WEC 37 Fighter Payouts

by Cannon Jacques on Dec 4, 2008 9:09 PM EST in News Comment 20 comments

Miguel Torres — $44,000 ($22,000 to show, $22,000 to win)
Manny Tapia — $6,000
Miguel Torres defeats Manny Tapia via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:04 of round two

Brian Bowles — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Will Ribeiro — $4,000
Brian Bowles defeats Will Ribeiro via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:11 of round three

Wagnney Fabiano — $22,000 ($11,000 to show, $11,000 to win)
Akitoshi Tamura — $6,000
Wagnney Fabiano defeats Akitoshi Tamura via submission (head and arm choke) at 4:48 of round three

Joseph Benavidez — $17,000 ($8,500 to show, $8,500 to win)
Danny Martinez — $2,000
Joseph Benavidez defeats Danny Martinez via unanimous decision

Johnny Hendricks — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Justin Haskins — $3,000
Johnny Hendricks defeats Justin Haskins via technical knockout (strikes) at 4:07 of round two

Mark Munoz — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Ricardo Barros — $3,000
Mark Munoz defeats Ricardo Barros via technical knockout (strikes) at 2:26 of round one

Diego Nunes — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Cole Province — $3,000
Diego Nunes defeats Cole Province via unanimous decision

Bart Palaszewski — $8,000 ($4,000 to show, $4,000 to win)
Alex Karalexis — $8,000
Bart Palaszewski defeats Alex Karalexis via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:49 of round two

Cub Swansn — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Hiroyuki Takaya — $5,500
Cub Swanson defeats Hiroyuki Takaya via unanimous decision

Shane Roller - $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Mike Budnik - $4,000
Shane Roller defeats Mike Budnik via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:01 of round one

According to the MMA Experts Blog, Cub Swanson and Hiroyuki Takaya each received a $7,500 bonus for "Fight of the Night." Bart Palaszewski and Brian Bowles received $7,500 bonuses as well for "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the NIght."

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Wow, the highest paid fighter received $44k… Maybe the WEC will pick up Gina Carano after all.

by nitro on Dec 4, 2008 9:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Those OK wrestler guys must have good representation. All the new guys have pretty good 1st fight deals and Munoz is making 10K to show for his 2nd fight.

by lbk on Dec 5, 2008 12:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Team Takedown.

by Simco on Dec 5, 2008 1:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Gotta love MMA

Where else can a pro sports organization pay a top athlete less than 50k for months of work.

by EazyEismydad on Dec 5, 2008 1:38 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Minor league baseball, arena football, professional lacrosse, wrestling, soccer, etc.

You don’t know how much they’re getting paid, so don’t whine about it.

by Phildo on Dec 5, 2008 7:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

why do people like you make such a big deal about others inquiring about the low pay for some fighters? I don’t understand your angle. Are you directly affiliated with WEC? If not, WTF do you care if someone is championing a fighter to make more $$$?

People like you boggle my mind. Do you understnad the risk these guys take and the long training process as well as costs out of their pocket the whole time?

You are so ignorant.

by lbk on Dec 5, 2008 10:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How much revenue does WEC bring in?

Why is it that McDonald’s workers make minimum wage but lawyers make more? Shouldn’t everyone get paid equally since they all contribute to the well being of a society and no one person is more important than the other?

by cyph on Dec 5, 2008 11:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

McDonalds workers? Isn’t that slightly apples and oranges? McDonalds workers aren’t slinging burgers on a PPV special now are they?

by lbk on Dec 5, 2008 2:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was comparing McDonald’s workers with lawyers.

And what PPV are the WEC fighters on again?

by cyph on Dec 5, 2008 7:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The WEC is paying guys a lot for taking part in shows next to no one watches. Even then, the guys in the fights absolutely no one sees on the event next to no one watches are making fantastic money. How many MMA fighters in untelevised events do you think make $20K?

by D.Capitated on Dec 5, 2008 11:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How am I ignorant?

