Comments Thread For: Ward Sees Egos In Boxing Stopping UFC Model From Being Adopted

[Butt stuff]

Yeah, the "UFC" model is pay 17-18% to athletes as opposed to the 50-60% common in most sports and currently has a billion dollar antitrust case approaching trial.

You only want a UFC model if you don't give a f*#k about the fighters, not that boxing's model is perfect, far from it, but the UFCs isn't the answer.

If that goes the way it should, it might be the end of the UFC. They put on frequent, high quality shows with good matchups so it would be a shame. But they’re literally a CTE meat grinder for 90% of fighters who get tossed aside in the end.

[mlac]

LOL says the guy who never fought once in his entire career without 'hometown advantages' which allowed him to clinch and headbutt his way to victory. Lost to Kovalev. hometown advantages gave him the W. and a paid off reff gave him a TKO in the rematch. Ward is essentially an American Sven Ottke for me.

[dannnnn]

The difference between combat sports and regular sports is that fighters need to be (kept) hungry. UFC is in a sweet spot right now where they're paying fighters just enough to keep them content with their earnings while still being hungry enough to fight, without overpaying them and affording them too much leverage like we see all the time in boxing.

It's a good system, a good structure if you ask me. I think in twenty years time people will look back on this era as a golden age of MMA and wish they hadn't complained so much about fighter pay, because what they don't seem to realise is that once things change the ones who will really lose out are the fans, not the UFC.

Boxing on the other hand is way too far gone for any kind of UFC model to come in to effect. The closest we'll get is the Saudis because they're willing to overpay - and overpaying is the only way to keep top boxers hungry enough to take hard fights - but that obviously isn't sustainable in the long-term.

[El_Mero]

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Ward, he's right! Too many egos, too many cherry picks, too many slimy hands in the jar, etc.....when Wahid gets paid an exorbitant amount of money for cherry picking, boxing is going to stay the way it is. It'll cut its nose off to spite its face...

[El_Mero]

The difference between combat sports and regular sports is that fighters need to be (kept) hungry. UFC is in a sweet spot right now where they're paying fighters just enough to keep them content with their earnings while still being hungry enough to fight, without overpaying them and affording them too much leverage like we see all the time in boxing.

It's a good system, a good structure if you ask me. I think in twenty years time people will look back on this era as a golden age of MMA and wish they hadn't complained so much about fighter pay, because what they don't seem to realise is that once things change the ones who will really lose out are the fans, not the UFC.

Boxing on the other hand is way too far gone for any kind of UFC model to come in to effect. The closest we'll get is the Saudis because they're willing to overpay - and overpaying is the only way to keep top boxers hungry enough to take hard fights - but that obviously isn't sustainable in the long-term.

Nah, I don't agree. Those big ppv cards every other month that clear millions and te fact ufc alone is worth over a billion scream the fighters deserve more money. Put a base pay on the main ppv card of 250k for lower tier, 500k for upper tier and 1 mill flat for the top 2 cards per fighter and you'll still get quality fights and fighters who want to fight more imo

[luvgun]

The best fight of the night is: here is $50k. Now go get your nose teeth and eyeballs fixed up my boi.

[TMLT87]

The difference between combat sports and regular sports is that fighters need to be (kept) hungry. UFC is in a sweet spot right now where they're paying fighters just enough to keep them content with their earnings while still being hungry enough to fight, without overpaying them and affording them too much leverage like we see all the time in boxing.

It's a good system, a good structure if you ask me. I think in twenty years time people will look back on this era as a golden age of MMA and wish they hadn't complained so much about fighter pay, because what they don't seem to realise is that once things change the ones who will really lose out are the fans, not the UFC.

The golden age of MMA is pretty long gone tbh brother. It peaked in the mid 00s through early 10s. They still have deeper cards than boxing but the average quality of cards now pales in comparison to what it used to be. Also too many divisions, overpushed WMMA, massive roster that its impossible to keep up with outside of the top 10%, most fights go to decision now etc etc. Theres a clear lack of huge stars in the last few years too, they dont have any star or potential fight right now that could realistically draw 1 mil + on PPV, even their next two PPVs which are basically supercards might not do that even with the combined starpower on them.

Its still good and overall a better week to week product than boxing but its best days are in the rear view mirror, just not as distantly as boxings are.

[TreD]

The best fight of the night is: here is $50k. Now go get your nose teeth and eyeballs fixed up my boi.

Lmaoooo.... Facts, though..

[rickJen]

Too many moving parts in boxing. People need to stop making comparisons. It is what it is.
Boxing is more focused on personalities, names, which dominate most of the conversations.
People buy PPVs just for the main event.

[crimsonfalcon07]

UFC sucks these days. They have spent millions making sure they don't have to comply with the Ali Act, and they try very hard to make sure that they don't end up with any stars who are bigger than the brand.

But the end result is that all the stars are gone, and there's no new ones to be made. Volk just lost. Adesanya lost. Usman lost. Jones is most of the way gone, with his entire heavyweight career spent on Ngannou leftovers, and chasing a guy who's been out for over 4 years. Makes Jermall Charlo look active. Amanda Nunes is gone. Shevchenko lost. McGregor is a juicing chump.

And the new guys aren't household names. How many people actually care about Glass body O'Malley? Who really cares about Tom Aspinall? Ilia Topuria? Even Makhachev, since he doesn't really have a fan friendly style. I'd rather just wait a few weeks and watch the UFC events for free on ESPN+ than pay for them, and right now, I enjoy watching Muay Thai and the grappling events on ONE more.

Yeah, the undercard fighters don't make much money in boxing in comparison, but at least they get a bigger percentage than they do in MMA thanks to the Ali Act.