tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/ufc-42170/articlesUFC – The Conversation2023-08-17T12:34:39Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2114062023-08-17T12:34:39Z2023-08-17T12:34:39ZWhat Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s canceled cage match says about masculine anxiety<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543092/original/file-20230816-17-330xso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C26%2C5838%2C3699&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Would a fight help them prove to themselves that they are 'real men,' despite their soft − probably manicured − hands?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/meta-and-threads-app-from-elon-musk-vs-mark-zuckerberg-seen-news-photo/1583887287?adppopup=true">Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the cage fight between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/mark-zuckerberg-cancels-cage-fight-elon-musk-meta-threads-tesla/">seems to be on hold</a>, if these men do ever end up sparring, it’ll give a whole new meaning to the term “tech bro.”</p>
<p>The two billionaires’ business interests have butted heads in the past: Musk’s 2016 test launch of a <a href="https://time.com/4476416/mark-zuckerberg-elon-musk-rocket-explosion-satellite/">SpaceX rocket destroyed Zuckerberg’s US$200 million satellite</a>. In 2022, Musk said Zuckerberg <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/15/elon-musk-mark-zuckerberg-sun-king-louis-xiv">shouldn’t dominate social media</a> and encouraged people to abandon Meta-owned Facebook. Meta also recently launched Threads, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/meta-launches-twitter-competitor-threads-as-zuckerberg-and-musk-rivalry-intensifies">which competes directly</a> with Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter.</p>
<p>But threatening to beat the pulp out of each other represents a new – if not bizarre – form of one-upmanship for the two men. At one point, it was rumored that <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ufc/musk-zuckerberg-fight-colosseum-ufc-b2390844.html">the livestreamed fight would take place in Rome’s Colosseum</a>, where gladiators once gruesomely battled to the death.</p>
<p>What in the name of <a href="https://gladiator.fandom.com/wiki/Maximus_Decimus_Meridius">Maximus</a> is going on?</p>
<p>Though Musk and Zuckerberg have attempted to frame their pugilistic pursuit as a once-in-a-generation event, they are far from alone. They join the ranks of other high-profile men in public and political positions who have shown off their physical strength to burnish their status.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=E4xQpIgAAAAJ&hl=en">As a gender scholar</a>, I’ve seen how these fights – let’s call them “performances of virility” – tend to coincide with beliefs that masculinity is either in crisis or under attack. </p>
<h2>Money can’t buy masculinity</h2>
<p>You don’t usually see two wealthy white billionaires duking it out. So what would Musk and Zuckerberg gain from fighting each other? </p>
<p>As sociologist Scott Melzer writes in his study of fight clubs, “<a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/manhood-impossible/9780813584911">Manhood Impossible</a>,” fighting is culturally associated with masculinity, and U.S. culture celebrates men’s violence in the right contexts. </p>
<p>For white-collar white men, Melzer explains, fighting can help them to feel they have passed a test of adulthood and fulfilled the cultural requirement of strength. The fighting helps them prove to themselves that they are “real men,” despite their soft – probably manicured – hands.</p>
<p>To me, the chest puffing between Musk and Zuckerberg is a desperate display of masculinity for two tech nerds with deep pockets. They say money can’t buy happiness. Perhaps money can’t buy masculinity, either.</p>
<p>Kris Paap, author of “<a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801472862/working-construction/#bookTabs=1">Working Construction</a>,” explains that men who don’t take risks are often seen by their peers as weak and effeminate. Men who risk their health and well-being, on the other hand, prove their bravado for the respect of their peers. </p>
<p>This is particularly the case for working-class men. But politicians have also put on gloves to fight for admiration – and political clout – through displays of physical prowess.</p>
<p>In 2012, Justin Trudeau squared off against Senator Patrick Brazeau <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12067">in a boxing match</a>. A member of Canada’s Parliament who came from money and political royalty, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/02/god-save-justin-trudeau-film-boxing-canada-patrick-brazeau">Trudeau declared before the match</a> that he was “put on this planet to do this … I fight – and I win.”</p>
