When you are a fighter, absolutely everything is for sale. Opportunities for additional earnings for a soldier at the expense of sponsors.
We all love the sport of mixed martial arts, the battle of two strong-minded men, the closest to a fight where everything is allowed, well, or almost everything. However, often the biggest battles take place not within the eight walls of the Octagon, but outside them, hiding from the eyes of the fans. In a series of articles, we will try to uncover the "biggest" secrets of the locker room, bonuses, negotiations and interest with PPV (pay-per-view). In light of the recent Matt Mitrion scandal, this article will focus on the fighter's earning opportunities through sponsorship. We will reveal secrets that no one has written about before!
When you are a fighter, absolutely everything is for sale. Be it a "piece" in the intimate place of your shorts, the back of your shirt, or any other visible area of a fighter's paraphernalia, as long as your fight is shown on television. It’s your manager’s job to optimize the income from every square meter of your clothes, while not ruining your relationship with sponsors by advertising a rival office next to one of those fighter's shorts.
The "cost" of each fighter has a huge range. A popular fighter loved by fans fighting in the main event of a big tournament can earn over $ 100,000 for every entry into the Octagon. Top fighters often have a permanent contract with a big company, be it Tap Out or Bad Boy, and some of them pay hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Likewise, big MMA stars can easily make $ 10,000 just for visiting a nightclub or car dealer. Some of them prefer things to money, for example, Andrei Arlovsky, being the champion of the UFC, changed cars for free 2 times a year, choosing a luxury sedan (BMW) in the summer and a Land Rover SUV in winter. The most profitable and expensive offers can be provided only by a few top MMA managers. Some of them are: Dean Alberht (Rampage Jackson, Frank Mir, Miguel Torres, Demian Maia, Joe Stevenson), Robert Roverta (Denaro Sports) and Devine Zinkin (Chuck Lydell, Forrest Griffin, AKA Hall).
Randy Couture secured a stable income for the rest of his life by creating the popular Xtreme Couture brand.
