Media Incredible interview with Jimmy Flick

[Hellowhosthat]

These guys don’t understand money. Taxman takes 40% off the top. That’s 300k. Frank has 400k to pay all his management and gym and himself. He takes home maybe 350k? Even if it’s more or less, that’s not a lot of money today, especially for the lifestyle of a pro athlete. Same thing with Conor, I think the whole reason he didn’t donate is because he realized that 500k cash is a ton of fucking money and it was a stupid idea. I think him cashing out the whiskey business is a sign that he is low on liquidity. Meaning he needs to fight. Having a mansion and a yacht are nice, but they are expensive tax wise and maintenance wise. He only really had one huge payday with Floyd. Yes he is better off than the rest of the roster, but if he doesn’t rein it in once he’s done fighting, he’s gonna be a broke ass.

The taxman doesn't take anything until you've done all the deductables. So any money will be from whatever is left after he's paid any outgoings. Plus tax works on a scale, so not all of it will be taxed at that rate.

 

[DoctorDeelon]

Frank will have gotten PPV points for the fight I think. I'm not saying he was paid his worth, but he'll have got more than that.

Have you seen anything that said Francis got PPV points? I know the UFC are notoriously frugal with awarding PPV points, I think you can count the people who have gotten PPV points on one hand.

 

[Qays Stetkevich]

It's a good interview and basically what it was is this dude realized the follies of the UFC dream, that he was dedicating his whole life to being in the gym away from his family AND not making enough money to quit his day job, so he never got to see his family, and realized it wasn't fucking worth it so he called it quits.

This is the reality unless the UFC starts paying their fighters properly. Guys are just deciding it's not fucking worth it. A guy in his prime like Henry Cejudo retires because even at the top it's not worth it. Jon Jones wants to be cut. Francis Ngannou got paid under a million to win the world HW title, and he's already trying to set up a boxing match with Fury to actually get paid. It's sad.

Good take (and frankly good fro Flick). Potential competitors and great/skilled athletes are and will continue to turn their backs on MMA and take their wares elsewhere because of the peanuts they get for MMA.

 

[Mesos]

Never heard of the guy but then I saw hes a flyweight so that explains it lol.

Seems like he was never really into fighting if he throws it all away so easy.Theres fighters that have family on there deathbed and still show up to compete. Thats how bad they want it.

Dudes better off being a gym trainer or something that has a normal work schedule.

 

[kflo]

These guys don’t understand money. Taxman takes 40% off the top. That’s 300k. Frank has 400k to pay all his management and gym and himself. He takes home maybe 350k? Even if it’s more or less, that’s not a lot of money today, especially for the lifestyle of a pro athlete. Same thing with Conor, I think the whole reason he didn’t donate is because he realized that 500k cash is a ton of fucking money and it was a stupid idea. I think him cashing out the whiskey business is a sign that he is low on liquidity. Meaning he needs to fight. Having a mansion and a yacht are nice, but they are expensive tax wise and maintenance wise. He only really had one huge payday with Floyd. Yes he is better off than the rest of the roster, but if he doesn’t rein it in once he’s done fighting, he’s gonna be a broke ass.

That’s not how taxes work...

 

[DoctorDeelon]

Yeah, that's what he made from onefight bro, he's had a few in the UFC, he's sitting on at least 2 million.

Jon makes that every fight

The figure I'm finding is total UFC earnings is $2,737,500. That's before taxes/manager fee/gym fees/training expenses take a chunk. That's after living expenses (rent/food/taxes/medical/etc). That's also over 6 years of competing.

I'm sure Ngannou WISHES he was still sitting on 2 mil of that 2.7, but I can assure you that isn't the reality of his situation lol.

Would you like to compare Ngannou's career earnings with the career earnings of top boxing HWs like Tyson Fury, AJ and Wilder? It's not going to look pretty. I know Fury got 25-30 mil for the Wilder fight alone.

 

[Kdup]

That’s not how taxes work...

Well it is. If he’s a 1099 self contractor, he has to pay taxes on the income. Over 400k income gets 39%.

yeah it’s at the end of the year, but judging by how much he makes front that fight plus endorsements he’s paying 40% tax.

 

[muaythaidon1]

The figure I'm finding is total UFC earnings is $2,737,500. That's before taxes/manager fee/gym fees/training expenses take a chunk. That's after living expenses (rent/food/taxes/medical/etc). That's also over 6 years of competing.

I'm sure Ngannou WISHES he was still sitting on 2 mil of that 2.7, but I can assure you that isn't the reality of his situation lol.

Would you like to compare Ngannou's career earnings with the career earnings of top boxing HWs like Tyson Fury, AJ and Wilder? It's not going to look pretty. I know Fury got 25-30 mil for the Wilder fight alone.

Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois fought for the British title, and both made more than Francis for winning the UFC gold, neither are top 10.

 

[SeaChad]

Great interview by my guy Luke Thomas. Still the best in the game.

 

[Memeojima]

Not defending UFC''s crappy pay but Flick had 1 UFC fight

 

[kflo]

Well it is. If he’s a 1099 self contractor, he has to pay taxes on the income. Over 400k income gets 39%.

yeah it’s at the end of the year, but judging by how much he makes front that fight plus endorsements he’s paying 40% tax.

you deduct expenses including health insurance before calculating income, and the 39% is applied to the marginal income above 400k. that's my understanding (not an tax accountant)....