<p>After emerging from the bout victorious, Trudeau’s image as a scrawny <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/what-is-a-nepotism-baby.html">nepo baby</a> all but evaporated. Three years later, he became prime minister <a href="https://www.biography.com/political-figures/pierre-trudeau">just like his dad</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Cover of comic book depicts smiling man sitting in corner of boxing ring wearing boxing gloves and a red and white pinny with a maple leaf logo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears as a boxer in a 2016 issue of the Marvel comic book series ‘Civil War II: Choosing Sides.’</span>
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<p>There are countless examples of other powerful men looking to showcase their virility. Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/6/17/8796659/vladimir-putin-shirtless-video">infamously rode horses shirtless</a>, while U.S. President Joe Biden once said that when he was in high school, he <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/21/politics/joe-biden-donald-trump/index.html">would have taken Donald Trump “behind the gym and beat the hell” out of him</a>.</p>
<p>For almost two centuries, performances of masculinity – from William Henry Harrison to Donald Trump – have been a part of successful <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/04/opinions/bridges-trump-macho-candidates/index.html">U.S. presidential campaigns</a>.</p>
<h2>The end of men … again and again</h2>
<p>It is no coincidence that Musk vs. Zuckerberg comes at a time when there is popular perception that masculinity is in crisis. Women are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/08/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion/">obtaining college degrees at a faster clip than men</a>, while income gaps are closing. Suicides and overdoses among men – often termed <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide">“deaths of despair”</a> – are on the rise. </p>
<p>Belief in a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Cultures-of-Masculinity/Edwards/p/book/9780415284813">“crisis of masculinity”</a> spikes during times of progressive social change. And proponents of this view tend to blame feminists and other social progressives for critiquing traditionally masculine mores and values, which, they claim, is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/style/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-life.html">causing men to spiral</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3683791.html">Gender scholars</a> point to the turn of the 20th century and the 1990s as other moments of social change that sparked similar anxieties.</p>
<p>In 1890, moves toward coeducation stoked debates around girls and boys being taught the same curriculum. Advocates suggested that sex shouldn’t matter in the classroom and that girls’ education should prepare them for jobs outside the home.</p>
<p>This didn’t go over well with men who benefited from gender segregation. The Boy Scouts of America actually emerged in 1910 so that boys were assured a space where girls and women weren’t allowed – and <a href="https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1978.tb02548.x">where boys would be “sufficiently” acquainted with masculinity</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, the emergence of identity politics in the 1990s, which highlighted rights-based ideologies, scrutinized, in particular, <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/marked-men/9780231112932">the privileges of white men</a>. </p>
<p>Today, social progress – whether it’s more women in the workplace, <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-record-breaking-number-of-women-were-elected-governor-in-2022-here-are-7-things-to-know-about-how-that-happened-195871">more women in political office</a> or girls permitted to join what is now referred to as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-scouts-new-name-scouts-bsa-girls-joining-ranks/">“the Scouts”</a> – seems to stoke men’s insecurities. You can see it in the popularity of men’s rights advocates like Jordan Peterson, who claims men are being asked to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmKrEil9-Ag">castrate themselves</a> in the name of equality. And you can see it in conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s <a href="https://www.them.us/story/barbie-movie-ben-shapiro">scorn toward</a> the “Barbie” movie, which has been lauded for calling out patriarchal values.</p>
<p>In these moments, men have historically taken predictable actions to reclaim the idea that they are inherently different from women – and thus belong in different spaces.</p>
<p>Sociologist <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Caveman-Mystique-Pop-Darwinism-and-the-Debates-Over-Sex-Violence/McCaughey/p/book/9780415934756">Martha McCaughey</a> has pointed out how evolutionary biology has become the popular way to argue that men just can’t help their “innate propensities.”</p>
