Boxing Paychecks Exceed MMA Compensation: What's the Reason?
In the world of combat sports, the financial landscape between boxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is starkly different. While competition for talent in boxing can lead to bidding wars and increased pay for fighters, the UFC, the dominant MMA promotion, controls how much its fighters are paid.
In June, Josh Warrington earned a purse of $1,085,500 for defending his IBF featherweight title. This is a significant sum compared to the earnings of top MMA fighters. Last year, 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor was the highest-earning UFC fighter with $3,030,000.
The financial disparity between the two sports is largely due to higher pay-per-view (PPV) revenues, larger individual fight purses, and a greater share of revenue for fighters in boxing. For instance, one top boxer can earn over $130 million from a single fight, whereas all fighters at a major UFC event collectively earn under $10 million.
Boxing stars like Terence Crawford have earned upwards of $6 million for single fights and often negotiate lucrative purse splits, reflecting their bigger bargaining power and the sport’s historical prominence. In contrast, UFC fighters typically receive smaller base pays plus performance bonuses, and the promotion retains a larger percentage of overall revenue.
The UFC, despite generating billions in revenue, pays its fighters a substantially smaller share than boxers or athletes in other major sports leagues. MMA promotions like UFC have centralized contracts and brand control that limit individual fighter earnings, whereas top boxing matches, often headlined by star fighters who control promotions and take a cut of PPV sales, lead to much higher paydays for those top boxers.
It's evident that the more distinguished boxers come away with larger pay packets than those involved in MMA and the UFC. Tyson Fury, for example, earned a flat $1,000,000 for his boxing match in June, but had an overall deal with Top Rank Boxing/ESPN worth $12,500,000 according to ESPN. Canelo Alvarez was the leading fighter on this year's list with earnings of $94,000,000.
Boxers, particularly at the elite level, tend to make more money than MMA fighters. This is due in part to boxing's involvement with multiple promoters, organisations, and TV networks across various countries, while MMA mainly centers around the UFC. The boxing versus MMA debate has been ongoing for some time, with some suggesting it is due to the higher profile of boxers and the competition between promoters.
However, there are differences between the two sports. MMA incorporates a variety of fighting techniques, while boxing is limited to punches. MMA competitors can do the same and also have the submission route to victory. Professional boxing matches are contested over 12 three-minute rounds, while MMA bouts are typically fought over three or five five-minute rounds. Boxers wear more padded gloves, and MMA fighters compete in smaller gloves with fingers free for grappling.
Not everyone agrees that boxers make more money at the lower level. WBO European middleweight champion Luke Keeler disagrees with this statement, but agrees that there is more money in boxing at the higher level. Anthony Joshua appeared in 13th place on the 2019 list with earnings of $55,000,000.
The high-profile Dubliner Conor McGregor has been key to the UFC's stature skyrocketing. Despite this, only nine UFC fighters made over a million in 2019. Jon Jones, Amanda Nunes, and Jorge Masvidal received salaries of $500,000, $300,000, and $100,000 respectively for their UFC fights in July.
In summary, the financial disparity exists because boxing’s top stars command huge individual revenue shares, driven by PPV sales and sponsorship, while MMA’s organizational model distributes revenue more evenly but with smaller shares to fighters, resulting in much lower top-level pay in MMA compared to boxing.
[1] Source: Forbes [2] Source: ESPN [3] Source: Sportico [4] Source: The Guardian
- Despite the UFC's domination in MMA, many top MMA fighters earn less than boxers like Josh Warrington, who earned $1,085,500 for his fight, in comparison.
- In contrast to the blog post discussing the financial disparity between boxing and MMA, WBO European middleweight champion Luke Keeler argues that there is more money to be made in MMA at the lower level.
