UFC Sacramento left a great fight between Gregory Rodrigues and Anthony Hernandez, ten finishes and a Golden 1 Center with 16,867 spectators. But when the fights were over, information appeared that reopens one of the eternal debates of MMA: how much does a UFC fighter really earn.
California is one of the places where we can still partially peek into the accounts thanks to the publication of the declared purses of the fighters. And Sacramento's numbers allow us to understand perfectly why there is so much controversy around UFC's salaries.
Gregory Rodrigues starred in the main event, fought for five rounds against Anthony "Fluffy" Hernandez and got probably the biggest victory of his career.
His declared purse was $340,000: $170,000 for showing up and another $170,000 for winning.
Hernandez, who lost the decision after 25 tough minutes, was left with $170,000 after not receiving the contract win bonus.
The data is even more striking when you remember what both did to earn that money.
Rodrigues and Hernandez ended a real war. Both were physically badly punished and later needed medical check-ups for possible major leg injuries. We are not simply talking about appearing for a few minutes on television: they are months of preparation culminating in 25 minutes of violence at the highest level.
Rodrigues also received a $100,000 bonus for the Fight of the Night, raising his final remuneration considerably. Hernandez won the same award.
But this is precisely one of the peculiarities of the UFC system.
A significant part of what can transform a good night financially depends on varying concepts: winning the fight, getting a bonus, or receiving other incentives. The guaranteed salary can be considerably lower than the figure that finally ends up circulating after the event.
Reinier de Ridder was another of Sacramento's great economic beneficiaries.
The Dutchman returned to light heavyweight and destroyed Roman Dolidze in the first round. His declared purse reached $360,000, divided into $180,000 for competing and another $180,000 for winning.
Dolidze received $180,000.
Vitor Petrino cashed $200,000 after beating Serghei Spivac: $100,000 for showing up and another $100,000 for winning. Spivac received $125,000 despite the loss.
Up to this point they may seem extraordinary amounts.
And obviously they are for any conventional worker.
The problem appears when we go down the billboard.
MarQuel Mederos, who defeated Mason Jones and landed one of the standout performances of the night, had a declared purse of $24,000 for competing and another $24,000 for winning.
$48,000.
Carli Judice received 28,000 for competing and another 28,000 for winning.
And Jeisla Chaves, who arrived undefeated in UFC Sacramento and ended up losing by TKO in the first round, had a declared purse of just $12,000.
That's where it's hard to avoid the question.
Does the UFC pay little?
The answer needs context.
$12,000 for a fight is not equivalent to $12,000 for the athlete.
A professional fighter needs to pay for gym, trainers, physical preparation, nutrition, physiotherapy and usually also a percentage to his representation team. Depending on each contract and camp there may also be other expenses.
Then come the taxes.
And there's another small detail: A fighter can't compete every week.
Preparing for a fight takes months. There are injuries, recoveries, weight cuts and periods in which a new opportunity simply does not appear. A fighter who competes two or three times a year has to get those purses to finance practically his entire sports career.
That is why the famous model of charging one amount for showing up and another identical one for winning is so controversial.
A 12,000 + 12,000 contract means the fighter can go home with $24,000 if he wins, but only with the $12,000 guaranteed if he loses.
And losing doesn't necessarily mean you've done worse work during the previous months.
The camp costs the same.
Coaches get paid.
The diet costs the same.
The rent keeps coming.
And if the fighter also ends up injured, he can go months without generating income from competing again.
The difference with the most important American sports is enormous.
An NBA, NFL, or MLB player belongs to structures where there is collective bargaining and a much more defined distribution of income. In UFC fighters are independent contractors and there is no union that bargains collectively on behalf of the entire roster.
The MMA also cannot be directly compared to those sports because the business model is different, but the comparison explains much of the discussion.
There is also a huge difference within the UFC itself.
A superstar can negotiate multimillion-dollar contracts, special incentives, and completely different conditions than a rookie. Champions and names capable of generating large audiences play in another economic league.
The problem lies precisely beneath them.
UFC sells the idea that it brings together the best MMA fighters on the planet. And to a large extent it is true. Reaching the company means overcoming enormous competition.
That is why it is shocking that an athlete who has reached that elite can continue to have a guaranteed purse comparable to that which a professional athlete in other disciplines earns in much shorter periods.
Bonuses help, but they don't solve the structural problem either.
Sacramento distributed important prizes and several fighters multiplied their income thanks to them. But depending on getting an exceptional performance or starring in the Fight of the Night cannot be considered a guaranteed salary.
Also, declared wages don't tell the whole story.
The amounts published by the commissions do not necessarily include all the concepts that a fighter can receive. There are promotional incentives, possible additional payments and contractual agreements that are not always publicly reflected.
That is why it would be incorrect to state that we know exactly how much each participant entered from UFC Sacramento.
What we do know are the declared bags.
And these figures allow us to raise a legitimate discussion.
The event brought together 16,867 spectators and generated approximately 3,3 million dollars at the box office alone. To that must be added the value of the audiovisual rights, sponsorships and the rest of the business generated around a UFC billboard.
Against this backdrop, watching a fighter from the world's largest MMA organization compete for $12,000 guaranteed is difficult to defend.
The situation becomes even more evident when compared to boxing.
Boxing stars can generate extraordinarily higher purses than virtually any fighter in MMA. It is true that these contracts belong to a minority and that an unknown boxer does not earn millions either, but the difference in the negotiating power of the great figures is evident.
UFC has an advantage and at the same time a problem.
He has managed to build such a powerful brand that many times the company itself is more commercially important than the fighters.
A fan buys a ticket for "UFC Sacramento." Not necessarily for a promoter created around Gregory Rodrigues.
That allows you to organize events every week, substitute fighters when injuries appear and maintain a recognizable product regardless of who competes.
It is one of the biggest business successes in UFC.
But it also explains why the individual fighter has so much less bargaining power.
Sacramento once again leaves him perfectly represented.
Rodrigues starred in a five-round war and ended up receiving a significant amount. De Ridder exceeded $300,000. Petrino reached $200,000.
They are good salaries.
But on the same card there were fighters entering the octagon with guaranteed purses of just tens of thousands of dollars.
They had all arrived at the same place.
The UFC.
The most important MMA organization on the planet.
So perhaps the right question is not whether $12,000, $24,000, or $28,000 is a lot of money.
The question is how much one of the best MMA fighters in the world should charge to put his health on the line within the most powerful organization that has ever existed in this sport.
And looking at the figures from UFC Sacramento, it is difficult to argue that the answer should still be $12,000.