Before Zuffa purchased the UFC in 2001, there was never more than seven events in a single year. Then in 2005, there was 10. In 2008 there was 20. In 2011, 27. Now, between the UFC, Strikeforce, and Bellator there is an average of about an event per week.
So can it get any better? It’s pretty obvious that it can.
Any discussion about future fighters versus current fighters is usually centered around the thought that today’s fighter typically comes from a single discipline, such as wrestling or BJJ, and builds their skill set around that one dominating aspect (like a Matt Hughes). Tomorrow’s fighter will have started training in all areas of MMA and will be a hybrid man-beast capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound—such as Rory MacDonald.
There is some validity to that line of thought, but the fact that many young fighters are starting out training in every aspect of the sport doesn’t take away the reality that NCAA wrestlers and BJJ champions will continue to enter the sport in droves.
And why? Because of financial incentives.
The correct way to look at the question of whether or not tomorrow’s fighters will transcend today’s is not from a skill-set point of view, but rather from an economic one.
In 2011, the median annual salary in the U.S, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was roughly $45,000. The average UFC salary was twice that amount—without even counting such unknowns as sponsorship dollars, pay- per-view percentages and unreported bonuses (via MMA Manifesto).
Sure, the upper percentile earners are what kick that figure up so high, but that’s reflective of the greater economy. A CEO may earn $20 million, while the guy who empties his garbage earns $20,000.
It doesn’t change the fact that there is a great incentive for athletes to get into fighting—not because they’re guaranteed a high salary, but because the opportunity is there to earn substantially more than in some boring office job, and should they rise to the top of the heap, they can make millions.
It’s the same with any profession. Just going to law school doesn’t guarantee you a six-figure salary. However, being a successful lawyer does.
The one absolute truth in economics is that people respond to incentives. Viewed through that lens, the decision to pursue a fighting career is one that will become more popular as long as the potential to earn a lot of money exists.
Because higher salaries entice more people into certain jobs, it makes sense that the pool of athletes seeking a fighting career will only grow in the future. That expands the talent pool, which in turn increases the chances that more phenomenal athletes will get into MMA in the future.
It’s difficult to look at an Anderson Silva, or a GSP, and imagine a fighter ever transcending them. But not very long ago, the same was thought of Fedor and Chuck Liddell. Then all of a sudden, a guy like Jon Jones comes along and reminds us that aside from an anomaly here and there, even the most indestructible athletes of yesteryear seem mortal when compared to the latest young wunderkind.
This is just the start.
As MMA continues to grow around the world, the financial incentives will become greater, and more and more young athletes will decide to pursue fighting as a career. This generation of fighters has been phenomenal and lifted the sport to where it is today. It’s almost too exciting to think of what the next generation will bring.
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