“I’m like wow” – Frank Mir reveals shockingly low payout for UFC 100 title bout against Brock Lesnar

Frank Mir took on Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 100 in 2009. This event was a milestone for the promotion, as it became the highest-grossing pay-per-view in its history with 1.6 million buys. It held this record for over seven years until it was finally surpassed by UFC 202.

Despite earning a whopping $71 million in revenue with a pay-per-view price of $44.95, Mir expressed his disappointment at the surprisingly low compensation he received for the fight. In an interview with Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, the former heavyweight champion revealed:

“I think when it finally dawned on me was the Deontay Wilder [rematch] with Tyson Fury. We still did more buys than they did, me and Brock, and then I’m looking at the pay-per-view cost. OK, the money was there. Who did it go to? Seeing these guys make $40 million combined. I’m like wow. Brock obviously made seven figures off it, I think he made $2.5 million. But I didn’t even make a million.”

He went on to say:

“Brock himself, a much bigger superstar than [Fury or Wilder]. How come he wasn’t making $20 million? That blows my mind, and I don’t understand it. Until Conor [McGregor] came along, we had the record for the most pay-per-view buys sold.”[h/t MMA Fighting]

According to reports, the second bout between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury amassed between 800,000 and 850,000 pay-per-view purchases, approximately half of what UFC 100 achieved. With a price of $79.99 per view, the event brought in around $64-68 million in revenue. Despite earning less, both fighters were guaranteed a purse of $25 million, in addition to their share of pay-per-view profits.

Controversy Surrounding Low Payday for Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 Sparks Debate

During an interview with Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir revealed that he received a base pay of only $45,000 for his UFC 100 title bout against Brock Lesnar.

“At the time, I didn’t know better. We didn’t know. Just now as time goes on, I’m looking around like, hold on a second, that makes no sense. A pay-per-view buy is a pay-per-view buy. Why is this sport paying their athletes this percentage of what they’re making versus this one? It’s the pretty same makeup. This isn’t two wildly different sports, boxing and MMA.”

Frank Mir went on to say:

“They’re very comparable when it comes to putting up a cage or a ring, so it’s not like the costs are different. So what’s the difference here? Oh, that’s because you have competing promoters, and they know what’s going on, and you can’t screw each other.”[h/t MMA Fighting]

Despite acknowledging that current fighters are earning higher salaries compared to when he was competing, Frank Mir emphasized that fighter pay remains a contentious topic in the UFC. In fact, the organization recently resolved a $335 million lawsuit filed by a group of mixed martial artists who alleged that the UFC unfairly used its dominant market position to keep fighter pay at a low level.