And had Good fought outside of the U.S., international taxes would have been an added line item. And even when paydays may seem large for those who want to casually label them as “one night’s work,” expenses can eat into a large chuck – a 78 percent chunk for Good in 2011 – before even paying taxes.
#BECOMING A MMA MANAGER PROFESSIONAL#
The report certainly supports the notion that the life of a professional MMA fighter can be a monetary grind, especially for those who aren’t regular headliners in promotions such as the UFC or Bellator or otherwise big names in the sport. And for three more years, Fuentes’ report does not show any business income. In Fuentes’ report, Good netted just over $35,000 in business income that year.ĭuring three years of the nine-year period, Good’s business income fell between $3,000-$7,000. Good reportedly earned $62,000 ($12,000 to show and $50,000 for Fight of the Night), but may have also received some other form of undisclosed discretionary pay. His next most profitable year, per Fuentes, came from fighting a single time for the UFC in 2017 with a split decision loss to Elizeu Zaleski. Good’s most profitable year as a professional MMA fighter in this period came in 2009, per Fuentes’ report, when he fought three times and won the Bellator welterweight tournament, earning business income of just over $46,000 (apparently net of expenses). It appears his fight income is classified as “Business Income.” According to Fuentes’ report, Good only earned income from two sources during that period: fighting and teaching at Tiger Schulmann’s gym. Yet they still paint a stark picture of the expense side of being an MMA independent contractor.Ī bit more about the MMA fight game can be gleaned from the summary information for 2009-2017. Since Good essentially went through four fight camps but only completed two bouts in the year, some of these expenses could be larger than usual. And in a signal of the toll MMA training can take on a fighter’s body, massages accounted for $1,500 and 7 percent of Good’s revenues. Transportation and professional fees – which presumably include gym and training expenses and possibly licensing and medical fees, among other items – ate into large 15-17 percent chunks. Of those nine categories, four accounted for 70 percent of Good’s gross revenues and 89 percent of his overall expenses.Īt 30 percent of gross revenues, agent fees were Good’s largest documented expense of the year. Good’s expenses were broken down into nine categories: Professional fees, meals & entertainment, agent fees, equipment, transportation, phone, laundry, tickets and massages. After subtracting expenses, Fuentes found Good’s net business income was only $4,548, meaning the expenses associated with professional MMA accounted for 78 percent of Good’s gross revenues. Good was a Bellator MMA fighter in 2011, having lost his welterweight title to “Funky” Ben Askren the previous year. He would fight twice during the year and have two more scheduled bouts cancelled at the last minute due to injury.Īccording to Fuentes’ report, Good’s gross revenues from self-employment activities (presumably fighting) were $20,769 in 2011. But for one year in particular, 2011, Good made his complete tax return available. Good’s motion, filed on March 26 in New York federal court, included an expert report of Henry Fuentes, Executive Vice President of Economatrix Research Associates, who reviewed Good’s financial records in order to calculate the economic damages from his USADA suspension.Īccording to Fuentes, he reviewed “transcripts” of Good’s tax returns for 2009-2017 containing summary information such as total income, net business income, and taxable income. Good’s suing the companies for damages arising from his six-month suspension in 2016 following a positive test for the prohibited substance 1-androstenedione, a substance he claims came from an “adulterated” supplement Anavite. Jury estimated the winning 10/10 fighter would take home a $5,500 profit with the losing fighter walking away with $1,500.Ī few weeks ago, another data point on fighter expenses became public when UFC welterweight Lyman Good filed a motion to exclude the testimony of an expert witness in his legal tussle with Gaspari Nutrition and Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals. Myles Jury, a current UFC featherweight, later estimated the typical expenses of a fighter operating under the UFC’s entry level contract ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win). In 2013, former UFC lightweight John Cholish shared the taxes and expenses he claimed led to his losing more than $6,000 to fight on the UFC on FX 8 prelims in Brazil.
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