<p>This includes the urge to dominate others, whether that’s in business, in bed – or, yes, in the ring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Barber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Performances of virility’ tend to coincide with beliefs that masculinity is either in crisis or under attack.Kristen Barber, Associate Professor of Race, Ethnic and Gender Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas CityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2035952023-04-12T16:05:53Z2023-04-12T16:05:53ZWhat the WWE-UFC merger means for the future of wrestling and MMA<p>World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) “WrestleMania” is the <a href="https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania">biggest event</a> in the professional wrestling calendar. Marketed for 2023 as the event where “<a href="https://wrestlemaniagoeshollywood.wwe.com/">WrestleMania Goes Hollywood</a>”, the two nights of glitz, glamour and grunting pugilists turned out to be somewhat prophetic.</p>
<p>On April 2, the second day of WrestleMania 39, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/04/03/this-deal-with-endeavor-is-the-next-evolution-of-wwe-says-mcmahon-on.html">CNBC broke the news</a> that WWE is to be sold to Hollywood talent agency, Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. </p>
<p><a href="https://corporate.wwe.com/investors/news/press-releases/2023/04-03-2023-115019034">Endeavour</a>, which also owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is to merge the “two iconic, complementary, global sports and entertainment brands: UFC and WWE” to form a new “US$21-plus billion [£18.5 billion] live sports and entertainment company”.</p>
<p>Back in January 2023, when majority shareholder of WWE <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vince-McMahon">Vince McMahon</a> announced that he was to pursue a sale of the company, there was no shortage of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/vince-mcmahon-plots-return-to-wwe-11672952709">speculated suitors</a>. </p>
<p>Up first was <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/wrestling/wwe-sale-saudi-arabia-private-28924735">Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment</a> Fund (PIF). The rumour (which turned out to have no substance) caused a stir in the professional wrestling fandom. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wrestling/2023/1/11/23550007/wwe-sale-saudi-arabia-rumors-explained">Fears ranged</a> from concerns about the consequences for female performers to the potential damage that could be done to the legacy of the sport.</p>
<p>Following the debunking of the PIF sale, <a href="https://cnb.cx/3Ix1DSL">an extensive slate</a> of potential buyers emerged, including Fox, Disney, Netflix, Amazon, Liberty Media and Endeavor.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Vince McMahon interviewed on the merger.</span></figcaption>
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<p>It was its ownership of the UFC that gave Endeavor the edge. While Liberty Media holds interests in global sports – namely Formula One and baseball team the Atlanta Braves – there was already a substantial crossover of audience and talent between WWE and UFC prior to the merger.</p>
<p>With WWE superstars such as <a href="https://www.wwe.com/superstars/brock-lesnar">Brock Lesner</a> competing in the UFC and UFC fighters such as <a href="https://www.rondarousey.com">Ronda Rousey</a> having successful runs as WWE performers, the formalisation of synergies between the two companies seemed too tempting to resist. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://youtu.be/Dg3ESR2QQbY">McMahon put it</a>: “All the WrestleManias combined … doesn’t really equal to the magnitude of what we will do together.”</p>
<h2>Who will be running the show?</h2>
<p>Vince McMahon retired from his position of WWE chairman in July 2022, after <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/wwes-vince-mcmahon-agreed-to-pay-12-million-in-hush-money-to-four-women-11657289742?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">the Wall Street Journal revealed</a> that he had paid US$12 million in hush money to four women.</p>
<p>The payments secured nondisclosure agreements to prevent public revelations of alleged sexual misconduct and infidelity. McMahon <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/wwes-vince-mcmahon-agreed-to-pay-12-million-in-hush-money-to-four-women-11657289742?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">denied the allegations</a>, saying through his lawyer <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/wwe/story/_/id/35483715/wwe-vince-mcmahon-settles-lawsuit-ex-ref-alleging-1986-rape">Jerry McDevitt</a> that he settled solely to avoid the cost of litigation.</p>
<p>Six months later, McMahon returned to WWE, reshaping the board of directors and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2023/01/05/vince-mcmahon-reportedly-planning-wwe-return-alongside-2-ex-wwe-presidents/?sh=11b391388cb0">allegedly threatening</a> to block any media rights deal or sale unless he had direct involvement as executive chairman. </p>
