Couture, Sylvia, Ortiz vs White

by lal385 on May 29, 2008 7:47 PM EDT

I think we need to address an important issue here. The UFC is a great organization because it brought MMA to the forefront and continually delivers exciting fights.

That said, as the sport evolved, the UFC tightened its stranglehold on the fighters, whose salaries have not grown in proportion to the sport in general. Think about this; Randy Couture (arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time) wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko (arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time). This is the best match up conceivable, but because the UFC has a tight leash on Randy, they deny him the fight. That way, they keep fighters in check, passive, and under their thumbs because when a fighter gets too big it threatens their monopoly. They want them right in the middle; big enough to promote the UFC but small enough not to pose a threat.The UFC keeps a hand under the fighter’s chin to keep him from drowning, but not to lift his head out of water. As a result, the fighters are cheated out of knowing who the best heavyweight really is and the fans are cheated out of a dream match up.

Consider Tito Ortiz (regardless your opinion of him today, you cannot deny he carried the UFC through the lean years), who is also leaving now. The company keeps the pie and the fighters get the crumbs. Tim Sylvia, same story. On the surface, it seems like the UFC is nurturing MMA, but from the perspective of the fighters (the people who are the sport), they train just as hard, if not harder, than most professional athletes, perform for sold-out crowds in arenas or on tv for 44.99$ per event, only to see the corporate ranks keep 99% of the revenue and let the fighters split the other 1%. Can you blame them for being dissatisfied?

In the past, salary (or lack thereof) was a motive to avoid a career in MMA. It is undoubtedly very much improved today, but still nowhere near where it should be. Dana White made over 24$ million last year; more than every fighter combined. If Anderson Silva fought Roy Jones Jr. (a bout he's asked permission for) his cut would be enough to change his life. But the UFC won’t let him and they'll release Couture, Sylvia, and Ortiz before they let them stir up other fighters to revolt. They need to recognize there is no UFC without the fighters, so they should be paid just as well as other professional athletes (or at least in proportion to their contribution). If the UFC doesn’t loosen up this Nazi Germany style of running their company, they will continue to lose fighters to new organizations that will wisen up and reward fighters their due pay.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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Ummmmm

Ortiz made almost 6 million dollars in 06. I wouldnt call that crumbs. Also, they dont release fighters so that they cant revolt. Fighters cant cause a revolt, they are under contract. In my opinion, if the fighters dont like the money they are offered, they can choose to go elsewhere.

Dont get me wrong, I am all for a fighter getting every dime they can get. They are the ones putting their health and the future of their families on the line. They do however, know before going in how much they will get paid. If they sign the contract, then they should fulfill it.

by Brandon Jones on May 29, 2008 11:06 PM EDT reply actions

“If they sign the contract, then they should fulfill it.”

My sentiments exactly…Couture knew Fedor wasn’t in the UFC before he signed that contract…he should have fulfilled it…then tried to fight Fedor. Just think, if he had done so…he would be retired by now.

by Tha Realness on May 30, 2008 12:47 PM EDT reply actions

I don't even know where to begin on this topic. I could write a 25 page report, but I will spare you.

First off, this isn’t about, as he says it is, “Respect”, and it’s not about being treated “fairly”. It is about pride and money.

Do you think Tito would be satisfied if Dana meant it, then came out and said, “Tito, you have all my respect. You have been one of the best fighters in MMA for years now, and the UFC is very greatful for everything you have done. Your respect has been earned, and we give it to you.”?

The answer is clearly, “No”. Tito would still be asking for his “Respect” in a dollar amount.

Tito got paid $210,000 dollars for losing to Machida. $210 Thousand dollars!! This isn’t even mentioning the possible bonuses he could have won or the thousands of dollars he has for endorsements and whatnot. So my question is this?

Given the fact that most people on this planet will never see anywhere near that amount of money in their name, how much will it take for Tito to feel good about himself?

The short answer to this question is… No amount will ever satisfy anyone who puts a dollar amount on such things as “Respect”

Greed is Tito’s and everyone elses problem that cannot be satisfied with that amount of money. I wish that my problems were of that magnitude. Life would be good.

Why can’t people be happy with what they have? Why can’t people simply enjoy the fact that they are famous, have thousands of fans, are a household name, good at what you do, and are living a life that others can only dream about? Why do they always have to have more?

I can’t disagree with the writer of this topic more. You have it all wrong, as most people do. This is not about Dana making money. So he makes a lot of money. He is the CEO of a large company, he should make more money. Without him, no one makes money. So who cares how much he makes, it’s none of your business anyway. You will never be satisfied thinking that success is always having more than the other guy. You will never be happy when your happiness is based on how much money you get paid, ever.

Reguardless of what anyone else gets paid, $210,000 is an enormous amount of money that he can earn 3 or 4 times a year. People like that, like Tito, deserve whatever they get. And hopefully one day they will be satisfied with what they get, but I have my doubts.

by unethikal on May 30, 2008 1:18 PM EDT reply actions