MMA Junkie reports that Ronda Rousey will be offere a role in the next installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. Rousey recently scored a part in the Expendables 3.
According to Variety, Rousey is in negotiations to join the cast of “Fast & Furious 7” which will begin shooting this fall in Atlanta. Rousey would move her training camp for her December fight with Miesha Tate to Atlanta to accommodate the filming schedule. Coincidentally, Gina Carano played a role in the Fast & Furious 6.
Fast & Furious 6 was a box office hit as it was the highest grossing film for Universal making $740 million worldwide and execs wanting more. The fact Rousey was chosen for a role in 7 can do nothing but help her visibility outside of the Octagon.
Payout Perspective:
Its an ambitious out of the Octagon work schedule for Rousey as she will be shooting both films back to back and then go full-time into her training camp. As previously stated, once she signed on with William Morris, this was going to happen. If you asked Rousey, she’d probably say that fighting is primary in her life but if you are on the business side of her brand, you cannot turn down these roles.
If Rousey is upset by Tate at UFC 168, we will not hear the end of her not being focused strictly on fighting. Yet, its hard to blame Rousey for taking these roles. She is a big name right now and needs to capitalize on this earning potential.
I don’t think it will effect her focus at all. But it is never a bad idea to have a built in excuse. Fighters need them for confidence to keep fighting. In this case it would also serve as a excuse for fans and get her a quick rematch. Something that would be a harder sell if you flat out lost with no excuse but the opponent was better. So with a built in excuse it tends to be looked at as a fluke.
I just hope she keeps it in perspective. Unlike Rampage who thought he was going to be a movie star. I think Rousey is smart enough to realize these parts are only opening up because of her being a fighter. IF she stops fighting or stops winning. These roles, especially blockbuster movie roles, will be gone. So I think these movies roles will only motivate her in training even more.
I agree Jason that for her business side of the brand she cannot turn down these roles…..with the way UFC is paying fighters…..lol……she should make the most out of her fame…..
Dana said in the interview that he won’t get in the way if Ronda would get opportunities in Hollywood….Yeah right….hahaha…watch conflict to arise if Ronda starts getting more offers……
Wow it didn’t take long for to get into movies. I bet she’s done fighting in 2 years, especially if her movies do well which i think they will. I jwant to see her fight Cyborg. Just my opinion.
@brad60,
Spot on with your Rousey prediction based on this.
http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/08/ufc-champ-ronda-rousey-says-fighting-career-could-be-over-in-two-years
Rouseys ufc “career” is a sideshow. I wish her luck. She isn’t pretty enough to model so acting is probably a good fit.
Rousey is the womens divisions answer to brock lesnsar.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1722953-ufc-fighter-pay-whats-wrong-with-it-and-how-to-solve-it
Good article
Yeah she has to take it while its offered. Anything can happen, she can lose, if she does and isnt the hot wmma it girl then movies might not want her.
So she is gonna take whatever roles she can cause she cant fight forever. I’m just not sure she is gonna be a big star in the movies. I think she will fight more than 2 years, I think the UFC will really have to open up and pay her big money if she continues to win and do good PPV numbers.
But it is gonna be risky doing these movies cause like you said if she loses everyone is gonna shit on her for not being focused on fighting. I dont think the E3 movie is alot of work, isnt it a few days? So that shouldnt hurt her training but for a big FF7 movie that might take time out of her training.
@Chris
I agree. The movie money is much easier than training and cutting weight, no doubt about it.
Tops,
Each of the ideas expressed in that article are flawed. It is a classic example of why I have never went to that site. They give very simple ideas and act like there is no drawback from them. Each one doesn’t fix any problem and opens up even more problems.