<p>Now, as part of the WWE-UFC merger, McMahon will become executive chairman of the new company. The current CEO of WWE, <a href="https://corporate.wwe.com/who-we-are/leadership">Nick Khan</a>, will become its president and <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/dana-white/">Dana White</a> will remain president of UFC.</p>
<p>This, coupled with White’s recent <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/dana-white-ufc-president-apologises-after-video-of-him-slapping-wife-emerges-12779535">domestic violence scandal</a> (he was filmed assaulting his wife in the lead up to the launch of the controversial UFC spin-off, <a href="https://theconversation.com/power-slap-league-a-brutal-sport-that-may-leave-contestants-with-brain-damage-198290">Power Slap League</a>) provides Endeavor’s new venture with a rather infamous executive from the outset. White <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/02/dana-white-wife-drunk-fight-slap-new-years-eve-nightclub-cabo/">later apologised</a> for the inicident. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/power-slap-league-a-brutal-sport-that-may-leave-contestants-with-brain-damage-198290">Power Slap League: a brutal 'sport' that may leave contestants with brain damage</a>
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<h2>What’s next for WWE talent?</h2>
<p>As a <a href="https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/publications/sports-entertainment-toward-a-high-concept-of-professional-wrestl">researcher of professional wrestling</a>, I believe that the merger offers both positives and negatives for WWE talent. </p>
<p>As an influential talent agency, Endeavour could offer wider media exposure for WWE talent. This would follow in the footsteps of Hollywood crossover stars such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dave Batista and John Cena.</p>
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<p>However, with high-profile UFC fighters such as Connor McGregor already <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/mma/article-11932973/Conor-McGregor-teases-inevitable-WWE-future-wrestling-belts-picture.html">teasing a move</a> into professional wrestling, existing WWE talent may now get less exposure, as WWE looks to capitalise on UFC star power.</p>
<p>In the world of professional wrestling, where the storylines are often as fanciful as they are spectacular, something as mundane as a corporate merger has the potential to become just as dramatic as the action in the ring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203595/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Quinn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As high-profile UFC fighters look to move into professional wrestling, the merger could leave WWE stars struggling for exposure.John Quinn, Lecturer in Screen & Performance, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1572172021-04-15T12:38:34Z2021-04-15T12:38:34ZThe rise of female UFC fighters obscures profound exploitation, inequality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395080/original/file-20210414-20-1s1wzs1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4144%2C2866&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">China's Zhang Weili, on the right, has helped grow the popularity of the UFC in her native country.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/joanna-jedrzejczyk-of-poland-punches-zhang-weili-of-china-news-photo/1211078855?adppopup=true">Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The mixed martial arts pay-per-view event <a href="https://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-261">UFC 261</a> features two bouts that would have been unheard of just 10 years ago.</p>
<p>Russian-born <a href="https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/6/7/18650518/valentina-shevchenko-a-woman-of-many-nations-ahead-of-first-ufc-title-defense">Valentina Shevchenko</a> will fight <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj0-1NtaeAw">Jessica Andrade</a>, a Brazilian and an out lesbian, for the women’s flyweight title on April 24, 2021. That same night, <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/mma/news/rose-namajunas-makes-ufc-261-title-fight-with-weili-zhang-personal-with-politically-charged-comment/">Rose Namajunas</a>, an American of Lithuanian descent, will square off against <a href="https://www.bigmarker.com/sportico/Ask-Lawrence-Epstein-Anything?bmid=306da8a93532">Zhang Weili</a>, who has caused the popularity of the UFC to surge in her native China, for the women’s strawweight title. </p>
<p>The rise of women in mixed martial arts – which the late Sen. John McCain once derided as “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2014/04/03/mixed-martial-arts-and-the-evolution-of-john-mccain/?sh=6a6c0a922d59">human cockfighting</a>” – is remarkable, and reflects the diversity and global appeal of the sport.</p>
