Making Money In Mma

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Myles Jury recently broke down the typical expenses for an MMA fighter and put it into perspective with what a fighter gets paid. For guys who are on a 10/10 contract (They get paid a guaranteed $10000 for showing up, and another $10000 if they win), they’re almost definitely forced to pay for the privilege of fighting in the world’s premiere MMA organization, and MIGHT break even when it’s all said and done.

If you are a huge fan of Conor Mcgregor then you know he is always earning a handsome deal of money in the MMA. But what about the other players? Is MMA a heavens arena for many players? For many fans out there, this may seem heaven. However, the payment system in MMA is a little complicated.

  1. The UFC was forced to double McGregor's income for his highly-publicized welterweight bout against Nate Diaz, where he pocketed $1,090,000. In the rematch, he made $3,090,000, the same as his next.
  2. In Making Money Moral: How a New Wave of Visionaries Is Linking Purpose and Profit, authors Judith Rodin and Saadia Madsbjerg explore a burgeoning movement of bold and ambitious innovators.These trailblazers are unlocking private-sector investments in new ways to solve global problems, from environmental challenges to social issues such as poverty and inequality.
  3. To make up for that, Reebok pays the UFC, which in turn pays each fighter an amount based on how many fights they’ve had in the UFC. This Reebok sponsorship pay is minuscule, and it can range from $3,500 per fight to $40,000, according to the MMA Guru.
  4. To make money in this league, you are obviously expected to be in great shape and spend a lot of time in the gym training, otherwise you would just get walked over in all your fights. The salary of the beginning pro’s is expected to rise by 7% by 2026, with the current median salary at around $26,115, with the lowest 10% only earning $19,000.

There are always some problems with the payment system. You cannot expect a rookie to hit a vast deal of money. But as a casual fan, you shouldn’t know those details. Anyway, if you think that the journey is always smooth, then you are in for a letdown. Today, we are going to discuss how much money do MMA fighters make?

How Much Money Can an MMA Fighter Make on Average?

Just like we said, star MMA fighters can make a fortune in many ways. There is an impact on the media and other things too. But when a new and rookie player joins the arena, the income is not that great. Yes, there is an essential paycheck for them. However, that is not a fortune. So, what is the average money any MMA fighters can make?

Well, based on our information, the average income for any MMA fighter is around 150k$ annually. Well, the average income may vary depending on their state. But we can say this after checking out the salary of top UFC or MMA players.

Well, the basic salary for any MMA player in UFC is around $15K. And if they fight outside UFC, they can earn about $25K a month. Around 499 MMA players are competing in the UFC now. Only a few star fighters can make approximately $140k margin. Otherwise, 40% of the UFC players are earning around $50k. The income depends on many factors. Such as how experienced they are, how popular they are among people, and how often they are fighting in the arena.

How Can an MMA Player Make Money?

For competitive sports like MMA, there are multiple ways a fighter can earn money. To be honest, when a fighter is inside the ring, opportunities come and go. Yes, there is a basic salary for every fighter. Besides that, there are other options, such as endorsement and sponsorships. Some even get to become a model or do commercials. There are a lot of opportunities to make money. Only the best performers come with potential and get the best opportunities.

Currently, 499 UFC men fighters and 86 women fighters are in the arena. Anyway, only 20 to 30% of these fighters have reached a 6 digit salary margin. Others are struggling but hanging in there. Sure, the income is less than most American households. That’s not a bad thing. Day by day, the popularity of MMA is increasing. So, there are a lot of opportunities to earn money.

Enough of all these chitchats. Let’s just check out how the MMA fighters can earn money.

Fighting

Well, you do know this fact already. Sure, they are going to earn a lot of money by fighting. However, there’s a catch in this. Not every player can fight every day and often. So, many MMA players earn money by how often they are playing. This is where we need to talk about their base income.

Just like we said, there are 499 men fighters in UFC and 86 women. Only a few famous players can earn a 6 digit income. On the other hand, most of the player are making less money than average American Households. Popularity is a significant factor here, and how often they are playing in the second.

For many people outside UFC, the base pay is around $25k or $20k. And after gaining a lot of experience and fan base, the base payment is always going to be higher. Currently, there are 15 championship titles, and they get good earning from that too.

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Sponsorship & Endorsement

Many UFC fans know that Reebok became an official sponsor in 2015. And from then on, every UFC night is sponsored by Reebok. UFC nights are essential for the sponsors. Because a lot of people are watching the game. But this is also a letdown for the players.

MMA or UFC players were always making a lot of money before Reebok came as a sponsor. After they arrived, many players were not satisfied. Even if Reebok is giving money to the players, that is not enough. But still, it is a way to make money.

Just for the contract, a lot of players cannot get their sponsorship in UFC. So, Reebok pays up for them. As they cannot get another sponsor, Reebok pays around $3500 to $4000 to each player. However, if there are any players outside UFC, they can always get a good sponsor.

MMA is mainly mixed martial art. So, there are many endorsement options. There are many companies like Modelo and bodyArmor that have few UFC players they endorse. And this is where the best people are picked. Every MMA player cannot get an endorsement.

