MMA Fighting reports that the UFC will need to pay $1,675 per fighter for its two shows that will be in New York this year. The payment is the insurance premium based on a $1 million traumatic brain injury insurance provision that was part of the bill that legalized MMA in the state.
Based on the insurance coverage, the UFC will pay $43,550 for this type of insurance for UFC 205 on November 12th at Madison Square Garden. It will pay $40,200 for its show in Albany on December 9th. The amounts do not include the typical $50K medical and $50K accidental death insurance policies.
The $1 million traumatic brain injury insurance provision also applies to boxing events which has drawn the ire of boxing promoters. Last week, boxing promoter Lou DiBella announced via press release that he would pull the remaining cards he was promoting in New York this year.
Payout Perspective:
The $1 million insurance provision was a likely concession by pro-MMA legislators to push through the bill to legalize professional mixed martial arts in the state. We are now seeing the repercussions of this. The expense to hold a combat sports event in New York will be at a premium and will likely foreclose a lot of smaller shows. Boxing promoters have been vocal about this since the bill was legalized. One might wonder whether there were lobbyists looking out for boxing’s interest last spring in Albany. The news of the opposition to the insurance requirement is just coming out after the fact.
d says
This basically pushed boxing out of NY.
Fight Fan says
Boxing is better in vegas anyway
d says
It was better, they have kicked them out of Vegas though too. They’ve fled to Europe.
tops E says
Oh no more expenses how to recoup 4 billion? Hahahaha
Cutch says
Good Combat Sports are dangerous and they should have decent insurance in case something bad happens, it doesn’t matter if it’s McGregor, Canelo or a club fighter all their lives matter the same.
d says
Tops doesn’t realize that this actually benefits the UFC, it killed all of the competition for them. Haha.
Fight Fan says
D the biggest combat sports event ever just took place in vegas last year
tops E says
If ufc made 157 M net income in 2015 and 75 M net income in 2014….how long before they recoup theyre 4 billion? hahaha….also with 600M generated they earned 25% how much was the marketing cost?
d says
FF, yeah, only 17 months ago and that was basically the last super fight boxing will ever have to offer in Vegas. Many have pointed out that single handily destroyed the sport. They haven’t had a 1m plus buy ppv since or anything even close to that.
d says
Tops, by increasing revenue like they are going to do with their next domestic tv deal. That’s literally going to be about 150m more per year just from domestic tv.
Speaking of failed ventures, how is that 500m of investor money doing for PBC? How are they going to recoup that money when they are out of business before the end of 2017?
fight fan says
D PBC is not boxing’s only dominant provider. Showtime, HBO, Boxnation and Sky sports are all able to put on big cards and broadcast them. Unlike UFC which if they go down mma goes bye bye, just like poker. Also just cause boxing didn’t have a big PPV doesn’t mean they didn’t have huge events. Go research and look at Spence’s fight along with Thurman/Porter. Lol boxing is far from being done.
d says
They won’t be any provider soon and Showtime and HBO have drastically slashed their boxing budgets this year. Bellator does bigger ratings than they do and the UFC will never go bye, even if WME fails, someone else will buy it. You don’t want to hear the reality of the situation, but there are far more mma fans in the US/Canada than there are boxing. It isn’t even close. Boxing has hit such an all time low, the probably won’t even break 2m ppv buys total this year. This MSG UFC show will likely do more than every boxing ppv combined this year.
Thurman-Porter and Spence, yeah, sounds like a reincarnation of Hagler-Hearns. Hahahaha. These are tv fights and they aren’t big. The only reason why the Spence fight did big ratings was because it was on during the Olympics. PBC’s average ratings were less than half of that event.
You are going to be in for more bad news in the year’s to come. It is only going to get worse.
d says
They won’t be any provider soon and Showtime and HBO have drastically slashed their boxing budgets this year. Bellator does bigger ratings than they do and the UFC will never go bye, even if WME fails, someone else will buy it. You don’t want to hear the reality of the situation, but there are far more mma fans in the US/Canada than there are boxing. It isn’t even close. Boxing has hit such an all time low, the probably won’t even break 2m ppv buys total this year. This MSG UFC show will likely do more than every boxing ppv combined this year.
Thurman-Porter and Spence, yeah, sounds like a reincarnation of Hagler-Hearns. Hahahaha. These are tv fights and they aren’t big. The only reason why the Spence fight did big ratings was because it was on during the Olympics. PBC’s average ratings were less than half of that event.
You are going to be in for more bad news in the year’s to come. It is only going to get worse.