<p>But as I write in my new book, “<a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65wrq5sn9780252043734.html">Fighting Visibility: Sports Women and Female Athletes in the UFC</a>,” it’s important for fans and spectators to look beneath the sheen of gender parity.</p>
<p>While women may glow under the bright lights of <a href="https://www.ufc.com/octagon">the Octagon</a>, exploitation and deep inequalities persist.</p>
<h2>Ronda Rousey, trailblazer</h2>
<p>In 2011, UFC president Dana White famously said that the promotion company <a href="https://www.tmz.com/videos/0-uld0k3fw/">would “never” include female fighters</a>. However a year later, the UFC signed Ronda Rousey for a “six-month experiment” in women’s MMA. </p>
<p>It paid off. </p>
<p>Rousey became a star unparalleled in women’s combat sports history. By 2015, she was the UFC’s <a href="https://www.bigmarker.com/sportico/Ask-Lawrence-Epstein-Anything?bmid=306da8a93532">highest-paid athlete</a> – male or female. Even though Rousey retired from MMA long ago, the UFC <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65wrq5sn9780252043734.html">continues to court fans</a> by promoting its women fighters. </p>
<p>Lawrence Epstein, the UFC’s chief operating officer, <a href="https://www.bigmarker.com/sportico/Ask-Lawrence-Epstein-Anything?bmid=306da8a93532">recently told sports business publication Sportico</a> that female athletes are a “huge growth engine” that brings in different audiences for the company. He noted that featuring women had grown the “female fan base” in ways that have “been transformative to the UFC.” </p>
<p>The UFC’s interest in promoting women has been rare in a sporting landscape that regularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0497-6">objectifies, trivializes or downright ignores sportswomen</a> and their fans. </p>
<h2>Selling a message of empowerment</h2>
<p>The phrase “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/why-on-screen-representation-matters-according-to-these-teens">representation matters</a>” is popular across an array of brands and platforms today, and consumers are ready to invest in <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/empowered">companies that promote women’s and girls’ empowerment</a> – including a stereotypically hypermasculine brand like the UFC. </p>
<p>The UFC has come to understand the power of promoting diverse female athletes for expanding their market and boosting profits. This doesn’t absolve them from the <a href="https://www.espn.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=4038031">sexism</a>, <a href="https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2020/9/2/21418354/ufc-fashionable-american-right-wing-politics-donald-trump-mma-news">racism</a>, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3129245/ufc-rose-namajunas-vs-zhang-weili-red-or-dead">xenophobia</a> or <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/604490/pdf">transphobia</a> that has characterized the promotion over the years. But it does show that the UFC is willing to give women a platform and sell a message of empowerment. </p>
<p>The promotion <a href="https://vimeo.com/142580820">often depicts female fighters as heroines</a> who, against all odds, have broken barriers in MMA and in sports more broadly. </p>
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<p>Seeing women be successful in the sport gives an impression that anything is possible and all the challenges female fighters have faced are behind them. </p>
<p>So yes, representation matters, and female fighters have, relative to other sports, high levels of exposure, especially given that <a href="https://theconversation.com/coverage-of-womens-sport-is-pathetic-at-the-best-of-times-the-lockdown-has-made-it-even-worse-140593">just 4% of all global sports media coverage features female athletes</a>. </p>
<p>But, as retired UFC fighter <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvImmEUvJ0E&t=868s">Julie Kedzie recently told me</a>, “It’s not enough to shatter the glass ceiling. You have to clear the glass.” </p>
<p>In other words, just because women are in the UFC, it doesn’t mean that they’re treated fairly. </p>
<h2>Representation doesn’t end exploitation</h2>
<p>The UFC <a href="https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/7/1/18761466/dana-white-addresses-equality-in-sports-for-women-champions-the-ufc-as-an-even-playing-field">likes to boast</a> that it is unlike any other sport, because female athletes can make as much as men. However, when taking Ronda Rousey out of the equation, there is little evidence to support this. </p>
