News Thiago Santos explains move to PFL,$1 million prize is ‘more than I made all these years in the UFC'

[DestinedAussie]

I agree, but even the perception/possibility might be attractive especially if you're not particularly satisfied with your current middling contract in the UFC/Bellator/wherever. I mean last year a lot of people were picking Anthony Pettis as a shoo-in to win the tournament last year with the expectation that he was coming off a two-fight win streak in the UFC and would easily be able to parlay that success into a PFL run. Instead he has looked utterly abysmal while Raush Manfio -- a relative nobody from the regional scene who had previously lost to the only big name fighters he had faced up to that point in Matt Frevola and Sidney Outlaw -- went on to win the whole damn thing while picking up wins over Showtime and Clay Collard in the process.

I'm just saying, weird things happen in the PFL and I can't really blame fighters for perceiving their chances of winning that jackpot as being solid regardless of the reality.

What it might say is the gap between UFC and other orgs isn't as much as people think.

 

[corrupted]

I see no reason to doubt him, he knows the exact money he is made after taxes and expenses like training camps, travels, managers etc. And his salary will probably be higher than his UFC salary. Pettis makes 750k so Thiago COULD make a couple of millions with a good contract, not counting the extra 1 million if he wins the tournament

This was really my only point, aside from the fact I'd say it's almost impossible he didn't make a million over that number of fights. But still, I hope he makes good money there. 100% he deserves it. Deserved a Million plus for basically sacrificing the later years of his career fighting through the injuries in the Jones fight alone

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I agree, but even the perception/possibility might be attractive especially if you're not particularly satisfied with your current middling contract in the UFC/Bellator/wherever. I mean last year a lot of people were picking Anthony Pettis as a shoo-in to win the tournament last year with the expectation that he was coming off a two-fight win streak in the UFC and would easily be able to parlay that success into a PFL run. Instead he has looked utterly abysmal while Raush Manfio -- a relative nobody from the regional scene who had previously lost to the only big name fighters he had faced up to that point in Matt Frevola and Sidney Outlaw -- went on to win the whole damn thing while picking up wins over Showtime and Clay Collard in the process.

I'm just saying, weird things happen in the PFL and I can't really blame fighters for perceiving their chances of winning that jackpot as being solid regardless of the reality.

Tbf Raush got about three robberies that season. He needs to split that million with the judges.

 

[John12]

What it might say is the gap between UFC and other orgs isn't as much as people think.

Strikeforce and other orgs have shown that for years

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Strikeforce and other orgs have shown that for years

The magical time that the UFC had a stranglehold on all the best talent never existed tbh.

 

[Chubi]

Tbh Santos last 3/4 fights have been garbage, it might be like Pettis with him losing to no names.

 

[Safton]

What it might say is the gap between UFC and other orgs isn't as much as people think.

Well I mean that's always been a thing depending on exactly which contenders are being talked about and at what time. PFL has provided examples for and contrary to that notion with Pettis and Lins, respectively.

Tbf Raush got about three robberies that season. He needs to split that million with the judges.

See this part of my post lol:

I'm just saying, weird things happen in the PFL

I wasn't just talking about dudes being better or worse than expected...

 

[FIghtxIQ]

aside from small mom and pop stores, businesses almost always lose money for a long time, it must have investors who thinks they can make a profit in the long term. UFC lost money for a long time before becoming profitable.

This. Getting started on a real big business requires so much capital and overhead that everything will be in the red for years. Amazon also took a very long time in order to start making profits - same for Tesla, Netflix, and pretty much almost every major business/company/chain/franchise. It's the long game that everyone focuses on.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

I see no reason to doubt him, he knows the exact money he is made after taxes and expenses like training camps, travels, managers etc. And his salary will probably be higher than his UFC salary. Pettis makes 750k so Thiago could make a couple of millions with a good contract, not counting the extra 1 million if he wins the tournament

Pettis was coming off 2 fight win streak. A bigger name in UFC and former champion. I don't think Santos will get paid anywhere near Pettis is getting paid because he's coming into negotiations on a losing streak and isn't really a big name like Pettis or a former champion. I think he's putting all his eggs in one basket and betting on himself to win the tournament to make a million.

 

[Stump]

I swear PFL is a money laundering operation. How can they afford these payouts with such low viewership and coverage? Nobody I know, including hardcore MMA fans, watch PFL at all.

Same as OneFC. What the fuck is going on with these companies that seemingly NOBODY watches handing out bags full of cash all day?

And, to further beat a well-dead horse, just even more indication of how woefully greedy the UFC is.

You've got a relatively-recent title challenger who chooses to leave the by-far largest MMA organization in the world to go to a clear second-fiddle organization because the pay is much, much better. PFL must be spending like 80 percent of its income on the figthers, while the UFC spends 10 percent of the vastly greater amount of money they pull in on the fighters who actually produce that income.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

What it might say is the gap between UFC and other orgs isn't as much as people think.

