This Fan Post was promoted to the front page by Nick Thomas.
Let me start this off by saying that in a few years the salaries we see here may be warranted. The global economy should begin to improve as mixed martial arts continues to grow as a sport. That time is not now. I am a full advocate for a living wage in MMA and I hate seeing that a fighter was paid a mere $2,000 to fight in the UFC. But, I am also hate economic waste as money wasted could be spent on something actually useful. It is worth noting that the fighters and their agents did the absolute right thing by taking these offers and fault lies with the promoters who paid such exorbitant amounts.
For the most part, people get paid what their worth according to the market of their particular industry. In the following instances, for whatever reason, a fighter was handed a check that overcompensated him in such a way that I feel the need to address it.
The Top 10 Most Overpaid Fighters
1. Brandon Vera ($200,000 - UFN 14)
To say Vera was a promising prospect at the time he signed this lucrative deal was an understatement. The kid emerged in the UFC out of obscurity and finished four heavyweights in a row, decisively. One was a former title challenger and another was a former champion. With that said, he had still never truly proven himself against a top level opponent or shown himself to be a top draw. The UFC took a risk in order to hold on to their promising prospect and the gamble failed miserably. The UFC wound up paying out $400,000 more to Vera to see him lose to Werdum and Jardine and come out on top in a snoozer against B-level Reese Andy. Vera should volunteer to start setting up the octagon at events in an attempt to earn some of that cash he should have never been paid in the first place. Maybe washing Keith Jardine's jock strap would be a good start.
2. Tim Sylvia ($800,000 - Affliction: Banned)
Sylvia had a good run in the UFC while it lasted. His victories over Cabbage, Ricco, Gan McGee, and Arlovski turned him into a hot commodity. The problem is the majority of those wins were years ago - way past the short term memory of most of today's fans. For every time Big Tim did something great, he would follow it up with something less than special. The guy can never seem to keep his momentum. Needless to say, the money he was paid to fight Fedor was probably more than he ever earned in a single fight for the UFC - where people actually watched. Tim got paid almost a million dollars for 36 seconds of fighting - in which he lost. It's also worth noting that Sylvia has never been a huge box office draw so the fact that he was paid such a huge amount is mind boggling.
3. Fedor Emelianenko ($1,300,000+ - Affliction: Banned)
The Last Emperor has been regarded as the number one heavyweight in the sport for years - and rightfully so. He sold out huge arenas in Japan and was a legitimate superstar. It would take some hefty numbers to convince his management to put him in a fight in the States and Affliction did just that with the reported million dollar signing bonus and $300,000 fight salary. I said it would take hefty numbers - not enough to feed a small nation for a few months. The fact remains that Fedor has never been a big draw in North America and his pay day helped cement the eventual financial losses of Affliction's inaugural show.
4. Kimbo Slice ($500,000 - EliteXC: Heat)
It is no secret that Kimbo was a big television draw for CBS and EliteXC while it lasted. Comparing the viewers from the shows with him and the show without him proves this. With that said, Kimbo was thrust in the main event when he should have been a side attraction to pull in viewers for the legitimate fighters. EliteXC built him up in the media and had to pay him accordingly. They hoped to maximize their investment as Kimbo's star continued to grow. This failed in epic fashion. Kimbo ultimately was paid a half a million dollars to get knocked out in 14 seconds by a light heavyweight with pink hair - on nationwide television.
5. Ben Rothwell ($250,000 - Affliction: Banned)
Rothwell tore through the IFL ranks and proved himself to be a man that would seen crack the top 10 if he hadn't already. The problem is that no one watched the IFL accept for a small contingent of fans. Or, maybe more accurately, no one paid to see the IFL. Rothwell always showed up and did his job but was never a proven draw in the sport as the IFL simply didn't have the resources or the know how to build a superstar. Despite this, Rothwell appeared as part of the undercard for the first Affliction show and was paid more than what many UFC main event fighters receive. I'm sure Rothwell himself was shocked they were willing to hand over such a huge amount of cash.
6. Johnnie Morton ($100,000 - K1 Dynamite 2007)
Was anyone in the mixed martial arts community excited to see Morton try his hand at MMA? No? I didn't think so. He was knocked out in 38 seconds and has never been heard from again in the sport.
7. Matt Lindland ($375,000 - Affliction: Banned)
There's no questioning that Matt Lindland is a top fighter who is as tough as they come. Was he worth nearly $400,000 for one unhyped fight on an undercard of a pay-per-view that maybe garnered a 100,000 buys? No.
8. Mirko Cro Cop ($350,000 - UFC 67, 70, 75)
Cro Cop is one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport. There is no question about that. The man's near emotionless demeanor and his ability to utterly destroy opponents is something to see. When he came into the UFC, it was believed he would walk through the heavyweight ranks and claim the title strap rather easily. Despite that, Cro Cop was never a proven draw in the US and the UFC paid him a bunch of money because they believed, like the rest of us, that he would become a superstar rather quickly. That didn't happen and the UFC rightfully decided to cut their losses. Only time will tell if the old Mirko reemerges and makes his way back to the UFC but at this point, it is doubtful.
9. Royce Gracie ($400,000 - UFC 60, $300,000 - K1 Dynamite 2007)
Yes, Royce Gracie helped build the UFC and the sport. Yes, a lot of people bought the pay-per-view to see his return to the octagon and to watch him get destroyed by Matt Hughes. Yes, these things may be true but $400,000 is still a lot of money to pay somebody you are simply feeding to the slaughter. And not many people watched the K1 show yet Royce still walked away with multiple bags of cash.
10. Kazuo Misaki ($1,400 - Strikeforce at the Mansion 2)
Alright, I'm kidding. But what the hell was this about? Misaki obviously was paid a much bigger undisclosed amount but still - what the hell?
