Boxers will always earn more money than MMA fighters, says Mike Tyson

11 April 2020

The comparison between Boxing and MMA is something that always fires up a debate. And now, Former Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has come out with an opinion which is bound to add fuel to the fire.

The 53-year-old Tyson, in his recent interview with Brant James, noted that Boxers will always earn more money than MMA fighters. He, however, also admitted that MMA might draw more viewers.

“MMA will always have more views and stuff than boxing, but boxers will always make more money than MMA fighters. [Why that is,] That’s tricky, it doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know, they don’t make enough money in my perspective. It’s exciting and sexy, but [UFC fighters] don’t make enough money,” he said. [via BJPenn.com].

Tyson might have a point if we look at the payment stats of MMA fighters. If we take out a few exceptions like Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Brock Lesnar among others, it is evident that most MMA Fighters are underpaid.

In fact, a recent report revealed that UFC only pays the fighters 16% of the revenue when it other sports leagues like MLB, NBA and NFL has pay-outs ranging to 40-50%. At the same time, the comparison should be light since all these are team sports while MMA is an individual sport.

As for Mike Tyson, he had a highly successful career when it comes to earning money in the ring. According to Forbes, Tyson earned around $400 Million through his bouts and also built up a net worth of $685 Million. Floyd Mayweather, who is another huge name in the boxing scene, reportedly has a net worth of more than $500 Million while Manny Pacquiao has a net worth of more than $200 Million.

Conor McGregor, who is considered to be ‘the’ biggest name in MMA at the moment, has a net worth of more than $120 Million.