by Dorian Anid
Muay Thai is a sport rich in honor and tradition. Most if not all of the fighters that actively compete as professionals in the United States do so because they love Muay Thai. People not familiar with Muay Thai see a professional athlete with fans, and the automatic assumption is that they make good money. That assumption couldn't be any more inaccurate. Some of the big names in the world Muay Thai scene do very well fighting Muay Thai, but in the United States it is a different story.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is that there are not many full time Muay Thai fighters. Most have to either hold part time jobs, teach at a gym, or run their own gym. Some even have full time jobs so that they can support their families. Unlike MMA there is no UFC like promotion in Muay Thai, all though there are many good promotions in Muay Thai none rises above the rest.
The top MMA fighters make millions a year in the United States, the middle of the road guys make a enough to focus solely on MMA and not have to work another job. The top Muay Thai fighters in the states don't make enough per fight to solely live off of their fight checks. If you actually do the numbers the average Muay Thai fighter in the United States makes a little more than minimum wage at best for a fight, and unlike MMA there aren't many sponsors to help the fighters earn additional income.
The average Muay Thai fighter in the United States makes $1,500 per fight. If you break down the time it takes to train, the nutrition to make sure they are in the best shape for the fight, and the fight itself it doesn't seem like a very promising career. For example the average fighter training for a professional fight should train roughly for four hours a day, six days a week for six weeks before a fight. Add in the time that is consumed the day of the weigh in, and the fight and your adding an additional sixteen hours for a total of 160 hours dedicated to this fight. This does not include the time it takes to prepare proper meals as they cut down to the fight weight, or doctors visits if necessary for any minor injuries that may occur during training. The total hourly wage for the average fighter ends up being $9.38 per hour. That is a little over $2.00 dollars above the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
The top Muay Thai fighters in the United States get paid $5,000 and there is only a few that get paid that much in the United States. They are making a little over $31.00 an hour for their time that is put in to prepare for a fight. That doesn't sound too bad, but keep in mind they probably only fight about three to four times a year. That adds up to $20,000 a year, if they aren't bringing in another source of income then they are actually only working for about $4.00 an hour based on the previous training regiment of four hours a day, six days a week over the course of 52 weeks in a year.
Another thing to keep in mind is that with any physical sport the risk of injury is high. Promoters have insurance to help cover some expenses for injuries that occur during their events, but that only covers so much. What happens if you have been training for a fight five weeks and you blow out your knee? Your not going to get paid to fight so you basically worked five weeks for free, and you added a hefty medical bill to your expenses.
Now right off the top of your head you might be saying, "well those cheap promoters, they need to pay more". You have to remember this is a business. The promoters have to make sure they are not losing money. The fan base is the real issue, the more fans the sport has the more money the fighters will make. A promoters goal should be to make money, and expand, and continue to make more money. They can't just pay fighters top dollar if there is no revenue coming in. If they expand and bring in revenue then fighters salaries will go up.
Muay Thai is not for everyone when it comes to competing on the professional level. That is why there are a select few who chose to sacrifice their health, and their livelihood for such low pay. They love Muay Thai, and as cliche as it may be that is why they fight, for the love of the sport.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is that there are not many full time Muay Thai fighters. Most have to either hold part time jobs, teach at a gym, or run their own gym. Some even have full time jobs so that they can support their families. Unlike MMA there is no UFC like promotion in Muay Thai, all though there are many good promotions in Muay Thai none rises above the rest.
The top MMA fighters make millions a year in the United States, the middle of the road guys make a enough to focus solely on MMA and not have to work another job. The top Muay Thai fighters in the states don't make enough per fight to solely live off of their fight checks. If you actually do the numbers the average Muay Thai fighter in the United States makes a little more than minimum wage at best for a fight, and unlike MMA there aren't many sponsors to help the fighters earn additional income.
The average Muay Thai fighter in the United States makes $1,500 per fight. If you break down the time it takes to train, the nutrition to make sure they are in the best shape for the fight, and the fight itself it doesn't seem like a very promising career. For example the average fighter training for a professional fight should train roughly for four hours a day, six days a week for six weeks before a fight. Add in the time that is consumed the day of the weigh in, and the fight and your adding an additional sixteen hours for a total of 160 hours dedicated to this fight. This does not include the time it takes to prepare proper meals as they cut down to the fight weight, or doctors visits if necessary for any minor injuries that may occur during training. The total hourly wage for the average fighter ends up being $9.38 per hour. That is a little over $2.00 dollars above the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
The top Muay Thai fighters in the United States get paid $5,000 and there is only a few that get paid that much in the United States. They are making a little over $31.00 an hour for their time that is put in to prepare for a fight. That doesn't sound too bad, but keep in mind they probably only fight about three to four times a year. That adds up to $20,000 a year, if they aren't bringing in another source of income then they are actually only working for about $4.00 an hour based on the previous training regiment of four hours a day, six days a week over the course of 52 weeks in a year.
Another thing to keep in mind is that with any physical sport the risk of injury is high. Promoters have insurance to help cover some expenses for injuries that occur during their events, but that only covers so much. What happens if you have been training for a fight five weeks and you blow out your knee? Your not going to get paid to fight so you basically worked five weeks for free, and you added a hefty medical bill to your expenses.
Now right off the top of your head you might be saying, "well those cheap promoters, they need to pay more". You have to remember this is a business. The promoters have to make sure they are not losing money. The fan base is the real issue, the more fans the sport has the more money the fighters will make. A promoters goal should be to make money, and expand, and continue to make more money. They can't just pay fighters top dollar if there is no revenue coming in. If they expand and bring in revenue then fighters salaries will go up.
Muay Thai is not for everyone when it comes to competing on the professional level. That is why there are a select few who chose to sacrifice their health, and their livelihood for such low pay. They love Muay Thai, and as cliche as it may be that is why they fight, for the love of the sport.
Sad but true mma has taken over the market thai boxing made a brief coming up in late 90's but then mma took over its upto fighters and trainers to demand more money .no money no fighters no event...
ReplyDeleteYep, it is very hard to make a living. Being a Muay Thai fighter is not for everyone.
ReplyDeleteMuay Thai needs an excellent marketer to come in an promote the sport properly to the world like Dana White did for the UFC and MMA. With the right marketing Muay Thai could be just as popular as MMA and therefore the fighters would make more.
ReplyDeleteMicah
The Muay Thai Gear Guy
i hope to God that this changes cause man its heart breaking!
ReplyDeleteThey should make boxing, muay thai and mma and every similar kind of fighting forbidden.
ReplyDeleteits a dangerous sport where people can end up with brain damages and even die in a fight.
its really stupidity a sport where u hit someones head and body as if it was a boxing bag.
really stupidity.
keep hitting in someones head and not thinking of what damage it will make.