<p>The UFC <a href="https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/03/endeavor-wants-full-ufc-ownership-in-push-to-go-public-ipo-business">isn’t a publicly traded company</a> – at least not yet – so it doesn’t have to disclose athlete pay. <a href="https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/8/15/9158725/mma-culinary-union-226-ufc-women-lower-pay-men-statistics">Due to the difficulty of obtaining a full picture of fighter pay</a>,the UFC can continue to make claims of parity.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65wrq5sn9780252043734.html">most estimates</a> put fighter pay at 10% to 20% of the UFC’s overall revenue, with the bulk of that distributed toward UFC champions and stars – <a href="https://thesportsdaily.com/2020/12/31/2020-ufc-fighter-salaries-complete-list-fox11/">most of whom are men</a>. As a comparison, NFL and NBA players <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65wrq5sn9780252043734.html">receive around 50%</a> of revenue the leagues take in.</p>
<p>In my research, I obtained a snapshot of fighter pay from some state athletic commissions. Although the picture is incomplete because not all states or countries require the UFC to disclose fighter pay, the data made available to me suggest that the median payout for female fighters is 68% of what male fighters earn. </p>
<p>Fighting can be lucrative for some. But when compared with an MMA empire <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/endeavor-raising-1-75-billion-202920031.html">worth billions of dollars</a>, the reward for individual fighters can seem minuscule – especially when taking into account the <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65wrq5sn9780252043734.html">mental and physical toll</a> of the sport.</p>
<h2>A ‘climate of fear’</h2>
<p>Part of the issue around pay inequality is that the UFC has successfully thwarted <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65wrq5sn9780252043734.html">fighters’ efforts to unionize</a> and create a path for collective bargaining. </p>
<p>The UFC saves a lot of money because their fighters are independent contractors. This means that fighters must pay for things leagues and teams typically cover in other sports. They fund their own training and coaching, health care, management, retirement investments, recovery therapies and taxes out of their UFC payouts or income from other jobs.</p>
<p>This means that outside of the handful of UFC stars, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2685605-for-love-not-money-how-low-fighter-pay-is-undermining-mma">many fighters struggle to make ends meet</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1112532444136140800"}"></div></p>
<p><a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65wrq5sn9780252043734.html">In my book I interview</a> former UFC fighters Leslie Smith and Kajan Johnson, who tried to organize fighters before the organization ended its relationships with both athletes. They contend that the UFC treats fighters as employees and incorrectly classifies them as independent contractors. For example, fighters have to submit to random drug testing and wear UFC partners’ apparel for their fights, which is atypical of contractual relationships. Smith and Johnson believe that unionization is the best chance fighters have to gain more agency, pay and health care. </p>
<p>Lucas Middlebrook, a labor attorney who advised Smith and Johnson, told me that despite the promise of unionizing, “UFC fighters are proving to be a really difficult group to organize.” </p>
<p>“The reason for that,” he continued, “is the climate of fear that’s been created by the UFC. The amount of control that the UFC exerts over these fighters has done just that. It has created this perfect storm of fear of retaliation.” </p>
<p>A union would benefit all UFC fighters, but <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/black-women-will-be-most-affected-by-janus/">women and people of color</a> have historically gained the most from unionizing efforts because unions decrease pay gaps and work inequities. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>If you tune into the Weili vs. Namajunas or Shevchenko vs. Andrade bouts, you’ll see an MMA master clinic from women who wouldn’t have been allowed in the UFC a decade ago. </p>
<p>But will <a href="https://thesportsdaily.com/2020/11/22/valentina-shevchenko-career-earnings-fox11/">Shevchenko</a> get paid to win what <a href="https://thesportsdaily.com/2020/07/12/jorge-masvidal-career-earnings-fox11/">Jorge Masvidal</a> – a male athlete also fighting for a title – would be paid to lose? </p>
<p>I wouldn’t bet on it. </p>
<p>Increased visibility of female athletes is important. But the feel-good mantra of “representation matters” cannot hide the fact that female fighters – and male fighters, for that matter – deserve better working conditions and pay in the UFC.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer McClearen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The UFC is eager to advertise its promotion of female fighters – while also paying them less and stoking a climate of fear to discourage unionization.Jennifer McClearen, Assistant Professor of Media Studies, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/823662017-08-24T00:34:30Z2017-08-24T00:34:30ZDissecting Conor McGregor’s steep odds in boxing showdown<p>It seems to happen every few years: a boxing superfight briefly jolts the fringe sport back into the public consciousness.</p>
