Fighters should treat the UFC as a stepping stone to something bigger as opposed to their end goal

[Rvd Slmr]

Conor used the UFC as a stepping stone to get his millions fighting Floyd. Guys like Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, and Tyrone Woodley got their biggest paydays doing celebrity boxing after their stints in the UFC.

Those examples were a one time thing, even Conor didn't get a second high profile boxing match. Those who get paid to fight a Paul brother aren't getting anything else from boxing. The money isn't on their side, they are the star's opponent for one night and then they have no purpose left.

 

[jitzmonkey]

The fact that the UFC is not set up as a financial end goal is the problem. As it is often noted, how many A-level athletes does MMA miss out on because of this?

There was probably a guy out there who would have smashed the prime versions of Fedor, Cain, JDS, Big Nog, Stipe, etc. But he was lured away by a 8 figure contract to throw a ball around.

Add the fact that they're people who get punched and kicked each other in the head for a living, and the reality is that only a few outliers are going to go on to be business moguls after their fight careers are over.

 

[You Will Vote For Dreyga]

This is just a long winded way of saying fighters should explore free agency

 

[Ogata]

Originally speaking, combat sports was a way for dojos and martial arts schools to promote their business and garner new students.

Boxing is differ ent of course but kickBoxing was there for karate kung fu taekwondo and tang soo do schools to fight in the ring. Gracies decided that this is the best way to get students and so they came up with the UFC.

 

[Johnnny]

I always laugh when I read that PVZ statement about leaving the UFC. She would have been a nobody without being in the UFC...

 

[nostradumbass]

Ah yes, they should follow the PVZ model of using the UFC as a springboard into a career of online pornography. That way you can back out of your promise to kids that you'll shave your head for charity with the excuse that it could mess up your porn income. Sorry, kids, I know I said I was going to shave my head but I decided to get fake boobs instead.

 

[trenton123]

This is the silliest, and frankly dumbest thing I read on Sherdog regularly. Professional stick and ball athletes end up in their respective sports because they started playing them when they were 5 or 6 years old and they excelled at them, were recognized for their talents, and were either signed in high school or offered a college scholarship and were signed after excelling on the college field/court.
Not one single athlete waited until they were 16-18 to decide what sport they wanted to play.

Lol not one?

 

[Not A Real Fan]

So you got to train like an obsessive maniac, have natural talent, to make it in the toughest sport known to the world, then become one of the best in the world, and then use that leverage as a stepping stone to a real paying job?

Why not do something a lot easier, like be a doctor or lawyer?

It's like you get it but don't get it at the same time.

Fighting in the UFC should be the real paying job for someone who trains "like an obsessive maniac, have natural talent, to make it in the toughest sport known to the world, then become one of the best in the world."

 

[TriangleMonkey]

UFC should def be a short term goal. MMA in general should be too.

Make as much money and fame as you can as fast as you can. Get out in one piece mentally and physically and turn a chapter in your life.

Its sad watching guys follow their pride past their primes and then have nothing post-fighting.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

PVZ without her looks gets nothing.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

So all fighters need to do is be an attractive blonde woman who gets pushed by the company into mainstream popularity and then post naked pics on the internet. Got it!

 

[mjmj]

Not necessarily true, a lot of top athletes play multiple sports in their youth. With martial arts, especially now, you have people starting their children very young, not sure why you think martial arts are some thing people do on a whim.

I'm not saying they only play one sport as a kid. I'm saying they don't necessarily choose the sport they end up in, and they certainly don't choose it once they are grown athletes. The end up in their respective sports because they get scholarships and/or drafted. That's not an option for martial arts.

 

[machidafan99]

someone great said
it's not a career, it's an opportunity

 

[Maripucci]

Finally someone who gets it.

 

[ejlarson249]

Fighters who say being in the UFC is their life long goal and dream are doing it WRONG! That's like an aspiring chef saying working for Burger King is their dream come true.

Fighters should go to the UFC with a plan to do something else afterward. Like acting. modeling, etc.

Conor used the UFC as a stepping stone to get his millions fighting Floyd. Guys like Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, and Tyrone Woodley got their biggest paydays doing celebrity boxing after their stints in the UFC.

The blueprint is clear.

Paige VanZant financially secure thanks to BKFC and new fan site, calls leaving UFC ‘the best decision I’ve ever made’

All told, VanZant is financially secure — really for the first time in her entire career — and that’s all thanks to testing free agency and deciding to put the UFC behind her.

