AFeldmanMMA

The Fight Business From All Angles 👊🏼

Where combat sports meets finance, data, athlete storytelling, and the forgotten moments of MMA.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

November 12th, 2016: Conor McGregor put on one of the greatest performances in MMA history when he dismantled Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to become the UFC’s first simultaneous double champ.

After the fight, McGregor was livid that the UFC didn’t have a 2nd belt for him, that led to one of the greatest post fight interviews of all time.

@TheNotoriousMMA

(🎥 UFC YT)

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

Been waiting for this day for a long, long time.

Knicks 📼

“I know y’all didn’t think the butcher was gonna lose in a fist fight to a French guy.”

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@OklahomaAbe 💯

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

11 months ago, while recovering from a double lung transplant, a barely recognizable Ben Askren told the world:

“I am where I am right now, but I’m going to be somewhere different in a month. I’m going to work my ass off and I’m going to get better.”

But if we're being honest, expectations for "getting better" were all over the place. This was a guy who had just:

🔻 “Only died four times.”
🔻 Spent weeks on a ventilator and ECMO.
🔻 Lost 50 pounds in 45 days.
🔻 Couldn't walk.
🔻 Could barely lift a 5-pound weight.

Despite all of that, he clearly wasn’t lying about working his ass off to get better.

If anything, he undersold it.

Yesterday, on Ariel Helwani’s show, Askren announced his return to competition, wrestling former UFC champion Belal Muhammad at @RAFWrestlingUSA 11 on July 18 in his home state of Wisconsin.

An unprecedented comeback that legitimately started with survival.

Undoubtedly one of the craziest and most inspiring stories in sports and beyond.

🤼: @Benaskren
🎙️: @arielhelwani

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@wbailey79 Definition of a fighter.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

It’s actually all been documented by producer David Henrie and directed by Rory Karpf, the filmmaker behind the legendary 30 for 30 I Hate Christian Laettner.

And yea, 100 percent agree with you. I have a feeling it’s going to be incredibly inspiring. What Ben has gone through over the last year is hard to wrap your head around, and the fact he’s already planning on competing in a combat sport again roughly 12 months later is something we’ve never seen before.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

Tbh, you’re pretty spot on if we are just talking about the median life expectancy for lung transplant recipients, but the numbers are skewed. That’s talking about every recipient; all ages, single and double transplants, and mostly people who were chronically ill for years before surgery.

Thankfully, Ben is essentially in every favorable category when it comes to lung recipients. He received a double lung transplant which is better than single, is younger than the average recipient, and was a high-level athlete his entire life before getting sick out of nowhere.

In those categoris you’ll find plenty of recipients who go on to live 30+ healthy years.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@poetryinmtion Fighter pay has always been sheisty and always will be. Nothing was worse than when the Dana and the UFC decided to change the rules and take all the sponsorship income fighters were making.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

Let’s not forget: Manny Pacquiao made $2.25 Million from trunk sponsors in one night.

A UFC champion today makes $42,000 whether 100K people watch or 5 million.

Nick Khan just testified in front of Congress on the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act and slipped in a quick sales pitch to young boxers for Zuffa Boxing.

Part of his message:
“If you want exposure…trading card deals…merchandise deals…video game deals…all of which the fighters would participate financially…come this way.”

That all sounds great!

‼️But if history tells us anything, here’s what Zuffa and the UFC actually did:

They saw the opportunity in fighter sponsorships and centralized fight week and fight night revenue.

A massive shift.

Sponsorships that were once fighter owned became promotion owned
and it happened right as fighters gained the tools to truly monetize themselves.

Today’s UFC fighter is:

👤 Audience owner
🏢 Monetization tenant

They can build millions of followers, drive engagement, sell products on social.

But the moment that matters most for every combat sports athlete, fight week and especially fight night, when the most eyes are on them, isn’t theirs to capitalize on.

That’s the gap.

Now imagine what a company would pay to be on a UFC superstar’s fight shorts today.

Because in the creator and entertainment economy:

📈 Peak attention = peak revenue

In the UFC model:

📉 Peak attention = fixed pay

No matter the viewership
No matter the value generated

That upside flows to the uniform, the canvas, the broadcast.

Not the fighter.

That’s why the UFC is the outlier.

🌍 In every other category, creators own their biggest moment
🥊 In the UFC, the promotion does

Which is why pressure is building:

📱 Fighters have portable audiences the UFC doesn’t control
🤝 Brands are routing around the system, working directly with fighters off platform
👊🏼 Other promotions allow fight night monetization
📊 The gap between what fighters generate and what they capture keeps widening

The market has already moved.

But the model hasn’t.

So when the pitch to boxers is “come here for financial opportunity” outside of the ring

The real question isn’t whether the opportunity sounds good.

It’s whether fighters will actually financially participate in the value they create

Or just create it for someone else to own…like they already do in the UFC.

And this goes much deeper than just fighter sponsorships.

📊 Full breakdown in the graphics below.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

One of the most bizarre mistakes in UFC history, and one that has always stuck with me.

