Fighters used to be able to go out and get the best deal they could for themselves. A lot of it boiled down to how hard they worked to find sponsors, how they carried themselves, and how well they succeeded in the cage. For those that did well, they sometimes made more from sponsors than for fighting. That's the case for Brendan Schaub, who said he made twice as much from sponsors than he did from fighting. If you take him at his word, well - he makes $30,000 per fight. So add another $60,000. After the Reebok deal was announced, however, Schaub stated that he quickly had six sponsors drop him, as there was no longer any value to sponsoring a UFC fighter. The UFC has stated that one other major sponsor may get involved, and be displayed on fighter uniforms, perhaps bringing in some extra coin - but that pales in comparison to what six or ten sponsors might have given certain fighters. A free market gave fighters more potential, even if it didn't always work out that way.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
