Contender Series as a proxy equivalent to Sports-Drafts suppressing salaries+foreigners

[avenue94]

Okay so what kind of contract do they get signed to after their contender series fights?

you don't fight for money on contender series. just like tuf, you fight for the chance to win a UFC contract. Then you look to perform well on that starting contract and negotiate from there.

It's effectively the combat sports equivalent of a internship, where you do the work of a full fledged employee but get paid less and in "experience and exposure"

 

[BEATDOWNS]

Also just by the sheer number of guys that get signed like that now it appears the UFC is either trying to trifold their roster (which seems pointless) or they are actually trying to establish DWCS as the only way to get signed at all.

Current winners up to season 5:

 

[TempleoftheDog]

It’s an audition, or job interview. Would you hire somebody without interviewing them first? This is their possibly ownly chance to catch the UFC’s eye before actually getting picked up or sent packing possibly forever. Just bring your A game, and impress Dana and staff.

Even fighters that lost showed enough that they were signed later. Usually as a replacement. But, they’re officially in the UFC. What each person does with their career after getting signed is up to them. The sky is the limt.

I just don’t see it as a big deal. But TS is one of the many chronic complainers of fighter pay. So I expect no less.

Much ado about fuck all, imo.

 

[MixMartialFarts]

The major difference though is even though the newly drafted NBA guys might be getting less then their worth, their still getting a good salary, whereas the contender series guys are working their entire lives to get to that big 5k show/ 5k win contender series fight and get possible brain damage in the process.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

You're literally agreeing with me and supporting the position that they're not being given a full contract to start and instead have to do unpaid fighting/damage-taking lmao.

It's like fighting in a regional organization, but you get noticed faster if you are any good. Every sport, including boxing, has healthy amateur leagues and well developed poorly paid semi-pro leagues. For me the bigger problem isn't DWCS so much as the nature of the contracts fighters receive when they enter the UFC.

 

[brackis1]

It's like fighting in a regional organization, but you get noticed faster if you are any good. Every sport, including boxing, has healthy amateur leagues and well developed poorly paid semi-pro leagues. For me the bigger problem isn't DWCS so much as the nature of the contracts fighters receive when they enter the UFC.

Fighting on the Contender Series is entering the UFC now; that's the point of the thread. It's becoming the mandatory first ufc-fight if you want to enter the league.
It's allowing the UFC to trim at least 1 full-fight expense off each fighter they want to use.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Fighting on the Contender Series is entering the UFC now; that's the point of the thread. It's becoming the mandatory first ufc-fight if you want to enter the league.
It's allowing the UFC to trim at least 1 full-fight expense off each fighter they want to use.

Not exactly. It's entering on a very provisional basis. I'm all for fighters getting paid roughly double what they are now, but either way, first fights are always going to earn less for the fighter, whether on DWCS or in a regional org. That in and of itself is not really exploitative imo.

 

[brackis1]

Not exactly. It's entering on a very provisional basis. I'm all for fighters getting paid roughly double what they are now, but either way, first fights are always going to earn less for the fighter, whether on DWCS or in a regional org. That in and of itself is not really exploitative imo.

It's not in a regional org tho.
The guys with the most experience are getting paired up against each other, while TV-made fighters are getting fed cans. If you're a guy worthy of a UFC contract, fighting another guy worthy of a UFC contract, in a UFC event in front of the supposed megalord vader of MMA Dana himself with live draftkings odds and a few mil in bets changing hands (pulling that out of my ass btw) for a full 15 min fight, you should be on a UFC contract and a chance to kill or be killed for a full UFC wage.
That's not to say they couldn't have the contender series actually be for prospects, but cap the experience at like 10 fights or something.
That dude Abbasov who lost to Bonfim Bro #1 took 3 full rounds of damage and threw gas the whole time, with 30 pro fights already lol. This would have been a FOTN on some cards and made the two a collective $136,000 potentially (50 each for a FOTN + 24 to winner and 12 to loser for show on even the shittiest full-UFC contracts), instead gets them a combined $15,000 to share.
That's $121,000 back to the UFC's corporate benefit and they appeased the hardcores while not having to promote weird looking guys with confusing names to their casual audience unless they want to later on.

 

[Banana Tree's Nemesis]

Anyway as for the purpose of the thread I agree that making some guys go through the show is a bit silly but I'm not sure I buy the wages argument. There's always been a starting rate for new fighters who don't already have a name and most signings haven't had any wiggle room.

True, but the UFC gives out pretty mucn exclusively 4 fight contracts to my knowledge. Now they give basically 1 fight contracts with even lower pay to prospects and still make money off of it. For the UFC there isn't really a reason not to do it. It just feels like fighters know that they get underpaid but they do it for the opportunity.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Fighting on the Contender Series is entering the UFC now; that's the point of the thread. It's becoming the mandatory first ufc-fight if you want to enter the league.
It's allowing the UFC to trim at least 1 full-fight expense off each fighter they want to use.

Not really, it's not a full fledged UFC show and it won't be as big a part of the TV deal financially. I would like them to get paid 10/10 for it but I don't get how it suppresses wages across the board. A lot of fighters would probably fight on the contender series for free.

 

[brackis1]

Not really, it's not a full fledged UFC show and it won't be as big a part of the TV deal financially. I would like them to get paid 10/10 for it but I don't get how it suppresses wages across the board. A lot of fighters would probably fight on the contender series for free.

