One current issue in sports that has been going on under the radar long before I became a fan is fighter pay in the UFC. Contrary to popular belief, there is no other fighter in the UFC that comes close to earning as much money as Conor McGregor. Unarguably, McGregor opened to door to increases in pay because of the huge rise in publicity he brought to the sport. However, “the median income for an MMA fighter in the UFC was 65,800 in 2018.” I am an avid fan of the UFC. One of my aspirations is to work for ESPN doing marketing for MMA since they made a deal back in 2019. A main reason I became a fan was because of how pure the sport of Mixed Martial Arts is. These fighters dedicate and risk their lives every single day they train. But, the payment they receive is significantly less than most other professional sports.
To clarify, the average NFL salary is $2.1 million dollars. The average salary in the MLB is around $4.4 million dollars. NBA average salary increases every year and is now at $7.7 million dollars. Lastly, the WNBA even surpass average UFC fighter pay at $116,000 dollars a year. Additionally, if you make the UFC roster via Dana White’s Contender Series or The Ultimate Fighter show, you’re contract for your first five fights is $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win. This is comparable to the average minor league baseball salaries. Many non-MMA fans will argue it is because it is not known as a traditional sport. Even my parents constantly confuse the UFC with Vince McMahon’s WWE. Another reason this issue is relevant to me is because my best friend has dreams of becoming a professional fighter. He belongs to one of the top gyms on Long Island with former UFC fighters as his coaches. This issue of fighter pay became an interesting topic to me when me his head coach, former ranked featherweight Dennis Bermudez, could only afford a one bedroom apartment until the business at the gym picked up. It is very common for ranked fighters to have a job outside of fighting, which is unheard of in most professional sports. As a passionate fan of the UFC, researching fighter pay and seeing the truths about it is very sad to me. Ultimately, prizefighters are unfairly paid considering what they risk each time they step into the octagon.