I’m not the one who has no idea how much someone is making and asking for them to make more money.

And cut risk is complete bull. They are risking their lives, but they’re doing it by choice. They all know what they’re are getting into, they all feel they’re getting paid enough when they sign the contract, so that’s good enough for me. They don’t get paid enough to “risk their lives” by choosing to step into the cage, yet they get paid more than cops, fire fighters, and the military, all people that risk their lives for the greater good, so please spare me the risking their lives nonsense.

Everyone thinks Zuffa should pay more, and every company that has paid out more has, or is going out of business. The only logical conclusion is that Zuffa pays people the right amount.

by Phildo on Dec 5, 2008 11:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That’s bad logic. Zuffa pays fighters what they can get away with, not “the right amount”. A lot of forces act to keep MMA fighter pay depressed relative to other athlete pay in sports— smaller TV audiences, less lucrative advertising deals, fragmented fighter bargaining power, UFC’s position as the only top level show, etc.

Of course Zuffa doesn’t want to pay fighters any more than they have to— it’s money out of the company’s pocket. But that doesn’t mean this is the ideal Zuffa/fighter revenue split. It’s just the split that results from leverage between the two sides in negotiation. Zuffa is more profitable because of it, but that doesn’t mean they would go out of business if the leverage positions shifted.

by boxingstudent on Dec 5, 2008 12:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Employers generally don’t pay employees more than their market value. Zuffa is no different.

I’m with Phildo on the “risking their lives” argument. For better or worse, individuals that put their physical well being at risk aren’t compensated to the degree that others that don’t but whose skills are in high demand. While MMA fighters do risk their bodies, there are many others doing more dangerous jobs for less. Furthermore, many of these same people don’t get the acclaim that professional athletes do. I believe that this is a severely flawed argument that I’ll challenge at every opportunity.

by Cannon Jacques on Dec 5, 2008 1:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It’s also funny how people who regularly point out how safe MMA is compared to other sports are so quick to play the “risking their lives” card when arguing for higher pay.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Dec 5, 2008 2:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why do people like you make such a big deal about others defending the practice market value contracts? I don’t understand your angle. Are you directly affiliated with the fighters’ agents? If not, WTF do you care if someone is championing the rights of parties to agree to mutually beneficial contracts?

People like you boggle my mind. Do you understand the risk these companies take in investing their time and money on a product that there is relatively little demand for?

You are so ignorant.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Dec 5, 2008 2:11 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Dude are you for real? I think Zuffa is just fine. The guys making 3K to show are the ones that I am speaking up for.

Seriously, what is your angle? Why in the world would you take the side of a company like Zuffa that takes advantage of people regularly? Again, it’s just strange to me how quick most of you are to rush to Zuffa’s defense when it comes to paying fighters. Quite frankly, it’s a bit bizarre.

by lbk on Dec 5, 2008 2:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Guys, let’s not get involved in insulting one another. I don’t want this to get out of hand, and I certainly don’t want to have to ban anyone. Stick to criticizing the arguments and not the individuals.

by Cannon Jacques on Dec 5, 2008 2:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He’s just pointing out the foolishness of your post.

How many times does it have to be pointed out that these numbers are not accurate? You do not know that anyone actually got 3k to fight that night, and even if they did, that’s the amount they agreed to.

How many times can people completely disregard the fact that someone fighting for Zuffa will get a lot more in sponsorships than someone fighting for Super Awesome Cage Fighting because more people watch Zuffa broadcasts.

What about the fact that someone who signed a 3 fight 3k deal for Zuffa is in much better shape financially than someone who signed a 3 fight 20k deal with Elite.

When a majority of the fighters complain, then I’ll listen, but when the people leading the charge are making millions a year and don’t do anything to help out the people make 3k a year, I’ll continue to not give a shit.

by Phildo on Dec 5, 2008 2:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs