As we all settle in for UFC 182 Saturday night, one item that gained my attention at the weigh-ins on Friday night was the story the commentators told of Heavyweight Jared Cannonier’s quest to fund his training camp. Cannonier utilized crowdfunding site GoFundMe to help pay for his training camp preparing for Shawn Jordan.
Cannonier, an Alaska native, drew $6,110 which exceeded his goal of $5,000. The money was raised by 37 people within 2 months. Cannonier offered incentives that donated money at different dollar amounts included a signed 8×10 photo, a t-shirt and a ticket to UFC 182 (although the ticket does not include airfare or hotel).
The amount raised is minimal to what Donald Cerrone reportedly spent to prepare for his fight against Myles Jury. According to MMA Junkie, Cerrone spent $20,000 for his training camp. Cerrone indicated this amount excluded paying coaches or the amount he put in to build a training place at his ranch in New Mexico (as seen in UFC Embedded). The amount quoted by Cerrone appears to be for paying for sparring partners to come to him. Cerrone will make a little over $100,000 for his fight against Jury.
Dominick Cruz, who was on the weigh-in broadcast for Fox, stated that training camps could cost $10,000.
It’s not known how much Cannonier will make on Saturday, but since he is new to the UFC, we might conclude he will make the introductory $8,000 to show and $8,000 win. Cannonier will be on the UFC Prelims on FS1 prior to the main card.
Payout Perspective:
We’ve heard about the “Fund a Fighter” alternatives to securing sponsorships in the past and this is similar as Cannonier is trying to carve out a solid training camp. Cannonier’s position reminds us that not every fighter in the UFC comes in as heralded (and with money) like CM Punk. It also shows that training for a fight is expensive. We will see if the new UFC sponsor deals will address issues like Cannonier.
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