<p>But the latest mega match-up – between an undefeated boxer coming out of retirement and a celebrated mixed martial arts fighter who has never entered a professional boxing ring – is without precedent. </p>
<p>It’s projected that the August 26 bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/mayweather-mcgregor-economics-fight-170450736.html">will earn</a> more than US$500 million through pay-per-view buys and just a little under $90 million through ticket sales.</p>
<p>Yet there seems to be a consensus that this superfight will be far from super. <a href="https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/6/15/15814760/ufc-teddy-atlas-conor-mcgregor-floyd-mayweather-boxing-mma-news">It’s been derided</a> as a clash pitting “a caveman” against a “defensive genius,” <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=19643279">a contest in which</a> McGregor “will not land a single punch.”</p>
<p>The 29-year-old McGregor is one of the most magnetic figures in the history of mixed martial arts, the only Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter to simultaneous hold titles in two weight classes. On his way to the biggest payday of his career – <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/mayweather-mcgregor-economics-fight-170450736.html">potentially more than $100 million</a> – he’s <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2715763-mayweather-vs-mcgregor-head-to-toe-breakdown-of-both-fighters">younger, taller and boasts a longer reach</a> than his opponent.</p>
<p>But McGregor is also a 0-0 boxer going toe to toe with a legend who is 49-0, has won championships in five weight classes and is one of the most elusive boxers to ever slip a punch. </p>
<p>Here’s a look at the various factors that weaken McGregor’s chances. </p>
<h2>An interdisciplinary bout</h2>
<p>Interdisciplinary match-ups are <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/40301206">not new in the history of combat sports</a>, and several mixed martial arts fighters <a href="http://mmajunkie.com/2017/07/how-can-conor-mcgregor-beat-floyd-mayweather-mma-fighters-boxing-experience-ideas-doubts">have stepped into the boxing ring</a>, albeit not against opponents of Mayweather’s caliber. </p>
<p>Champion boxer Holly Holm <a href="http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/14422248/holly-holm-finishes-ronda-rousey">delivered Ronda Rousey’s first MMA defeat</a>, but James Toney, who won boxing titles in multiple divisions, didn’t land a punch in his only UFC fight, <a href="http://www.espn.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=5507475">a quick loss to Randy Couture</a>. </p>
<p>As reigning heavyweight boxing champion, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-japanese-muhammad-ali-20160606-snap-htmlstory.html">Muhammad Ali traveled to Japan to fight a professional wrestler</a> under a modified set of rules that would be a precursor to future mixed martial arts contests. The bout ended in a draw, leaving Ali with blood clots in his legs after enduring a barrage of kicks over 15 rounds. </p>
<p>As a 12-year-old, McGregor <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/40361031">got his start a local boxing club</a> and has proven himself to be a skilled puncher in MMA, <a href="http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Conor-McGregor-29688">winning 18 of his 24 fights by knockout</a>. </p>
<p>But Mayweather, 40, was born into boxing. The son and nephew of professional fighters, he won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics and his <a href="http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/352">first major professional title in 1998</a>. He fought his last fight in 2015 before coming out of retirement in June for the McGregor showdown.</p>
<h2>Defense first</h2>
<p>Mayweather’s defensive-minded approach has contributed to his longevity, drastically cutting back the amount of punishment he’s endured in the ring. </p>
<p>But it’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/boxing-mma-wrestling/is-floyd-mayweather-boring-only-when-hes-inside-the-boxing-ring/2015/04/30/f2e729aa-ef76-11e4-8050-839e9234b303_story.html?utm_term=.78b4a1520a64">rarely made for exciting bouts</a>. Many <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/fight-century-court-battle-fans-sue-manny-pacquiao-article-1.2227973">boxing fans felt burned</a> by Mayweather’s cautious victory in 2015 over Manny Pacquiao that delivered little action despite the $100 pay-per-view price tag. </p>
<p>McGregor will be attempting to hit a target that has confounded even champion boxers. Over his career, Mayweather <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkay/2017/08/15/floyd-mayweather-vs-conor-mcgregor-latest-news-odds-and-expert-picks-as-fight-date-approaches/#d83cfb94417b">has landed more than 43 percent</a> of his punches; his opponents, meanwhile, have managed to connect a little less than 19 percent of the time. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the Mayweather camp is now talking knockout.</p>
