To meet Morgan Charrière, go to the US Metro, a Parisian hall for mixed martial arts (MMA). A cage, a large space covered with tatami, a ring, punching bags, a corner dedicated to physical preparation… The dream setting for an athlete. At the beginning of August, the Frenchman (27) joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the most prestigious organization in MMA. Saturday September 2, he takes part in the event organized by the American league at the Accor Arena in Paris.
The native of Poissy (Yvelines) is not an aggressive style fighter. Very present on YouTube and on social networks, he has built up, over the years, a real community and a brand image. “I made the choice to control what I can control, explains the interested party. When you fight for a private organization, what matters is what you bring to them: your style, if you put knockouts, if you have a selling image… People have to pay to see you . I took all these axes to be better paid and for the sponsors to be interested in me. »
For the vast majority of MMA fighters, stepping into the cage and winning isn’t enough. At the UFC, for example, you sign your first contract for four matches, each paid around 10,000 dollars (9,200 euros), a sum doubled in the event of a victory. Added to this are the sponsorship revenues paid by the organization: 4,000 dollars (3,680 euros) per appearance. The amount increases with seniority in the league.
Subtract 10% for the trainer, 10% for the manager, taxes and duties, and finally the costs (care, multiplicity of trainers, travel, etc.). With an average of two fights per year, if there is a defeat, an injury or a lack of opponent, net income drops to a few thousand dollars a year… in the best league in the world. In France, about twenty practitioners live from their sport, at most. And, even for the great champions, the scholarships appear almost ridiculous next to those of the very great boxers.
“Communication separates ordinary fighters from stars”
Giom Peltier is the manager of Morgan Charrière and leads the Bulgarian Top Team, one of the main MMA management agencies in Europe. “A great champion in the UFC will take from 500,000 to 1 million euros for a fight, or even more for a few very rare exceptions, he details. A heavyweight boxing champion will take ten times as much. » The redistribution of money in MMA organizations also differs: according to the calculations of various observers, the UFC would donate approximately 13% of its turnover (1.3 billion dollars in 2022, or 1. 2 billion euros) to its fighters. When on the side of the big boxing federations, we are closer to fifty-fifty.
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