The Doggy Bag: Competition and Promotion
The Right Pay
Aug 23, 2009
Dave
Mandel/Sherdog.com
And Sobral making 37.5 times more than Gegard Mousasi? 75 grand to the loser and 2 measly grand to the winner? That is an insult! Same rule should apply as in the Carano vs. Cyborg fight -- a "winner’s purse" and a "loser’s purse.” That way, you get the fighters giving it their best, rather than saying to themselves (like Gina did all curled up), getting thrashed by Cyborg: "I'm gonna protect my pretty face." She could have spun out and pulled guard at least. But oh, her pretty face! Wah f--ing wah -- I knew Carano was gonna lose -- I could tell at the weigh-in that she was way too relaxed and "smiley,” treating the weigh-in like a photo shoot for a men’s magazine like FHM.
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Gina gets way to much respect in this sport for the wrong reasons -- sure, she's a pretty girl, but man, this is MMA. I told (Sherdog writer) Jason Probst in an email that I could honestly see Carano giving her back to protect her pretty face -- which is pretty much what she did.
MMA needs better pay scales that are FAIR, better judging, and
referees are overall doing a good job.
-- Don
Loretta Hunt, news editor: Don, as always, thank you for your spirited email. Your thoughts caught my attention for a number of reasons, and I’ll respond to them in order.
On Strikeforce’s pay scale: I actually stumbled on a Strikeforce pay scale sheet from nine months ago and it came out to $312,500 for 26 fighters, with seven fighters on the card we’d all generally agree are “name” fighters. This last card doled out $468,500 to what I would categorize as eight “name” fighters (18 fighters total). We do see a progression here. The first event occurred before the Showtime deal, and I would expect the payroll to increase following -- what I hope -- was somewhat of a lucrative deal for Strikeforce. It has done just that (with eight less fighters to share in the wealth this time too.)
To keep this in perspective, the last WEC event paid out S245,500 to 22 fighters (not including $40,000 in those additional incentive bonuses –- something I think Strikeforce should look into doing as well.)
UFC 100, the last event from the promotion to have a payroll disclosed to the public, paid out a whopping $1,790,000 for 22 fighters (18 of which I’d say are “names”) and generously dispersed $400,000 in incentive bonuses.
That Strikeforce lands between this pair is reasonable. Would I like to see them increase their payouts to fighters? Sure, but we have to give them time. They only signed their distribution deal in February, and they haven’t delved into pay-per-view or CBS-broadcasted shows yet -- two options that could score them palpable profits in the future. Let’s check back in on them in a few months.
As for your suggestion on “winner’s” and “loser’s” purses, there’s too many scenarios that would make this unfair to fighters. The fighters earning the meatier salaries are usually getting them for a valid reason -- they’ve logged in a certain number of performances for the promotion, they came from another promotion where they were a draw, or they attract the media and fans (just to name a few). It would be irrational to set two numbers and put them up for grabs.
Remember, a fighter negotiates a deal that usually includes multiple fights, with pay increasing (or possibly decreasing) depending on the outcome of their previous bout.
While I wouldn’t mind Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos having $125,000 put in her potent hands, this is not the deal she negotiated with Strikeforce. I’m sure her pay will rise in her next fight, and if she’s still the killing-machine commodity everyone predicts she will be, she can negotiate for more once her contract runs out.
On Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Gegard Mousasi’s night-and-day salaries, I guarantee you Mousasi did not make just $2,000 (try mid five-figures, according to my sources). Why his pay was blatantly listed with such a low number is beyond me (and yes, I realize he pays foreign tax on whatever is listed).
I saved Carano for last. I bet a slew of female fighters were pleased to see that Carano made so much more than her EliteXC days, where she capped out at $25,000, but still managed to increase CBS’s audience by nearly a million viewers for her fight. While we can argue her initial holdout with Strikeforce did nothing for her ring rust, she was finally paid an amount that reflected her value with the organization. Much more than Cyborg, Carano had to deal with the press – from The New York Times to Men’s Fitness to Showtime’s extravagant promo shoots -- all distracting and time-consuming endeavors that took her mentally and physically away from training.
She paid her price in the cage.
As for her “pretty face,” if Santos was hovering over me, punching a crater into my head, I’d give my back to protect my face -- and mine isn’t nearly as pretty as Carano’s.
On my final thought, which stems from a comment I made in a previous Doggy Bag, I got a little flack for stating in June that Carano would “garner more press and media attention” than UFC 100.
I am happy to report I was dead wrong. I underestimated the sheer adrenaline shot UFC 100 would shoot into the sport’s arm. From their phenomenal two-day expo (the best I’ve ever attended) to the actual event, the UFC gave the media a lot to write about, which is great for them and the sport. What’s better is the community is still feeling the buzz from UFC 100. This event might truly be looked at as a milestone when all is said and done.
Please excuse my overzealousness. Sometimes it causes me to go out on a limb and make dubious predictions. That said, I do think Carano more than pulled her weight in the press department, and I look forward to seeing her, joined by Ms. Cyborg, gain much more in the future.
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