MMA Pay Behind the Times, Lindland Says
Joe Myers Sep 5, 2011
Mixed martial artists having the ability to make a living while
being full-time fighters is an issue about which 2000 Olympic
silver medalist Matt
Lindland (Pictured) remains passionate. He addressed the
subject in a recent interview with Sherdog.com:
“I’ve always had a lot more stuff going on outside of fighting, but a lot of that came because I couldn’t make a living just by being a fighter. Even now, how many guys at the top level of the sport -- and by that I mean Strikeforce and the UFC -- can make a living off what they get to fight? It’d make for an interesting story that I definitely would read. In the NFL, there’s about 900 or so players, and they have a minimum salary that allows them to make a good living. Once fighters get to the NFL of MMA, there’s no minimum salary. Even with all of the success the big MMA promotions have had recently, it’s barely gotten better than when I got started.”
“I’ve always had a lot more stuff going on outside of fighting, but a lot of that came because I couldn’t make a living just by being a fighter. Even now, how many guys at the top level of the sport -- and by that I mean Strikeforce and the UFC -- can make a living off what they get to fight? It’d make for an interesting story that I definitely would read. In the NFL, there’s about 900 or so players, and they have a minimum salary that allows them to make a good living. Once fighters get to the NFL of MMA, there’s no minimum salary. Even with all of the success the big MMA promotions have had recently, it’s barely gotten better than when I got started.”
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