Net worth $130 Million)
-
Sugar Ray Leonard (Net worth $120 Million)
The difference between their earnings and net worth is quite clear, and this goes to show that the UFC fighters are definitely underpaid.
Secrets Behind the Growth & Popularity of UFC
Over the past 27 years, UFC has been evolving drastically, at first many critics considered it a barbaric sport but with time and efforts from UFC, MMA became far more organized. Till date, UFC has held 500 events in total. White's stewardship took UFC to new heights and made it a globally popular multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
Early Start and First Limelight
The first-ever UFC event was held in 1993, in Denver, Colorado. At first, the organizers of UFC thought that the purpose of the Ultimate Fighting Championship competitions was to identify the most effective, powerful and efficient martial art through a contest. In the beginning, there were no weight classes, and there were minimal rules. But this was not the break that made UFC famous all over the world. There was a legendary fight between “Stephan Bonnar vs Forrest Griffin I” in TUF 1 Finale. This fight was the key to the success of UFC. After this fight UFC was listed on the list of one of the well-organized sports. This epic fight was broadcasted live on Spike TV at that time.
Innovative Advertisement was the Key
The marketing played a vital role in the great success of UFC popularity. UFC has been doing a great job displaying their passion-filled fights in the right way to its targeted audience. They relentlessly promoted their fighters, events, TV shows, publications and merchandise in the best way possible in every outlet like T.V, magazines, Radio, pamphlets, Newspaper, etc. Let's be honest, who does not like to fight, and see others fight? It is in our human nature to fight or get excited when we see a fight. The UFC was the window from where the world can actually enjoy the thrill and honest mix martial arts, with aggressive advertising they filled their plates completely with fans.
The fight that changed the Game Forever
The fight between “Stephan Bonnar vs Forrest Griffin” in TUF 1 Finale was the game-changer one for UFC. It was this fight that actually put UFC on the list of one of the few extraordinary sports. Their match was stuffed with high-grade martial arts with back-to-back combos. It was broadcasted live on Spike TV at that time.
Anticipated Duel between Two Former Champions
The fight between “Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva” during UFC 79 was one of the most anticipated fights ever in the history of UFC. They both were former champions of this game, and fans were super excited to see them pounding each other. They were both cheered hard when they entered the octagonal ring.
The Awesome Draw match of UFC
During the UFC 125 lightweight title fight, there was an impressive draw between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard. In the first round, Edgar took some severe hits from Maynard, but he withstood them and started his counterattacks in the second round. Both of these rounds were so extraordinary that fans still remember it. In the end, the fight ended in a draw.
One of the Biggest Comebacks in the History of UFC
The fight between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen was one of the best matches of UFC 117. The powerhouse Sonnen stunned his fans when he powered through Silva for almost five full rounds. Almost everyone thought that the match was over. However, in the final round, Silva made an epic comeback when he pulled off a spectacular triangle-armbar to rewin his championship title.
2 Up-Kick Finishes in the History of UFC
If we look at the history of UFC matches, then we will find various incredible knockouts using different martial art techniques. But there are only two matches in the history of the UFC where the match was decided by the all-mighty “Up-Kick”. Kicking while lying down is not as easy as you might think, even though Jon Fitch and Niko Price made it look easy by generating a powerful upward thrust only with their legs.
Matches at a Glance
-
On June 28, 2006, during a UFC Fight Night, Jon Fitch dealt a deadly up-kick to Thiago Alves. This match was a part of a non-televised preliminary card.
-
Niko Price knocked out James Vick last October at the UFC Tampa. That up-kick was the ticket for the title of “Performance of the Night” and a neat cheque of $50,000.
As we all know, Jon Fitch and Niko Price are no ordinary fighters, but they both had something in common, and that is their love for fighting. Jon Fitch in 2018 dropped to Welterweight because Fitch was a top contender of Welterweight. He uses kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling in his matches. On the other hand, we have Niko Price who uses various kinds of martial arts in his fights, but his stronghold is Brazilian jiu-jitsu because he has a brown belt in it. Price won the title of “Performance of the Night” four times in his career, while Niko Price won the title of “The Hybrid”.
Final thoughts
There is no doubt that the excitement of this sport will always draw the crowds, however for a UFC fighter to earn more than a decent wage they need to be at the top of their game and in the top 30 fighters. However, for those that follow this sport it is one of a kind and all of the memorable fights from the very first event in 1993 will mean we will be hooked to find the next Georges St-Pierre or Conor McGregor.