The Predicament of A UFC Prize Fighter

It seems more and more fighters are starting to give up on the UFC and their new Reebok sponsorship. What would seem like a good thing as a new sponsorship program for the UFC in terms of getting bigger name sponsors all in house? Things seem to be deteriorating faster than they are getting better for the UFC and Reebok as more and more fighters are coming out in disagreement with the Reebok sponsorship pay. Some fighters like Brendan Schaub seem to be more vocal than others while others seem to be waiting out the storm hoping that it will get better and that more big name sponsors will also jump onboard to increase the sponsor baseline pay. Schaub went on to say that he was losing hundreds and thousands of dollars in Sponsorship pay and that he was making more for his podcast than actually fighting which led to his impromptu retirement from the sport. 




Where does this deal leave the fighters who are there for a paycheck, who don't care about being role models who don't care about UFC titles or anything more than just big paydays? At one point and time, the UFC was the premiere MMA organization where a fighter could get those big paychecks,  winning bonuses, and as many sponsors as they could fit on their shorts and banner. But now with that reality quickly  fading out of view and introducing tougher decisions that they have to make financially, that no longer seems like the case. Ramsey Nijem is one fighter who just recently decided that fighting without supplemental sponsor pay was making him lose money more than it was helping him to keep his head above water.

“They made an offer to me and – man, I’m losing money fighting there,” Nijem said. “I said no and that I need more money to fight because it’s not possible. If you don’t have sponsorships it’s not profitable. It’s a really hard way to make a minimum wage salary.”

“I asked for more money and they said, ‘No, this is what you’re going to get." Nijem said. “That was that. The next thing you know, I got pulled out and told I was going to get bad matchups. I was given a bad matchup. I quote unquote lost that last fight (a split decision loss to Andrew Holbrook at UFC on FOX 16), which I feel like was one of the best performances I’ve had. But, whatever"

Even sponsors who don't care about showing up in the cage or even at the stadium with the fighters are now dropping the UFC and Reebok in the dust In response to how the whole deal plays out and how it treats the fighters that they are supposed to be working with.
Like the 9ine company owned by famed soccer star Ronaldo who dropped its partnership with Zuffa and Reebok along with Vitor Belfort's wife claiming that Belfort is losing millions of dollars in sponsor pay by stating

"As a business woman, I understand why 9ine cut ties with the UFC. Vitor has lost millions for years because of the new sponsorship policy. Thank God he is an athlete whose reach goes beyond the cage and he has other businesses. Fighting has become a hobby, but he was harmed much like the other fighters with this new business model. We have a great relationship with Ronaldo (9ine's owner) and all the 9ine crew. We wish them success."

How long can the UFC hold out before the floodgates of fighters not getting paid enough actually come out and start to leave in droves or worse yet, boycott the whole deal and cause a publicity fiasco? How much worse does it have to get other then the wife of a former UFC champion and current fighter to watch like Vitor Belfort to come out and say that their husband is now fighting as a hobby. As a fighter who fights for money before anything else. How fast does it really take for fighting in lower tiered organisations seem like the way better option than being in the spotlight for the glory in honor of being a legend or champion.