Perhaps the biggest question going into this weekend’s massive MMA event hosted by MVP promotions on Netflix, is how much are the fighters being paid?
Fighter pay is one of the hottest topics in combat sports right now, for good reason. With companies like TKO (owners of the UFC) raking in billions of dollars, many fans and athletes alike are asking why the fighters haven’t been receiving their fair share. Due to multiple TKO earnings publishings, fighter make up roughly 17% of the total money brought in to the UFC, meaning 83% of the money goes to the shareholders and big wigs up top. It was recently reported that Ari Emmanuel cut himself a massive bonus worth more than $60 million dollars, while his fighters are getting paid $10k to show and 10k to win. The UFC is currently embroiled in multiple antitrust lawsuits regarding the mistreatment and poor payment of their fighters dating back to the mid 2000’s.
MVP hosting an event is not the answer to fighter pay, but proper competition is a step in the right direction. I have been on the ground here in Los Angeles during fight week, and have had conversations with multiple fighters and people involved with the promotion. MVP can confidently say they are paying better than nearly any MMA promotion in the world for this event, with the base show money being $40,000 for all athletes. I have spoken to several athletes who mentioned finish bonuses, and the event seems to be structured on an equal show and win basis (40k show/40k win). This is simply the floor of pay, and many of the fighters particularly on the main card will be receiving much larger payouts than this base level. For multiple fighters, these fight purses eclipse what they have earned in their entire career combined.
While these fight purses are impressive, statements from CEO Nakisa Bedarian in an interview with Combat Sports News Today left it unclear on if they plan to do further events. While the event seems to have momentum as of Friday, May 15th, it is to be seen how great of a success MVP’s debut into the MMA space is.
MVP MMA 1 takes place in Los Angeles, California at the Inuit Dome. Due to the fact this is an event in California, the CSAC requires the public reporting of all fight purse information following the event. When this information is obtained, it will be reported on in depth.