Iole talks million dollar locker room bonuses
STEVE COFIELD: Now he did go on the record with a trusted site out there and they do a good,…
STEVE COFIELD: Now he did go on the record with a trusted site out there and they do a good, MMA Junkie, which is a partner of Yahoo. Were you surprised that he actually released what he’s getting paid for the fight? He’s getting $40,000 to show and $40,000 to win and actually admitted, I thought this was really in violation of UFC policy, that he’s not getting back-end on the PPV and you know how do you tie that to the amount of effort you put into a media promotion when you’re not going to benefit from PPVs if it’s 1.1 million or 1.7 million?
KEVIN IOLE: Well, I think the one thing that he will benefit from is the UFC does this and you know I don’t like it because then it’s you know it’s always kind of behind closed doors, but they give bonuses to fighters for performing in a fight in the locker room after the fight and they have wide discretion there, that way it’s not known. That’s why you see some of the fighters that are making a lot more money than what their contract calls for, you know there’s been guys that have made a million dollar bonus in the locker room. I’m not saying that Carwin’s going to get that kind of bonus, but certainly that’s what he’s fighting for. He’s fighting for the Knockout of the Night bonus, get the Fight of the Night bonus, and he’s fighting to get that discretionary bonus that the UFC gives. You know I wish it was more up front and on the table, you know, as opposed to you know such a discretionary thing but at least the fighters do have another source of income out there.
STEVE COFIELD: But you don’t see the fact that he admitted he’s not getting a back-end PPV bonus and that he’s getting 40k/40k that they’re going to hold that against him and not give him his bonus and does it get that petty? I don’t mean the 40/40, but the stuff that you were talking about, some of the back-end bonuses behind the scenes that they would you know that they would be petty and stick it to him if he comes up with a big victory and puts on a big show.
KEVIN IOLE: Well, I mean, you know, if they do that then that’s pretty bad. I don’t expect them to do it because he wasn’t critical. IN other words, he hasn’t going out and saying I’m upset with the amount of money that I’m making, I’m getting screwed here, whatever. He was just stating a fact. I mean I think that give the guy a break, you know, he said, he spoke his mind, he was honest and he has the right to do that. Some fighters don’t want to talk about their pay, they don’t have to do it you know. The contract that he signed is going to be public in Nevada, some states it isn’t public, Steve. Texas doesn’t release that but Nevada is good, they put that and they make that a public document so it’s going to be released on Saturday July 3rd anyways. So, I don’t see any problem with what he did.
STEVE COFIELD: Is it a model they need to be a little afraid of in terms of guys going out and pushing the PPV when one guy’s getting a bonus and the other guy isn’t? Obviously an official in-the-contract PPV back-end bonus…
KEVIN IOLE: Yeah, I mean, certainly, I mean I could see it happening but by the same token I think that a lot of the fighters understand the UFC the way they do things. You know, I wish in these big fights that all the fighters would share in it. I think the fighters take huge risks and I’d like to see the fighters get rewarded for it, taking that, and have a known quantity that they can rely on. But having said that, I think that most of the fighters look at it and they see they’ve seen those discretionary bonuses come out so that’s what motivates them to fight the way they do is that they know hey, you know, I need to you know put on a show in order to get that pay they need to really step it up and put on a show and so I think that you know it’s really not going to be a problem, at least for the near future.
