GDT: UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum

[m9]

Kind of overshadowed by all of the money stuff is just how good Cannonier looked in there. He hadn't won a fight in almost two years and he hadn't really beaten anyone at 185lbs outside of Hermansson.

Too bad that the top of the division is so tied up right now (though those will all be great fights) as if Cannonier wants to get back in there quickly I'd love to see him fight another top guy. I suggested the Brad Tavares fight and I really don't see any other ranked options right now if Cannonier wants to make some money.

 

[chicagoskycam]

The fight game whether it's MMA or boxing at the lower ranks has never been a money-making proposition. UFC fighters are probably doing much better with their entry-level contract than boxers, heck some of them fight for free for a while. These guys are just betting on themselves that they can get a title shot or sell PPV's (O'Malley), and Diaz does well outside of title contention. It's like playing the lottery to some extent with better odds.

I'm in the middle on fighter pay but give these guys a shot to sponsor something on a banner behind them or shorts, as long as it does not conflict with an existing UFC sponsor.

A better setup might be camps/trainers buying into young prospects, more like a management agreement. The fighter pays a lower percentage with hopefully a big pay down the road for the camp and fighter.

 

[m9]

The fight game whether it's MMA or boxing at the lower ranks has never been a money-making proposition. UFC fighters are probably doing much better with their entry-level contract than boxers, heck some of them fight for free for a while. These guys are just betting on themselves that they can get a title shot or sell PPV's (O'Malley), and Diaz does well outside of title contention. It's like playing the lottery to some extent with better odds.

I'm in the middle on fighter pay but give these guys a shot to sponsor something on a banner behind them or shorts, as long as it does not conflict with an existing UFC sponsor.

A better setup might be camps/trainers buying into young prospects, more like a management agreement. The fighter pays a lower percentage with hopefully a big pay down the road for the camp and fighter.

What's kind of funny is that this has already been done in the past with Team Takedown:

– TEAM TAKEDOWN TAKES UNIQUE ROUTE TO SUCCESS | MMAWeekly.com

That article is from over 12 years ago as well. It definitely was extremely innovative but hasn't been replicated so I'm not sure how successful it really was. Must be hard when you have one guy (Hendricks) who ended up kind of carrying the team financially.