Iain Kidd conducted this extremely interesting survey, asking anonymous UFC/MMA fighters questions about the new Reebok deal.
Kidd, a over at BloodyElbow, asked a series of questions to a group of fighters and recorded their responses. Below you will find a small excerpt from the results. Some really cool stuff here, check it out.
Question One
How much do you make, on average, per fight from your combined sponsors? If per-year is a better metric, that’s fine, too. A rough range (e.g $5,000-$10,000) is absolutely fine.
UFC Fighter & MMA Veteran: I used to make $15,000-$20,000 a fight. That was before the Reebok deal was announced.
Will lose $15,000-17,500 per fight.
UFC Top Contender: I made around $80,000 per fight before the Reebok announcement. That dropped to $35,000 for the last fight after the deal was announced.
Will lose $65,000-$70,000 per fight.
UFC Top Contender: I would make over $100,000 if the UFC didn’t reject so many of my sponsors. I made between $15,000 and $20,000 in my last fight.
Will lose $10,000-$17,500 per fight.
UFC Former Title Contender: I make $50,000-$60,000 per fight.
Will lose $50,000-$57,500 per fight.
UFC & MMA Veteran: I made around $15,000 per fight.
Will lose $5,000-$10,000 per fight.
Top UFC Prospect: I make around $20,000 per fight just now.
Will lose $15,000-$17,500 per fight.
Top UFC Prospect: I make around $15,000 per fight just now.
Will lose $10,000-$12,500 per fight.
Popular Former UFC & Strikeforce Fighter: Fighting for Strikeforce and the UFC, I made about $1,500-$3,000 per fight in sponsors.
Would have gained $1,000-$2,000 per fight on average.
Popular Former Strikeforce Fighter: The UFC sponsor tax lowered sponsorship fees everywhere. Before that, I would make $30,000-$40,000 per fight. Now I would make $5,000-$7,500 per fight. It’s a joke now.
Would lose $2,500-$5,000 per fight if they joined the UFC.
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QUESTION TWO
Are you happy with the Reebok deal since it means you don’t have to deal with sponsors personally/deal with sponsors who don’t pay?
UFC Fighter & MMA Veteran: No. I’m very unhappy about it.
UFC Top Contender: I’m not happy.
UFC Top Contender: This Reebok thing is fucking ridiculous.
UFC Former Title Contender: I am not happy with it.
UFC & MMA Veteran: I have no problem with it, and now I don’t have to get the sponsors myself. It’ll cost me a little money, but save me some time.
Top UFC Prospect: I never have to deal with that stuff any way, my management team do. So it makes no difference to me.
Top UFC Prospect: No, I’m not happy.
Popular Former UFC & Strikeforce Fighter: If I was still with the UFC I would certainly value the reliability in sponsorships after having to deal with shady companies and inconsistent managers throughout my career.
Popular Former UFC Veteran
Popular Former Strikeforce Fighter: Makes no difference to me.
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