For example their first idea of covering training expenses. Whose training expenses? Santos spent 100K for his fight with Cain. Does the UFC pay the UFC rookie in the 12th fight on the card 300K in gym expense for a year? Pay that for all 400 fighters? That would cost a Billion $. Even if it went with what Fitch claims he spent on training. Then guys who pay more bitch it isn’t enough and guys who train in cheaper gyms would bitch because others get more. In the end gym cost is an investment into your job. If it is to expensive then it isn’t a wise investment. Lots of guys are trying at gyms with reasonable cost so they have more money in their pocket. Others choose to spend more on gyms. That is their choice. However it isn’t the UFC’s job to cover their expenses. Does your job cover your expenses for a car and house and clothes and food? Fitch had the nerve to bitch that he had to pay for his rent and food. Apparently everyone else in the world works to buy things. Fitch watchs everything covered so his purse just sits in his pocket. That isn’t the UFC’s job. Covering training opens up a ton of problems. It still doesn’t address their pay and effect their lifestyle at all. Fitch didn’t have to pay a manager 20%. He chose to do so. He also cant honestly add in his managers expense and not count all the money in sponsorships that manager got him. If he is paying that much then he is getting a lot of money outside his contract. However the UFC shouldn’t have to cover that cost.
Free Market Sponsorships. Another simple minded view of the situation. The UFC has charged the sponsor fee to drive up the quality of sponsors and the amount they pay. Fighters for years had no fee and we saw such ridiculous sponsors it wasn’t even funny. I remember a fighter who got free oil changes as payment for a sponsorship. Most sponsors were just giving training equipment or supplements. If you were lucky you would get a decent Tapout or other MMA apparel company to sponsor you. But since the UFC added their fee. We have seen an end to these companies getting into the UFC cage while screwing the fighters. We have also seen huge sponsorships from mainstream companies that were not around before and would not share the stage with “Bobs Tire Care”. The UFC fee was to increase sponsor fees across the board. For some it will take time. But others are already seeing it. How many have Nike deals? Dan HArdy was bitching because his sponsor offer went from 5,000 to1500. That has nothing to do with a sponsor fee. That doesn’t even make sense. Sponsor fees are not cheap. If a company did pay it. It would be more than the 3,500 difference in his offer. More than likely that company lowered their offer because he was getting his ass kicked and about to be kicked out of the UFC. Big difference between that and getting ready to fight GSP for the title. I think he needs to look at the real reason and not maybe an excuse they give him to keep from blaming it on him getting his ass kicked.
Finally Gate profit sharing. As said in the article. Most fighters would get about 30,000. IF a gate was 3 million. First that amount is not going to shut anyone up. Look at other sports. Is their millions per season ever enough? No! They are always holding out for more money and wanting what someone else go or what they think they are worth. So that or any other amount isn’t going to change anything. But what it could lead to is fighters pulling out of fights if ticket sales are slow. Especially if they are main event guys who get a bigger cut or have an opponent they are not crazy about fighting. It might also cause people to try to pile on cards with big main events to get that big gate. There was rumors of a couple fighters doing this when Brock was fighting to get a bigger PPV cut. Now imagine if all fighters get a cut even worse when something like gate can be measured before the fight unlike PPV.
So like I said lots of problems and no solutions. I don’t oppose the UFC raising pay across the board a little bit. But we all know it wouldn’t change anything.
Bs, its called a stipend. perhaps you have heard of it? Now that you have consulted a dictionary, yes. some jobs do pay for housing,car,gas and food for theirr employee.of course these are generally valued employees. Guess the ufc doesnt value its fighters enough to give them a monthly stipend.
It’s numerous how someone will come with a quip, and bs will respond with an entire essay riddled with mostly extreme examples (like the jds fight camp example, all i can say to that is DUH)
It was a very good example of how much the fighters waste on training. Especially if a fighter builds a camp around himself. I think Tito and others have spent close to that on a fight before. I also used Fitch who trains at a big gym which is more typical of costs.
Btw I know what a stipend is. It is very rare and you can’t name any company that has it for as many people as the UFC has and with their turn over rate. The truth is no fighter is that valuable like a important person in a company. A fighter doesn’t have value for over 20 years and most of their value is hype.
No, it was an extreme example that only a handful of fighters could do. It isnt rare. it is not a lot to ask to pay maybe 1000 a month for rent/utilities,500 for food and supplements, and maybe 300 for transportation. that is a fraction of your jds example and not unreasonable. ufc just has to cut some fighters. ufc always has a bloated roster with white sayiing “we have too many fighters” as if it wasn’t intentional. ufc offers anyone with a half decent recordpeanuts to deprive other orgs of talent.