The first flyweight fight in UFC history. Demetrious “ Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs. Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall. The semifinal of the tournament that would crown the inaugural UFC flyweight champion.

One hell of a fight that should have gone to a sudden-death 4th round under this tournament’s rules, a format the UFC has never used exactly like this before or since.

The Sydney crowd would’ve erupted for a sudden-death round. It had every ingredient of an unforgettable UFC moment, and a simple math mistake erased it. Also delaying the entire tournament for months.

But here’s why this clip has always stuck with me.

After receiving the corrected scorecards backstage, Dana White personally went to speak with both fighters to deliver the news. He made sure DJ and McCall knew how much he appreciated the fight they’d just put on, and told each of them they’d earned Fight of the Night.

Furious at the mistake. Respectful to the fighters. Understanding of how frustrating the situation was for DJ and bizarre for Ian.

To me, it’s one of the best examples of Dana at his absolute best.

Will always be one of the wildest mistakes in UFC history, and forever a massive “what if” moment.

[Kalshi Sports @KalshiSports]

What’s the single worst mistake you’ve seen during a sports game?

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@qwnn95 The UFC didn’t score the fight, tabulate the scorecards, or announce the result. The commission does that.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

Haha Dana has definitely changed over the years, but I don’t see much acting here. This was the first flyweight fight in UFC history and the card had wildly overdelivered. It looked more like adrenaline from a solid card, specifically the co main and main event.

He still made it clear he was pissed about the commission’s mistake pretty much because of how it impacted himself and the UFC, but there was also a level of sympathy and understanding there that you don’t see from him as often these days.

And trust me, no one is ever going to accuse me of being some Dana White homer. There’s plenty to criticize him for. I just don’t think this is one of those moments. This was Dana near his best.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@MikeWanDoe What would you want him to do to help DJ?

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@Chris_T4257 Not every round is a 10-9 round. One judge, Sal D’Amato, scored the third round a 10-8 round.

Below is the scorecard.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@comicaldavid Definitely a bizarre situation. Sal D’Amato’s round 3 score was originally incorrectly “counted” as a 10-9 rather than the correct 10-8

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

There’s no doubt that momentum was fully on Mccall’s side after the dominant 3rd round. DJ’s team had him on the stool getting ready for the potential 4th round.

That said, always thought if Ian didn’t play it up to the crowd as much, he would have gotten the TKO, but I respect the energy he brought for the first flyweight fight in UFC history. Both guys proving that the 125lb weight class deserved its spot in the UFC.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

Yea definitely not suggesting Dana’s sitting there approving tweets. Just pointing out the irony that one of TKO’s most prominent executives and the face of the UFC has adamantly dismissed men’s mental health discussions, while the company is promoting awareness around it.

Extra ironic when the UFC has always loved to promote fighter storylines surrounding their mental health forever.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

Dana “I hate this whole men’s mental health bullsh*t they talk about” White is about to fire whoever approved this post on TKO’s account 😂

[TKO @TKOGrp]

As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to an end, Khalil Rountree spoke with Child Mind Institute and shared a powerful perspective on mindset, perseverance and staying mentally strong through challenges. Known for being a vocal advocate for mental health, his message to kids is one of honesty and resilience. Join Khalil in making sure every kid gets the chance to just be a kid. #MentalFitness #UFCInTheCommunity #WeAreAllFighters

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@twztid13 Here's some shocking news:

You can actually be right-leaning, pro-business, believe in free markets, run a successful company, and still have opinions on how the UFC treats and compensates its athletes 🤯

I know. Crazy concept.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

Vegas line: Over/under 50% of UFC Freedom 250 attendees pass the “Genuine UFC Fan” verification exam 👀

Apparently military personnel attending the UFC White House event must meet strict requirements and be “genuine UFC fans.”

The military is the least of my concern; they’ve earned their seats.

I’m more interested in the remainder of the ~4,300 attendees.

Anyone taking the over?

[Championship Rounds @ChampRDS]

🚨 Military personnel attending the UFC White House event in June must meet weight and height requirements, and will have to pay their own way to attend the event, per @washingtonpost

- To be eligible, military personnel "must meet current waist-height ratio and current physical fitness standard"

- Travel costs will be "member-procured", meaning neither the UFC nor the Defense Department will cover arrangements or accommodations.

- The memo also states: "Tickets must be distributed to genuine UFC fans, not solely to high-ranking DVs"

- Troops will also be required to wear their short-sleeve dress uniforms

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@twztid13 Why’s that? If it was an NBA or NFL questionnaire you’d simply write ~50% and have very little opinion on it.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

@TheDunkCentral @NBA__Courtside Last 10 completed NBA Finals winners:

West: 6
East: 4

Cmon now, let’s not act like the East is some cakewalk.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

My bad if this wasn’t already clear, but the entire graphic is satire lol just a joke based off the legitimately reported requirements military personnel have to meet to attend the event, including being “genuine UFC fans.”

The joke is imagining what would happen if the same standard got applied to everyone else attending.

The military attendees have earned their seats.