A lot of people would play bro basketball for free too.
We shouldn't want that. We should want the top dude who take it serious enough that they're fighting to feed their families and setup generational wealth/savings in exchange for going through numerous ranks of risk/damage fighting the best guys in the world for sport.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

True, but the UFC gives out pretty mucn exclusively 4 fight contracts to my knowledge. Now they give basically 1 fight contracts with even lower pay to prospects and still make money off of it. For the UFC there isn't really a reason not to do it. It just feels like fighters know that they get underpaid but they do it for the opportunity.

For the most part they're still making more than they get anyway though. Pay for LFA main card is about 1500/1500.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

A lot of people would play bro basketball for free too.
We shouldn't want that. We should want the top dude who take it serious enough that they're fighting to feed their families and setup generational wealth/savings in exchange for going through numerous ranks of risk/damage fighting the best guys in the world for sport.

That person isn't going to start training because the contender series pays 10/10 instead of 5/5 though.

 

[TorontoTO]

Not really, it's not a full fledged UFC show and it won't be as big a part of the TV deal financially. I would like them to get paid 10/10 for it but I don't get how it suppresses wages across the board. A lot of fighters would probably fight on the contender series for free.

Contender Series is just another way to even more oversaturate the MMA market. For the average person, if they watch the Contender Series and the UFC once a week, that's probably enough MMA for them and they have no interest in looking at other promotions.

In regards to the wage suppression, I think they put some guys they are not too fond off on their against other hard opponents. All these guys could have signed contracts for way better with other promotions but they choose to sign up for Contender Series for a chance at the UFC.

I am guessing Marcos Breno is getting twice or even three times the CS starting contract with Bellator for example. Different guys value different things. Some guys are willing to overlook the UFC for better pay, some guys want to raise their stock in other promotions before signing with the UFC, etc.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Contender Series is just another way to even more oversaturate the MMA market. For the average person, if they watch the Contender Series and the UFC once a week, that's probably enough MMA for them and they have no interest in looking at other promotions.

In regards to the wage suppression, I think they put some guys they are not too fond off on their against other hard opponents. All these guys could have signed contracts for way better with other promotions but they choose to sign up for Contender Series for a chance at the UFC.

I am guessing Marcos Breno is getting twice or even three times the CS starting contract with Bellator for example.

I doubt Breno went straight onto 30k to show with Bellator tbh. I think he's worth it but I doubt it.

I think they just do it because it helps introduce new fighters and people go into their fights knowing a little bit about them. Or if they get a cool finish on the show it has more chance of going viral than it would be if it was in the LFA or Jungle Fight.

Basically it's a show that attracts people who think they like to scout up and coming talent that don't actually watch the regionals.

 

[brackis1]

That person isn't going to start training because the contender series pays 10/10 instead of 5/5 though.

It's the difference between guys staying in foreign leagues where they are local stars tho if they know the UFC doesnt actually like them and will tilt the deck against them.
A guy like Mamed Khalidov is going to have to travel way less, fight safer opponents, get less brain damage, and get paid more in KSW.

 

[TorontoTO]

I doubt Breno went straight onto 30k to show with Bellator tbh. I think he's worth it but I doubt it.

I think they just do it because it helps introduce new fighters and people go into their fights knowing a little bit about them. Or if they get a cool finish on the show it has more chance of going viral than it would be if it was in the LFA or Jungle Fight.

Basically it's a show that attracts people who think they like to scout up and coming talent that don't actually watch the regionals.

He got put right away against Josh Hill, so I am assuming he is getting decent money since we both now Bellator and if he wasn't making semi decent money, he would be fighting some random dude off the South Dakota regionals.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

It's the difference between guys staying in foreign leagues where they are local stars tho if they know the UFC doesnt actually like them and will tilt the deck against them.
A guy like Mamed Khalidov is going to have to travel way less, fight safer opponents, get less brain damage, and get paid more in KSW.

They never really wanted him. That's why they do these offers. Guys like Rustam Kerimov, Eduard Vartanyan, Yusuf Raisov all left ACA to try and get into the UFC anf they never made them an offer and they ended up going back. Kerimov is imo the third best BW in the world but they just don't want too many Russians in the rankings.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

He got put right away against Josh Hill, so I am assuming he is getting decent money since we both now Bellator and if he wasn't making semi decent money, he would be fighting some random dude off the South Dakota regionals.

I think maybe 20k is possible, 30k seems unlikely.

 

[TorontoTO]

They never really wanted him. That's why they do these offers. Guys like Rustam Kerimov, Eduard Vartanyan, Yusuf Raisov all left ACA to try and get into the UFC anf they never made them an offer and they ended up going back. Kerimov is imo the third best BW in the world but they just don't want too many Russians in the rankings.

UFC lowballed Mamed in such a laughable way that it make no sense for him to even gamble on himself and try the UFC. I remember interviews with Mamed and it was like 5 times less then he was making in KSW, if you signed for that with the UFC, you are a dummy.

With Kerimov, Vartanyan, Raisov, they are not from marketable markets and also not signed with agents who the UFC likes, so their chances of signing with the UFC are minimal. I personally wish the ACA copromoted with other promotions who came to the Russia, but the optics of PFL, Bellator, ONE copromoting with a promotion owned by Kadryov and that is sanctioned by the US government are really bad and means it will probably never happen