 

[MichaelT]

The figure I'm finding is total UFC earnings is $2,737,500. That's before taxes/manager fee/gym fees/training expenses take a chunk. That's after living expenses (rent/food/taxes/medical/etc). That's also over 6 years of competing.

I'm sure Ngannou WISHES he was still sitting on 2 mil of that 2.7, but I can assure you that isn't the reality of his situation lol.

Would you like to compare Ngannou's career earnings with the career earnings of top boxing HWs like Tyson Fury, AJ and Wilder? It's not going to look pretty. I know Fury got 25-30 mil for the Wilder fight alone.

You're talking about different things now. You started off by saying he's not paid enough, now you changed it to he's paid less than other athletes. I don't know how much of that 2.7 million he spent on living expenses and training, but even if you take off 25%, he's still a millionaire, and I'm sure he has money coming in from other places and sponsors.

If you want to say 10k is not enough for a UFC fighter, then I agree with you, but how am I supposed to feel sorry for a guy who earns more in one fight than I'll probably ever own in my entire life lol

 

[DoctorDeelon]

You're talking about different things now. You started off by saying he's not paid enough, now you changed it to he's paid less than other athletes. I don't know how much of that 2.7 million he spent on living expenses and training, but even if you take off 25%, he's still a millionaire, and I'm sure he has money coming in from other places and sponsors.

If you want to say 10k is not enough for a UFC fighter, then I agree with you, but how am I supposed to feel sorry for a guy who earns more in one fight than I'll probably ever own in my entire life lol

Those aren't different things at all - overall athlete pay and revenue sharing is relevant to the discussion. It's helpful to look at what boxers are making, as they're the closest comparable.

Not saying you need to feel sorry for him, just recognize the fact that - like every other UFC athlete - he's been grossly underpaid for the services he provides.

 

[Memeojima]

Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois fought for the British title, and both made more than Francis for winning the UFC gold, neither are top 10.

How much did the guys on the undercard get paid? They're more comparable to Jimmy Flick

 

[Greg House]

It's a good interview and basically what it was is this dude realized the follies of the UFC dream, that he was dedicating his whole life to being in the gym away from his family AND not making enough money to quit his day job, so he never got to see his family, and realized it wasn't fucking worth it so he called it quits.

This is the reality unless the UFC starts paying their fighters properly. Guys are just deciding it's not fucking worth it. A guy in his prime like Henry Cejudo retires because even at the top it's not worth it. Jon Jones wants to be cut. Francis Ngannou got paid under a million to win the world HW title, and he's already trying to set up a boxing match with Fury to actually get paid. It's sad.

What the hell is this shit? This interview has nothing to do with this. His struggle with his family and his dad and the drugs was actually quite interesting. Did you just hijacked these thread to talk about your favorite superstars not being paid the amount of millions that you think they deserve? LMAO now everyone in this thread is talking about your stupid post... smh... start another thread if you want to talk about this, don't derail thread about other stuff.

 

[Kdup]

you deduct expenses including health insurance before calculating income, and the 39% is applied to the marginal income above 400k. that's my understanding (not an tax accountant)....

Yeah you got deductions and if you have a good accountant, you can probably make some good deals. But they cost money too. You can guarantee to cut at least 30% right off the top. Deductions notwithstanding.

 

[Greg House]

Lmao it's one thing to bring up Ngannou but Conor makes over 10 million per fight and probably a lot more than that. This is a ludicrous post. I hope you are trolling.

Yeah, that guy is clueless. He actually thinks that 500.000 is a lot of money for Conor and that's why he didn't pay lol

 

[skylolow]

He tells a ton of truth in that interview.

I just wish enough fighters and their management teams woke up and understand they need to take stand for the future of this sport. New owners deal with SAG/AFTRA on daily basis so it isn't anything new to them. Hell, I'm sure they know the day is coming sooner or later.

In end it may only cost the UFC an extra 10% to 15% of the revenue and seat at the table for fighters related to deals that affect the roster (ie: Sponsorship, USADA, contract lengths, etc) to make things way better from top to bottom for fighters.

 

[chiefwiggum]

I get the low level guys, but get outta here with Jon and Francis not getting paid, they're already multi millionaires

I would hope being a champion for 12 years in any sport you would be a multi millionaire.

 

[skylolow]

If you have to hold down a real job while under UFC contract something is very wrong. Oh yeah Dana and pals are the scum of the earth.

I'm not sure it's as easy as that.

I do believe newbies to the UFC and the sport should have some type of development deal for like 18 months 3 guaranteed fights that even if you lost all 3 you'd make at least 75K and best case you win all them you make like a 150K). Min. contracts after that should start at 25K/25K.

Now is that enough for a fighter to not have to have job, I guess it depends on each fighter and their situations. But it's better than 12K/12K right now and anyone making less than 25K a fight.

Everyone needs to keep in mind also this sport is only about 15 years in from even making a nickel of profit and most orgs around the world are hemorrhaging money yearly. The UFC just recently has really secured their guaranteed revenue to the point they'll make good money every year regardless. Just 5 years ago the UFC was only guaranteed about 40% of their revenue from media and sponsorship deals(approx 225 to 250 million). Everything beyond was a question mark. Today they have over 600M guaranteed just five years later and revenue is almost at a Billion. Because of these guarantees is why now is the time for the fighters to speak up and get more of the pie.