Alvey: UFC Is Doing Everything It Can To Boost Fighter Pay

Former UFC light heavyweight Sam Alvey has once again spoken out in support of the promotion’s fighter pay structure. This past weekend, Alvey’s Octagon tenure came to an unceremonious end at the hands of Micha? Oleksiejczuk. The final bout…

Former UFC light heavyweight Sam Alvey has once again spoken out in support of the promotion’s fighter pay structure. This past weekend, Alvey’s Octagon tenure came to an unceremonious end at the hands of Micha? Oleksiejczuk. The final bout of the veteran’s contract came to a close in less than two minutes, with the Polish…

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UFC President Dana White Gifts Nelk Boys YouTuber $250,000 In Cash For Birthday Present

Dana WhiteFootage has emerged of UFC president, Dana White, gifting a Nelk Boys content creator a cash gift of $250,000 – resulting in major backlash across social media amid the ongoing fighter pay issue in the promotion, and calls for fighters to form a long-awaited, union.  Dana White, the promotional head honcho, has received mass criticizm […]

Dana White

Footage has emerged of UFC president, Dana White, gifting a Nelk Boys content creator a cash gift of $250,000 – resulting in major backlash across social media amid the ongoing fighter pay issue in the promotion, and calls for fighters to form a long-awaited, union. 

Dana White, the promotional head honcho, has received mass criticizm across social media amid the ongoing issue of fighter pay and unfair compensation issued from the organization from a total revenue earned. 

Footage emerged on Monday night from the Twitter account of content creator and Nelk Boys members, Kyle Forgeard, in which he opens a parcel issue by White – before receiving a bag containing $250,000 as a birthday gift as Dana White smiles in joy.  

Receiving mass criticizm as a result – White was criticized for his decision to gift Forgeard $250,000 in cash, while fighters under the promotion’s banner continue to struggle to make ends meet, with many in recent months opening GoFundMe pages in order to fundraise payments for camp, travel, and other expenses in order to just compete under the promotion’s scrutiny. 

Dana White has been widely blasted for the rising issue of UFC fighter pay

Rarely pressed significantly on the issue of fighter pay, the opportunity to address the rising and notorious issue in person was unavailable over the course of this month, with White failing to attend UFC 276 during International Fight Week and its pre-fight press conference, as well as the promotion’s ceremonial weigh-ins. 

Taking umbrage with White’s decision to gift Forgeard, UFC alum and professional flyweight, Louis Smolka urged combatants to form a fighters union. 

“When we starting the union bois (sic),” Louis Smolka tweeted.

White’s recent gift comes off the back of calls from UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, for an increase in revenue received by fighters, as well as an increase in his fight purse before a targeted title fight against T.J. Dillashaw. 

Sterling also questioned one-time lightweight title challenger, Michael Chandler for undermining the issue of fighter pay, when the Kill Cliff FC staple claimed that White had numerous sleepless nights in order to help the UFC succeed, while fighters just needed to train and fight. 

World Fighting League Reveals Further Details About New Organization

The newly formed World Fighting League has issued further details surrounding the pay structure for its athletes. With the intention of evolving and elevating the sport of MMA, WFL plans to accomplish its goals by mirroring the pay structures used by other professional sporting franchises like the NBA/NHL/NFL/MLB. The promotion intends to run similar to […]

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The newly formed World Fighting League has issued further details surrounding the pay structure for its athletes.

With the intention of evolving and elevating the sport of MMA, WFL plans to accomplish its goals by mirroring the pay structures used by other professional sporting franchises like the NBA/NHL/NFL/MLB. The promotion intends to run similar to a league-based franchise. Following the UFC’s reveal in a lawsuit that only 16%-18% of revenue share is going to the fighters, the WFL proposes a reshaping of the entire structure of fighter pay.

According to the WFL’s recent press release, the company expects to pay athletes a 50% share of the annual revenue. However, this comes after the company has vehemently encouraged all participating combatants to form a union first.

The sporting league’s initial layout includes guaranteed contracts, health insurance, career-ending insurance, league minimum contracts, and a pension plan.

As part of the newly formed league, some of the more important details pertaining to the actual roster can be found below.

* Four Conferences will be a part of the league (North America, South America, Europe/Africa, Asia/Oceana).

* Each Conference will consist of at least eight teams, and no more than 24.

* Each team will consist of 24 league-registered athletes, with three athletes per weight class.

Additional details about the mysterious fighting organization can be found in our report that was published on Sept. 15, 2021. Of course, news of a potential organization afoot is welcome for all fighters.

As further details emerge about the exciting WFL promotion, MMANews.com will keep you up to date on its most recent development!

Do you think the WFL will rival the UFC in five years?

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Quote: If You Want To Make Millions In The UFC, Kick Everybody’s Ass

Esteemed coach and the first UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich gave his opinion on how to earn those million-dollar paychecks in the UFC. As a former champion of the organization, Miletich is familiar with how fights are negotiated with promoters. Miletich insists that the UFC prefers to do business with fighters that understand how to […]

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Esteemed coach and the first UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich gave his opinion on how to earn those million-dollar paychecks in the UFC.

As a former champion of the organization, Miletich is familiar with how fights are negotiated with promoters. Miletich insists that the UFC prefers to do business with fighters that understand how to market themselves. Essentially, the former champ accepts that the cream rises to the top and the same goes for just about any MMA promotion.

The age of entertainment is here and Miletich stresses how important it is to stand out among a packed roster of fighters. Speaking with MMA News‘ James Lynch, Miletich demonstrated how capitalism is the engine running the UFC.

“MMA is the most capitalistic sport on the planet. Miletich stated. The best guys make it to the top. That’s just the way it is, the guys that market themselves the way they see fit, and whether they’re the bad guy, the whit what or the black hat, whatever it is, I don’t see it.”