“I had my whole career was built off the UFC,” VanZant told MMA Fighting. “I was in the UFC for like six years. It was very nerve-wracking. There weren’t a lot of people who left the UFC in the prime of their career. There were a lot of veterans that had left the UFC that were kind of on that tail end, looking for a few more fights.

“For me, I was a free agent at 26 years old. I was really young. It was nerve-wracking to know you’re leaving the powerhouse of combat sports. But now I know it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Since I’ve left, I’ve seen multiple fighters leave the UFC — and it’s not a diss at the UFC necessarily, but I think it’s more an awakening in fighters knowing there’s money out there and we’re going to be compensated for what we’re doing.”

“I was in the UFC for six years, I’ve been fighting for eight years and it’s finally paying off,” VanZant said. “This year finally paid off to where I’m feeling comfortable with my life.”

“I will say when I signed with BKFC, the bare-knuckle boxing, I was making more money than I had made in my entire UFC career,” VanZant said. “Now I’m making more money than my entire BKFC contract in like a month. It’s pretty crazy.”

“I don’t have to, when I’m done fighting, get a regular job and have to go back to work,” VanZant said. “I’m not planning for when I retire to go to college or try to figure out what’s next in my life. I’m able to just fight and save money and plan when I want to retire, I can just retire.”
https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/6/...aving-the-ufc-the-best-decision-ive-ever-made

I assume you are the Michael Jordan of life coaches. Thanks for fixing the world for us all.

 

[Lemmy Caution]

Fighters who say being in the UFC is their life long goal and dream are doing it WRONG! That's like an aspiring chef saying working for Burger King is their dream come true.

Fighters should go to the UFC with a plan to do something else afterward. Like acting. modeling, etc.

Conor used the UFC as a stepping stone to get his millions fighting Floyd. Guys like Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, and Tyrone Woodley got their biggest paydays doing celebrity boxing after their stints in the UFC.

The blueprint is clear.

Paige VanZant financially secure thanks to BKFC and new fan site, calls leaving UFC ‘the best decision I’ve ever made’

All told, VanZant is financially secure — really for the first time in her entire career — and that’s all thanks to testing free agency and deciding to put the UFC behind her.

“I had my whole career was built off the UFC,” VanZant told MMA Fighting. “I was in the UFC for like six years. It was very nerve-wracking. There weren’t a lot of people who left the UFC in the prime of their career. There were a lot of veterans that had left the UFC that were kind of on that tail end, looking for a few more fights.

“For me, I was a free agent at 26 years old. I was really young. It was nerve-wracking to know you’re leaving the powerhouse of combat sports. But now I know it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Since I’ve left, I’ve seen multiple fighters leave the UFC — and it’s not a diss at the UFC necessarily, but I think it’s more an awakening in fighters knowing there’s money out there and we’re going to be compensated for what we’re doing.”

“I was in the UFC for six years, I’ve been fighting for eight years and it’s finally paying off,” VanZant said. “This year finally paid off to where I’m feeling comfortable with my life.”

“I will say when I signed with BKFC, the bare-knuckle boxing, I was making more money than I had made in my entire UFC career,” VanZant said. “Now I’m making more money than my entire BKFC contract in like a month. It’s pretty crazy.”

“I don’t have to, when I’m done fighting, get a regular job and have to go back to work,” VanZant said. “I’m not planning for when I retire to go to college or try to figure out what’s next in my life. I’m able to just fight and save money and plan when I want to retire, I can just retire.”
https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/6/...aving-the-ufc-the-best-decision-ive-ever-made

What's the point of your post?

The NBA was just a stepping stone for Jordan. Everything you do is a stepping stone.

Again, what's your point?

Should employers ask their engineers to work for minimum wage because their current position is a stepping stone to becoming chief engineers? Then they will get the payoff for all the hard work they put in the first decade or two of their careers?

Is that your point? That Dana should get all the money while UFC fighters get their rewards afterwards?

You sound stupid.

 

[NoContest]

Stupid thread. I want to watch fighters fight, not put on some act.

Athletes in other sports get well payed and UFC fighters should too. Fuck the billionaire owners.

 

[pseto223]

She had her bareknuckle contract only because she is attractive. There are better mediocre WMMA fighters in UFC, but won't make the same money out of it, because they are not as pretty. Being a pretty blonde woman with silicone implants opens a lot of doors. She could be making shitload of cash in porn too.

Well, at least VanZant has a fighter's heart, I'll give her that.

 

[PlasticFishBowl]

OP really acting like UFC is a stepping stone to being a soft core porn model smh…