Exclusive: Frank Mir questions pay for UFC 100 main event against Brock Lesnar: "Transparency I think helps everybody"
Frank Mir recently opened up about his fighter purse for his UFC 100 main event against Brock Lesnar, which was a rematch for the undisputed heavyweight championship. He noted that the promotion wasn't transparent at all and that his pay was significantly less than perceived based on the success of the event.
UFC 100 was a massive milestone for the promotion and featured a stacked star-studded card that was headlined by two title fights. Lesnar vs. Mir was the perfect main event as it was a highly anticipated rematch that saw the former WWE superstar attempt to avenge his lone career loss at that point. The event was very successful on pay-per-view as it generated 1.6 million buys, which set a new record for the promotion at the time.
While speaking to Sportskeeda MMA's Dylan Bowker, the former heavyweight champion questioned why he didn't receive a significant payout, considering the cost of the pay-per-view and number of buys. Mir mentioned that he would have understood if the UFC was upfront with their pay structure and how it would be distributed, but that wasn't the case. He said:
"I'm not a businessman but if our pay-per-view sold for $50...and we sold over a million, and other people that have done equivalent to that sold less and make more...significantly more, how does that work out?...We're not talking the amount of money, we're talking percentages of money. Why was my percentage so much smaller than a boxer's percentage was?...Just explain it to me. I think transparency helps everybody." [16:08 - 16:49]
Check out the full exclusive interview with Frank Mir below:
Frank Mir opens up about misconception of fighters being independent contractors
In addition to discussing his fighter pay for his UFC 100 main event against Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir opened up about the misconception of fighters being independent contractors.
During the aforementioned interview, Mir compared the situation to a handyman and mentioned that the fighters should be allowed to pursue work elsewhere if they are under contract with the UFC and waiting for an extended period between fights. He said:
"If you don't have work for me three months, six months and somebody else has work for me, I can't go over there and work for them?...That doesn't sound like an independent contractor to me...once you sign with the UFC, once you're signed with the league, you are held to that league and you can't search for any kind of income anywhere else. I think that's ridiculous." [10:18 - 10:42]
Check out highlights from Frank Mir's win over Brock Lesnar below:
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