Miletich asserts that the promotion punishes fighters who speak out against the company publicly. Despite becoming champion in 1998 and earning four title defenses, he believes tensions with UFC president Dana White only hurt his wallet as the champion.

“I spoke out as the champion, and Jens Pulver spoke out as the champion. And Jens walked away. Him and Frank Shamrock are still the only guys to walk away with world title belts and go to different organizations. Miletich continued. And obviously, Jens has kind of been brought back into the fold; Frank, they’ve kind of erased him from history. But I was at odds with Dana White for that and many other reasons over a period of time. And that’s all done with many years ago now. But I spoke out about it. Back then, as a world champion, I wasn’t really making millions of dollars, so I felt it was important. But again, it’s the most capitalistic sport in the world. If you want to make millions of dollars, kick everybody’s ass. That’s the way it is.”

According to Miletich, if a fighter wants to ascend to those types of monetary heights, they will need to copy Khabib Nurmagomedov’s blueprint and just “kick everybody’s ass.” The UFC and its pay structure have become a sore topic of discussion after the company was forced to reveal revenue-sharing financials. However, as stated by UFC president Dana White and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, the company stance is that fighter compensation is a non-issue.

Do you think UFC fighters make enough money?

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Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel Defends Current UFC Fighter Pay Structure

In light of the financial success Endeavor Group Holdings has produced, CEO Ari Emanuel has come to the UFC’s defense. The media and entertainment conglomerate attributes much of its recent progress to the acquisition of the UFC roughly five years ago. The UFC was sold to Endeavor for a hefty $4 billion price tag. Despite […]

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In light of the financial success Endeavor Group Holdings has produced, CEO Ari Emanuel has come to the UFC’s defense.

The media and entertainment conglomerate attributes much of its recent progress to the acquisition of the UFC roughly five years ago. The UFC was sold to Endeavor for a hefty $4 billion price tag. Despite continued challenges brought on by a global pandemic, the entertainment entity went public for $24 per share at the end of April. By mid-August, following the latest quarterly earnings report, the company boasted about its thriving economic power.

Due to athletes suing the UFC, the company was forced to release details about their respective pay structure. It was revealed that the combat sports company is paying roughly 16%-18% of revenue to its athletes. However, most sporting companies are sharing revenue at a much higher clip in the range of nearly 50% in 2021.

After drawing attention to Conor McGregor making the #1-spot on the Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, CEO Emanuel defended the pay structure in an appearance at the Goldman-Sachs Communacopia conference.

“They just did a recent study of top-paying athletes. The number one athlete was a UFC fighter,” Emanuel said during the conference. Ari Emanuel said. “They’re making money on fight kits, paid marketing opportunities we’re creating for them with our sponsors, revenue for NFTs, and we’re investing money in a performance institute to rehabilitate them, [focus on their] diet, etc,”

Many have argued that McGregor’s wealth is a byproduct of his business ventures outside of the Octagon. Ari Emanuel insists the playing field has never been more ripe with opportunity. The Endeavor CEO is convinced that the UFC’s earnings next year will ascend to even greater heights as a growing number of streaming services continue their onslaught on the North American market.

What do you make of Ari Emanuel defending the UFC fighter pay structure?

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Michael Page Is ‘A Massive Supporter’ Of Jake Paul’s Fighter-Pay Crusade

Michael Venom Page may not be a fan of Jake Paul boxing, but he respects the YouTuber for advocating for fighter pay. MVP has been one of the home grown products of Bellator, regularly going viral for his exciting fight style and over the top celebrations, as well as his brutal knockouts. Before he switched […]

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Michael Venom Page may not be a fan of Jake Paul boxing, but he respects the YouTuber for advocating for fighter pay.

MVP has been one of the home grown products of Bellator, regularly going viral for his exciting fight style and over the top celebrations, as well as his brutal knockouts. Before he switched to MMA though, he dabbled in the world of kickboxing for a single bout, and had two pro boxing bouts.

That being said, as someone with respect for boxing, Page is not particularly thrilled with the antics of YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul. However, when speaking to Sky News, the Bellator fighter says that he appreciates the fact that Jake speaks out for fighter pay, regularly calling out Dana White for underpaying UFC fighters.

“Yeah, I’m a massive supporter of what he’s doing there, and I completely agree with him on that side. Why is it that fighters are so eager to then jump ship? It’s because we’re not being paid what we should be paid in our thing,” MVP said.

“This is why he’s completely right. Nobody would entertain these kind of fights, if we were being treated the way we should be treated.”

MVP Would Fight Jake Paul

While Michael Venom Page appreciates what Jake Paul is doing for fighter pay, he still thinks that the YouTuber is not very good at boxing. In fact, he was convinced that former UFC champion Tyron Woodley would get the job done when he faced Jake last month.

With that in mind though, Page says that he would definitely be down to take on Paul in the ring. Not only does he find the payday lucrative, but he thinks that his skills will be enough to finish Jake and end this celebrity fighting phenomenon.

“These kind of stuff is it’s annoying, I get why it’s happening. Obviously, business-wise, a lot of money that’s drawn in, but, I thought Tyron Woodley was going to correct this whole crazy world that we’re living in right now,” MVP explained.

“Just to correct the world, I would definitely jump in and just knock him out, shake his hand afterwards and say ‘continue doing what you’re doing.’ Yeah, I just need to prove to everyone that this is nonsense.”

In the meantime, Michael Venom Page will be taking on Douglas Lima at Bellator 267, on October 1st. Jake Paul does not seem to be interested in fighting him at the moment, but perhaps that can change in the future.

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