Should the UFC also pay for their steroids too. I know it is to much to ask of the fighter to actually spend his own money on something. Better yet. How about the UFC put them in a UFC apartment, shuttle them to and from training, and buy them meals and supplements. Then the UFC would no longer need to pay them a salary. All their “needs” are taken care of by the UFC. They can basically be indentured servants. After all these fighters currently have it so tough. You act like they don’t know where they are going to get their next meal from. Maybe the UFC should go this route so you don’t feel so sympathetic for them?
Indentured searvants? nice strawman arguement you weirdo. Yes, they should do the things you mentioned. it would really help up and coming fighters. along with paying their salary.
BTW, almost every single fighter is paying more than 1000 per month rent. Even if the UFC give that to them. You would have all the same fighters bitching that the UFC forces them to live in the slums. It would never be enough. So the UFC pays them their salary and each fighters can choose what he wants to spend on it. Some choose to give an agent 20% and then cry about it. Some work out their own deals and pocket the money. Then there are guys who pay the 20% for a manager and are perfectly happy about it. While others cry foul.
It was pretty telling that Fitch mentioned his expense for his agent. When he was winning and the agent was getting him appearance fees and sponsors. You never heard a word out of him. He becomes washed up and no one wants his service any more. HE regrets his decision to hire an agent. It was one in a long line of bad investments by Fitch that made his financial situation very shaky. So he then lashes out at the UFC because he is to irresponsible to put the blame where it belongs. On himself. Everyone who complains about pay in the UFC has just mismanaged their money. It is always the case.
You do not know who pays what for rent. i live in portland and even though its hip 1000$ will net you a nice pad close in. not everyone lives in la or nyc. And if they did you ever hear of a roommate?
You lean heavily on fitch. Lets assume a fighter makes 12k from the ufc per fight, and fights 3 times in a year that’s only 36k. After you deduct 20% for training fees that is next to nothing. you want these fighters to scrape by for some reason. You make it seem as if every fighter has scottie pippen money mismanagement problems.
My question to you is. Why is a guy making 12K per fight. Going to a gym that costs 20%? Not every fighter at the bottom is training at that level of gym. Nor should they be. If they make that choice to spend the money then they should have to wag with it. But even still. In your example. The fighter still has 30 grand. A lot of money for anyone who is at the bottom of a company and working their way up. Lets remember that guys making this for the most part just come from the minors and have never made any money. They do not have many expenses. They are staying with other fighters and getting by cheap. So this is a lot of extra money for them. They sure as hell are not suffering for a year or so while they attempt to prove themselves.
I cant think of 1 fighter who has spent a significant amount of time in the UFC and didn’t make good money. If you don’t last more than a few fights. Then you shouldn’t be able to cash in. No one is stuck at the minimum for 10+ fights. If you cant last a couple 3 fight contracts then you need to make a living doing something else. Those guys shouldn’t be milking anything for the sport while they get a “Tryout”.
Other fighters I don’t mind getting paid if they contribute to the sport (main card regulars) and if it doesn’t come at the sports expense (expansion and growth). But I feel the sport is really 10 years from being able to address the salary problems without hurting the sport permanently. The sport is growing and in a important period. In 10 years we will have seen where the UFC stands in the US mainstream with their fox deal. Will it be the same as today or will it be a major sports competitor? Whatever the case it should be stable by then. Taking resources now might keep the UFC from getting to that point. If that happens then all fighters are hurt. By that time the UFC will also be more stable in other countries.
The problem I see is the UFC has reached a stalemate for a year or so before the Fox deal. We don’t know where it is going from here yet. Brazil is booming but couldn’t be like the US when TUF started. It could come back down to earth. The UFC is still dumping money in other countries trying to establish the sport. If the UFC obligates itself to huge fighters salaries. There wont be a “Will get them next year”. With that cost. A Brazil leveling out or a decline in the US or a collapse in the UK or a fail trying to go to China could put the UFC and MMA out for good. The UFC has to be able to ride out these fluctuations and they have to be able to spend money and take loses while they build other countries.