Day by day, MMA is getting popular, and people are starting to feel the heat of this arena. More and more companies are using the fandom of UFC players to make their products appealing and accessible. If you check out Conor McGregor, you can tell what we mean.

Bonus, Fines, and PPV Points

Don’t get confused with the title. This one is not for every fighter in MMA. When fighters are playing in the arena during UFC nights, there are two awards after the night. One is called the “fight of the night” and the other is called the “performance of the night.” So, this is a great bonus. Only four fighters can get the gift, and the amount is around $50k. Even after rewards, some people get $100k. Yes, this is another way MMA fighters can make money. But for that, they need to outshine as a fighter.

Aside from that, we know about another type of bonus. It is known as a “backroom bonus.” Usually, these types of gifts are given without anyone knowing. So, we cannot tell you about the amount of money they get.

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Aside from the backroom bonus, there is an excellent system. When a fighter missed the weight, they are charged with a fine. Mainly, they fine a portion of the fighter’s salary. And the money is given to the opponent fighter. However, it is not happening too often. Still, this is a way to earn money as an MMA fighter.

Paid Commercials

Yes, UFC fighters cannot get a sponsorship now. And there is another option called an endorsement. Famous UFC players can get approval from popular brands. Thanks to paid commercials, a lot of MMA players can earn money. Not for famous brands, but they can make money from local business companies. There are local businesses around that need a familiar face to advertise their product. So they hire famous MMA players to introduce health products and many more. This is an excellent way for a lot of MMA players to earn cash.

How an MMA Player Gets Paid

So, there are a lot of ways UFC fighters get paid. Yes, we have discussed their income source. But we need to talk about the payment process now. This one is not that hard part, but the payment is in segments. Yes, no MMA fighter is going to get the money altogether. There are different functions and options for the payment segment. In this part, we are going to talk about them in brief.

Base Salary

As of now, you know that there is a base salary for each MMA player. The amount of the salary depends on the popularity, experience, and fandom of an MMA player. We have also discussed the necessary amount. Whether they win or lose, they will get a fair share of the money. Yes, it doesn’t work like; if you lose, you don’t get paid. Every fighter will get a fair share of their respective match. Before they join the competition, there is a contract. Players sign the contract and get paid for their game. The more experience they achieve, the more money they can make.

Win Bonus

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Just like we said, even if the fighter loses a match, he gets paid. But if he wins, there is a win bonus. Yes, many professionals are not fond of win bonuses. But everybody wants to make double earnings after winning a match or two. A win bonus was introduced to help fighters earn more money. Many players don’t receive a lot. Win bonus can be a blessing for them.

Sponsorship

We discussed this part a long time ago. Fighters from UFC cannot get personal sponsorship after 2015. UFC signed a contract with Reebok, and they are the official sponsor. Before that, it was smooth sailing for many players. They could get a kind of sponsorship and earn a lot of money on their own. Reebok is considering that thing and pays a fair amount of money on fight nights. So, they get paid for that. We cannot include endorsement in this list because that is not from UFC. Instead, it is from the personal contract of a fighter.

Fines

MMA is very strict about maintaining the rules. Mixed martial arts are risky for the fighters, and they have to keep the order. Sometimes, when the fighters are not supporting the rules, he is fined. Only a portion of his salary is taken away. And the money is given to the opponent fighter. Another way to get paid and this one is quite rare. The amount may not be too much. For many fighters, this is a good and lucky way to get paid.

Fight Night Bonus

For many fighters, fight night bonus is the best thing in the game. Every fight night, 4 players get a fight-night bonus. There are two prices for that. One is called the “best fight of the night award” and the other is known as “best performance of the night award.”Yes, you know this by now. The amount of money starts from $50k to $100k. Yes, there will always be a crazy fight, and the crowd will go wild with excitement. For those performances, a fighter is awarded the “fight of the night” award with an additional $50k paycheck. On the other hand, the “best performance of the night” award is a tough one.

Who is the Highest Paid MMA Fighter?

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Only a few players can earn a lot of money from MMA fights. Over the year, some of them became a worldwide celebrity. Conor McGregor is one of the highest-paid and famous MMA fighters. I didn’t even have to spell the name for you. You know this by now. His overall earnings are around $3.06 million. Well, the day he made the highest earning of his life, he lost the match. Thanks to Conor, MMA is now a much better place for many players. He is an idol for many fighters, and the game is getting popular thanks to him.

After Conor, Jon Jones is the highest paid MMA player in the world. His earning is around $540,000.

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How Conor McGregor Gets Paid?

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Well, Conor lost a match against Khabib. That time his base salary was 3000,000$. And he got $40000 from Reebok. At that time, he made the highest-earning in MMA history. This stat shows us a good picture of how Conor is getting paid from MMA fights. Yes, we do not include the amount of money he gets from an endorsement. We are talking about his struggles.

Final Verdict

Many people are starting to like MMA fights. And now more fighters are joining the game. It is not easy to get Fame and cash in these days. Yes, hard work is essential. But when people think you get money just for entering the cage – you are wrong. MMA payment is much complicated for regular MMA fans to understand. However, if you are getting good interest in the game, you know how the payment system works. The fighting arena is intense, and the payment is not so shiny for many fighters. Luck, performance and right opportunity is the key here. So, what do you think now?