Not anymore and it will continue to be that way since UFC is trying to build a lot of prospects, so the roster will be filled with a lot more prospects and lower experienced fighters.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Same as OneFC. What the fuck is going on with these companies that seemingly NOBODY watches handing out bags full of cash all day?

And, to further beat a well-dead horse, just even more indication of how woefully greedy the UFC is.

You've got a relatively-recent title challenger who chooses to leave the by-far largest MMA organization in the world to go to a clear second-fiddle organization because the pay is much, much better. PFL must be spending like 80 percent of its income on the figthers, while the UFC spends 10 percent of the vastly greater amount of money they pull in on the fighters who actually produce that income.

A lot of people actually watch ONE. Maybe not western market yet but Asian market they do.

 

[Stump]

Pettis was coming off 2 fight win streak. A bigger name in UFC and former champion. I don't think Santos will get paid anywhere near Pettis is getting paid because he's coming into negotiations on a losing streak and isn't really a big name like Pettis or a former champion. I think he's putting all his eggs in one basket and betting on himself to win the tournament to make a million.

Do we have any numbers on Santos's UFC earnings, and any numbers on some notable or noteworthy PFL fighters to draw a comparison?

I'd bet Santos will be paid pretty well. Pettis may have been on a 2 fight win streak but he'd lost pretty convincingly multiple times to relative nobodies and his title reign was short and a long time ago; the shine was pretty worn on Pettis by the time PFL took him on.

Compare that to Santos who's a bigger guy, and has the intriguing story (and footage) of having taken P4P standout Jones to the limit (many people think he should have won) on two blown knees before losing a bunch of fights, mostly to the current top of the UFC LHW division.

I dont think its too unbelievable to imagine Santos would have a roughly equal bargaining position as did Pettis.

 

[corrupted]

I agree, but even the perception/possibility might be attractive especially if you're not particularly satisfied with your current middling contract in the UFC/Bellator/wherever. I mean last year a lot of people were picking Anthony Pettis as a shoo-in to win the tournament last year with the expectation that he was coming off a two-fight win streak in the UFC and would easily be able to parlay that success into a PFL run. Instead he has looked utterly abysmal while Raush Manfio -- a relative nobody from the regional scene who had previously lost to the only big name fighters he had faced up to that point in Matt Frevola and Sidney Outlaw -- went on to win the whole damn thing while picking up wins over Showtime and Clay Collard in the process.

I'm just saying, weird things happen in the PFL and I can't really blame fighters for perceiving their chances of winning that jackpot as being solid regardless of the reality.

If the PFL shows us one thing, it's that good fighters exist outside of the UFC/Bellator universe.

 

[Stump]

A lot of people actually watch ONE. Maybe not western market yet but Asian market they do.

I'm among them. I moved to Europe so ONE puts cards on that I dont have to stay up until 6am to watch. Girlfriend approved! Their cards are awesome, and they're obviously doing things right, but still, they have high production value, liberal 50k bonuses, decent contracts and relatively few big-name draws.

I'm very glad they are occupying the space they are, we as fans need strong secondary competitors to the UFC so we can hope to see a fair amount of money poured into the sport which will attract more and better athletes.

 

[Safton]

If the PFL shows us one thing, it's that good fighters exist outside of the UFC/Bellator universe.

I don't think that was ever in doubt. Those promotions recruit their fighters from somewhere after all...

 

[John12]

Pettis was coming off 2 fight win streak. A bigger name in UFC and former champion. I don't think Santos will get paid anywhere near Pettis is getting paid because he's coming into negotiations on a losing streak and isn't really a big name like Pettis or a former champion. I think he's putting all his eggs in one basket and betting on himself to win the tournament to make a million.

I think Thiago could get something like 500k per fight as a former UFC title challenger. Kayla is getting that amount so I think he could make a million with 2 fights but i'm just guessing, we"ll have to wait and see

 

[corrupted]

I think Thiago could get something like 500k per fight as a former UFC title challenger. Kayla is getting that amount so I think he could make a million with 2 fights but i'm just guessing, we"ll have to wait and see

I totally agree. It's just that his statement was that he'd not a made a million throughout his career there was wide of the mark

 

[corrupted]

I'm among them. I moved to Europe so ONE puts cards on that I dont have to stay up until 6am to watch. Girlfriend approved! Their cards are awesome, and they're obviously doing things right, but still, they have high production value, liberal 50k bonuses, decent contracts and relatively few big-name draws.

I'm very glad they are occupying the space they are, we as fans need strong secondary competitors to the UFC so we can hope to see a fair amount of money poured into the sport which will attract more and better athletes.

100% spot on. Went to a few events in Singapore and the Philippines. Decent.

Side note. How the fuck are they losing SOOOO much money? From the outside it looks like they are doing everything right

 

[Stump]

100% spot on. Went to a few events in Singapore and the Philippines. Decent.

Side note. How the fuck are they losing SOOOO much money? From the outside it looks like they are doing everything right

Are they? What do we know about their financials? All I know is that nobody I know of watches the PPVs, and that they seem to be splashing money around. Is it known they are losing money? I wouldn't be surprised, I just havent heard that.