It was just over two weeks ago that renowned lightweight prospect Paul Hughes (10-1) chose to sign with the PFL rather than the UFC. The news would have barely been a blip in the eyes of a casual MMA fan, but it was significant news for those who follow the sport closely.
Hughes stated it was due to him knowing his worth, indicating the PFL offered a higher figure contract than the UFC did.
To a casual fan, that might be a bit of a surprise.
To those who have followed MMA closely for years, it was about as expected as the news that touching a hot stove hurts.
The UFC brand is bigger than the sport
I get where a casual fan is coming from.
The UFC is the largest MMA organization in the world. No other organization generates more money, no other organization pays its fighters more... on the whole.
Hell, there are those who know what the UFC is, but don’t know what MMA is.
I’ve met several people who looked at me cluelessly when I mention I enjoy watching MMA. If I mention the UFC, that tends to clear up their confusion.
To put it in perspective, that’s similar to people saying Michael Jordan plays NBA as opposed to playing basketball.
That’s how synonymous the UFC is with MMA.
However, that synonymy is exactly why the UFC believes it can get away with “low balling” those who have yet to establish themselves. The UFC is well aware of their stature in the sporting world.
UFC success brings fame and fortune
At this point, Conor McGregor has near universal name ID.
UFC champions frequently get hometown parades and the like when they first claim their crown.
Some of those hometowns are pretty damn big. You get a high degree of notoriety in the process.
Even those who haven’t claimed UFC gold can make a nice living for themselves.
Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland have never won a UFC title, but they’ve made it in the national spotlight with a Cuervo commercial.
I’m sure that’s a pretty penny in their pocket.
Not as much as perhaps an NFL or NBA star would get, but I’m sure it was more than the yearly salary of a large chunk of the American adult population.
Both are fine fighters, but probably not top 50 in the grand scheme of the UFC’s roster, at least at this juncture.
But those are established talents. As good as Hughes has looked in the Cage Warriors promotion, he isn’t an established talent.
The UFC can afford to be picky with prospects
And the UFC is very selective about which prospects they back up the Brinks truck for.
They would rather tell a fighter to prove they’re worth the money before making a big offer.
The recent track record of Cage Warriors champions didn’t help Hughes’ cause.
Rhys McKee is winless in four UFC tries. An argument could be made the UFC was too quick to cut Mason Jones, but he didn’t last beyond his initial four-fight contract.
George Hardwick came up short in his bid on DWCS. Same with Jack Cartwright.
That isn’t to say there haven’t been any recent hits.
Paddy Pimblett and Ian Garry show the way
Paddy Pimblett has established himself as having some star power, but he also waited to sign with the UFC until it was obvious they would get a good return on their investment... provided they coddled him.
Given the UFC is a business first and a sports organization second, they’ve done that.
Ian Machado Garry looks like he’s the best thing to come from the organization since McGregor. But that reinforces the point: no other former Cage Warrior champion has come close to sniffing a UFC title since McGregor.
McGregor’s UFC debut was in 2013.
I don’t want to skate by on semantics. I’m not wrong when I say no Cage Warrior champion has come close to sniffing a UFC title shot.
What I will admit is Tom Aspinall, the current interim heavyweight champion, fought a couple of times in Cage Warriors.
Regardless, he’s the exception to the rule and as much as I like Hughes, I’m not getting Aspinall or Garry vibes from him.
Given their general policy, I can see where the UFC opted to hold steady on their offer.
Understanding the UFC isn’t defending them
Perhaps that makes it sound like I’m selling out to the UFC. But seeing where they’re coming from isn’t the same as agreeing with them. I’m not going to pretend to know exactly what they have going on behind closed doors, but I have a general idea.
They have a general baseline for what they’ll spend on a fighter coming from the regional scene and while there may be some slight variance in what they’ll spend, they’ll need a special talent for them break the bank.
After all, leave it to the “lesser” organizations to take the risk and break the bank on a fighter who may or may not be up to the hype. If they do prove to be up to the hype, whose to say the UFC won’t sign them up later?
Michael Chandler may have spent his prime years in Bellator, but it can’t be denied that he became far more visible in the general sense once he signed with the UFC.
When you have the name brand the UFC does, you can afford to bank on your name in a way others can’t. Some fighters are willing to take the initial cut in pay, believing their fortune will come in due time as they become UFC stars.
After all, no one knew who Kurt Warner was when he twice named the top quarterback in the Arena Football League.
It wasn’t until he was the top quarterback in the National Football League that he became a household name.
As much as I hope PFL finds greater success, they’re still seen as a minor league for the UFC.
Kayla Harrison was unknown before UFC 300
I have an acquaintance who is a big fan of Holly Holm who had never heard of Kayla Harrison. They were in shock when Harrison tore her apart at UFC 300.
Despite the PFL having invested a lot of time, energy, promotion, and money in Harrison, her star was always going to be limited so long as she stayed in the organization. Harrison recognized that, which is why she jumped to the UFC despite being required to cut all the way to 135.
One fight later and I now have several acquaintances who were newly excited about Harrison despite her being similarly dominant during her PFL run.
Hughes exemplifies the conflict many fighters face nowadays. Go to an organization like the PFL or One Championship and be assured of greater financial security in the short run or take the risk of hoping for greater recognition down the road.
Given being a fighter requires an immeasurable belief in oneself, the UFC still ends up getting some of the top talent in the world. These fighters don’t believe they’re going to fail.
Even though some inevitably will fail, they can’t doubt themselves if they’re going to succeed.
The UFC is well aware of this.
What’s the point of winning fights if you’re not famous?
The other factor is how badly these fighters crave notoriety. What good is it to be one of the best fighters in the world if only a handful of people are aware of that fact?
Many of these newcomers believe they can be the next McGregor or Ronda Rousey. With greater notoriety comes greater paychecks.
That’s what Harrison is banking on. She pulled in million-dollar plus paychecks annually – for the most part – while in the PFL, but will make more in the UFC, provided she performs as expected.
Perhaps it now sounds like I’m trashing on Hughes for not taking the UFC’s offer, that I’m claiming he didn’t bet on himself or that he doesn’t believe in himself.
I’m not saying that in the least. The situation is different for every fighter, just as the mindset is different for every fighter.
Some fighters perform at their best without a fear of negative consequences coming their way, others are in top shape when they’re well aware of what their opponent might do to them.
I wish Hughes well in his endeavors and that he has no regrets. I’d feel the same way if he signed with the UFC.
For those of us who follow the sport closely, there can be frustration that more people don’t recognize the talents of those outside the UFC. If those talents were more recognized, that might force the UFC to budge from their baseline pay.
Hell, it might even force the UFC to up their baseline Performance Bonus of $50K, something that hasn’t changed in over a decade.
Given the amount of inflation over in that time, that’s something one would have reasonably expected to have bumped up in that time. You’d think they would have bumped it up to at least $60K over a decade later.
The casual fan perspective
In defense of the casual fan, it isn’t like they don’t dig deeper into the sport by choice. There’s only so many hours in a day.
A good chunk of that time is dedicated to their source of income, another large chunk of time to sleep, and then there’s family obligations.
Perhaps there’s community engagement in there. Most people have multiple interests and hobbies too.
Given the UFC does have the largest and best collective talent, it makes sense that fans would devote most of their MMA time to the UFC.
Just as fighters have to look out for themselves when they choose which MMA organization they choose to fight in, fans have to look out for their best interests in how they spend their time.
Unfortunately for most fighters, what is best for them rarely aligns with what is best for fans.
Man I’m ignorant I thought Hughes was bantamweight and was wondering what all the fuss was about…