Other sports athletes didn’t get paid until their sports place was already cemented. The UFC is still looking for where it will fit in. Then the fighters can cash in.
One of the things that causes me not to support the fighters so much is this. Every fighter walks into the UFC office during contract talks and haggles for what they will be paid. Just like every contractor in the world. No different than a contractor telling you what he will build you a garage for. He can name any price he wants. Whether he gets it or not is based on what others will charge. If one guy quotes 5 times higher than everyone else. There isn’t a bunch of fans to pressure you into paying him his inflated price. You say thanks but no thanks and move on. A fighter gets to look at what he brings to the table and ask for that amount. If the UFC sees he is worth it and they can make money off him. They will pay him. If not they part ways. Fans shouldn’t be crying for Unions or pressuring the UFC to give in if they don’t agree on the numbers. Almost every single fighter accepts the terms and lots of times get their asking price. IF a fighter asks for 500K and the UFC will make 2 million profit on him. They will not leave that money on the table. They are in the business of making money and putting on fights. IF a noob comes in with nothing to offer and wants 100K per fight and the UFC makes nothing off him. Why should they have to pay that? They don’t in anyother aspect of real life. Why should they be different? Because their job is fun to watch? It doesn’t make sense. Everyone is getting fair market value. I can even understand an argument for main event guys getting more. You can argue they bring in more than they get. I wouldn’t agree because I think the brand brings in most money. BUt I would understand that stance. BUt everyone is more worried about the guys who haven’t done shit and contribute nothing and have no value. That doesn’t make sense at all.
I was always wondering what fighters had to pay for training, I knew it wasn’t cheap. I hope Dana lets the fighters do more endorsement deals I hear he’s a stickler on that subject. I’m curious how Tito and Rampage will do in Bellator.
B.s. is so affected of the low pay argument because Dana pays peanuts and is getting beat by his former sport wwe in viewership that he goes into this long essay rant(how many words in this post alone lol)just to convince himself (and hopefully others) of his ufcfanboys views….hahaha
30K bs? the fighter hasnt even broken off uncle sam his portion yet. i mean. not everyone pays 20%. Its generally 10 for your manager and ten for your trainer. unless you have it where you setup your own training camps and have your dad/wife be your manager. a good manager/trainer won’t want any of your sponsorship money.
That 30K still puts them near the average national Income. I don’t care about taxes. Everyone has to pay them. IF the rest of the world can live off that then so fan a noob fighter. Also having a manager is a luxury. I personally don’t see any use in them at that price. What kind of endorsements is a noob going to get? Not blockbuster deals. They don’t need them to work out a deal with the UFC. Because they are getting almost a standard rate being a rookie. Some of these sponsorships can be locked up on their own. Especially if they are not paying a good rate. Like Dan Hardy. If all he is getting is 1500 deals. Then his money on a manager is wasted. He can get those himself. IF you are marketable or starting to move up in the UFC or maybe are on TUF. I can see a manager being needed and worth it. BUt not rookies. Certainly not at 20%. They are better off handling it themselves or getting family to do it.
If you have made it to the ufc/bellator then you are a veteran fighter. There are a few exceptions or course being rousey,lesnar,and toney. there is nothing average about fighting on network tv bs.
Good lord bs i just realised your previous post was about ten paragraphs.
Bs i worry about what low level guys getting paid more because i (unlike yourself) empathize with them. Empathy is way different than sympathy (of which you also have none)
Of course you do. I on the other hands expect people to earn what they get and not take from others and recieve handouts by default. New fighters in the UfC have done anything for the company. Up until they do something and show they are not just a body filling a space. The should receive minimal pay. It is an entry level job until they show something that separates them from all the guys in smaller promotions. Then you have earned a pay increase. Getting in the UFC isnt a golden ticket. Getting to the UFC and winning consistently is a golden ticket.
Handouts? taking from others? the only thing diminished by giving fighters more is that of whites slush fund. you are confusing them with welfare bums.