long ass post, but for those interested in the pay talk ....
the biggest issue with UFC fighter pay IMO is the shady way they "share" PPV revenue with main event talent. for starters, any talent that makes the main card for a PPV (not counting prelims) should be allowed to share on the revenue generated via PPV buys and live gate. now obviously the opening fight on the card isn't going to get the same percentage share as the main event, but you get the idea. even if that share for the opening fight is 2% of the revenue, that's a huge number when you're dealing with tens of millions of dollars. unfortunately though none of this is the case because only select stars get to share on the PPV revenue.
a lawsuit against the UFC years ago gave a peak into just how shytty the PPV revenue share is with that company. only select fighters who are current champions and in the main event of the fight can share on PPV revenue. very, VERY few big name stars have broken past that rule and got a share of the PPV despite being a challenger (Conor, Nate Diaz, Lesnar, and maybe a few others over time). basically if you're one of the lucky champions who gets to share on PPV revenue, the formula is broken down as follows,
up to 200,000 PPV buys = $1 per buy
200,000-600,000 PPV buys = $2 per buy
600,000 and more PPV buys = $3 per buy
with that formula, the UFC basically protects themselves from ever having to share a large piece of the pie even with massive PPV's that do over 1 million buys. examples below,
250,000 PPV buys = $300,000 share to fighter ($1 per first 200,000 buys = 200k, $2 per the 50,000 buys afterwards = 100k)
500,000 PPV buys = $800,000 share to fighter ($1 per first 200,000 buys = $200k, $2 per the 300,000 buys afterwards = $600k)
1.5 Million PPV buys = $3.7 Million share to fighter ($1 per first 200,000 buys = $200k, $2 per 200,000-600,000 buys = $800,000, $3 per 600,000+ buys = $2.7 Million)
now on the flip side looking at total PPV revenue at $60 per buy and (not counting live gate) for the above numbers versus what the main event fighter earned.
250,000 PPV buys = $15,000,000 in PPV revenue
Main Event Fighter earned = $300,000 in PPV share
500,000 PPV buys = $30,000,000 in PPV revenue
Main Event Fighter earned = $800,000 in PPV share
1.5 Million PPV buys = $90,000,000 in PPV revenue
Main Event Fighter earned = $3.7 Million in PPV share
IMO a "fair" share breakdown would be 55% for UFC and 45% for the fighters on the main card. the UFC are the ones who have to finance the entire operation, insurance, arena rent, advertising, etc. and that money adds up big time well into the millions. they deserve the majority share, but certainly not the current bullshyt 80+% share that they are getting.
