Are you kidding me? (UFC)

[Brother Brian]

MMA Weekly posted the pay rates for UFC 81.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5643&zoneid=13

Brock Lesnar, who lost in 90 seconds, in his UFC debut, and 2nd MMA fight was the top paid fighter of the night.

Former Pride World Champ Minatoro Noguera was second, at $200k including a $100,000 win bonus.

Former 2 time UFC heavyweight Champion Tim Sylva made $100k for his losing effort in the Main event.

Former UFC champ Frank Mir made $80k for beating Lesnar.

No wonder Coture has issues. How on earth do you justify paying Lesnar so much more than anyone else?

[JasonStarfire]

I know a lot of people in person and online who bought that PPV for one reason and one reason only. Lesnar. They could give a crap less about UFC, but that drew them in and got people interested. Simple cross promotion. That's why celebrities get paid so much for making single guest appearances at stupid TV events. It draws in viewers who otherwise wouldn't have watched.

I think it's BS that Mir didn't make more than $80k for, y'know, beating the cross promotion entry. You'd think a $100k win bonus would be good for a start since Lesnar was making more than $200k.

[carmachu]

Mir deserves more. Yes Lesner is the draw, but come on....bonus or something there....thats pretty F'd up.

[Brother Brian]

To be fair, the UFC does give out Fight out of the Night, Submission of the Night, and KO of the night bonuses.

And I get the Lenar draw thing, but right now Randy Coture is sitting out his contract based on offers made to Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor is genrally regarded as the best MMA fighter in the world, and as close to unbeatable as any fighter can be.

He was wrong for that. But for Lesnar to get the big signing bonus, and a Million Dollar fight deal, which is more than he has, is bogus.

[Brother Brian]

No, it's not. I'm willing to bet the numbers for the PPV justify the move. Lesnar has both talent and buzz. He puts asses in seats.

So does Coture, who's been part of the biggest MMA fights ever.

I'm not saying Lesnar should have been brought in at 3000 / 3000 but to be one of the three highest paid guys in the UFC?

I don't buy it.

[Brother Brian]

I don't dislike Lesnar for signing the contract, nor do I want the government to do anything about it.

I do however question the decision. The UFC lost the services of Randy Coture over their willingness to overspend to bring big names in. Tim Sylvia, one of the big names in the UFC for a long time, has expressed displeasure.

The UFC is not the only big stage anymore. Strikeforce is paying big money to fighters. So is M-1. Mark Cuban is making huge inroads in aligning all of the non-UFC promotions under HD Net Fights.

Dana can't piss off too many big names, because they'll come back and bite him in the ass.

[Brother Brian]

Like I said, we'll see when the revenue numbers come in. Sylvia shouldn't let the door hit him on the ass on his way out. He doesn't bring much to the sport, not in terms of skill or fan-draw. There are plenty of better people out there who'd love the shot. And Coutoure's leaving wasn't a point of principle.

Coture's leaving was exactly a point of principle. They offered Fedor a signing bonus bigger than Coture's contract. He left because he did not feel that the UFC was treating him respectfully.