<p>“August 26, after the fight is over, everyone’s going to be happy,” Mayweather <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-sp-mayweather-mcgregor-20170810-story.html">told the Los Angeles Times</a>.</p>
<p>If that happens, it’d be the boxer’s first since 2011. </p>
<h2>A test of endurance</h2>
<p>For his part, <a href="http://www.foxsports.com/boxing/story/mcgregor-holds-strong-on-prediction-of-a-knockout-081217">McGregor predicts that he’ll defeat Mayweather inside of four rounds</a>. It’s a sound goal for a competitor about to enter what could be the longest fight of his career.</p>
<p>Whereas the UFC uses five five-minute rounds in championship fights, this bout will be 12 three-minute rounds. Mayweather has <a href="http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/352">won by judges’ decisions after 12 rounds in his last seven fights</a>. McGregor has gone more than three rounds <a href="http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Conor-McGregor-29688">just once</a>.</p>
<p>McGregor’s attack will be limited by a set of boxing rules vastly different from those of mixed martial arts, and he’s even <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/boxing/mcgregor-recruits-ex-referee-joe-cortez-to-teach-him-boxing-rules/">added a veteran boxing referee to his camp</a> to assist with the transition. </p>
<p>He’ll be wearing <a href="http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/20360455/floyd-mayweather-conor-mcgregor-allowed-wear-lighter-gloves-aug-26-fight">8-ounce gloves</a> instead of the 4-ounce fingerless variety found in UFC. In boxing, a mixed martial artist’s elbows, chokes and submission holds are all barred. Taking the fight to the ground is not an option. </p>
<p>McGregor’s long odds haven’t dampened enthusiasm for the 154-pound fighter, which has been buoyed by <a href="https://www.si.com/boxing/2017/07/20/floyd-mayweather-conor-mcgregor-pierce-preview">four raucous press conferences,</a> <a href="http://www.sho.com/all-access">a Showtime series</a> and countless updates, think pieces and predictions in the media. </p>
<p>Will it be a disgraceful mismatch? An improbable underdog story? A dull impasse? </p>
<p>We’ll finally get an answer once the bell rings Saturday.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82366/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Zimmerman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will both cash in, but does a boxing novice stand a chance against a legend?Bill Zimmerman, Lecturer, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/827912017-08-22T12:44:27Z2017-08-22T12:44:27ZMayweather-McGregor fight pits boxing against UFC in a battle of the brands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182835/original/file-20170821-4981-15qwa77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who will win?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Las Vegas is soon to host one of the most lucrative boxing matches of all time. Dubbed “The Money Fight” it features UFC (which stands for the Ultimate Fighting Championship) star Connor Mcgregor making his boxing debut against undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather. What is not in doubt is that both men will leave the bout much wealthier than they go into it – both expected to earn <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-sp-mcgregor-rise-20170820-story.html">in excess of US$100m for their participation</a>. With US$90m worth of tickets for sale and US$500m of pay-per-view revenue expected to be made, it’s set to be boxing’s most lucrative match ever.</p>
<p>But, despite these figures, it is worth wondering which of the two combat sports represented in this event will come out in better shape. Or whether the much promoted encounter represents a zero sum game for the two sports, in which the gain of one will be at the cost of the other.</p>
<p>UFC has presented mixed martial arts (MMA) to the world for around three decades. In that time it has gone from being accused of being mere <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2014/04/03/mixed-martial-arts-and-the-evolution-of-john-mccain/#497ee0a02d59">“human cock fighting”</a> to becoming a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-ultimate-fighting-and-why-boxing-is-now-so-passe-55910">popular, if still controversial, sport</a>. It fills arenas around the world and was valued at <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/07/11/ufc-sold-ultimate-fighting-championship/">close to US$4 billion in 2016</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182838/original/file-20170821-4981-3ukbsq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UFC draws increasingly big crowds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianpua/4782929636">adrianpua/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>The sport’s popularity is largely predicated on the star appeal of a small number of charismatic competitors, including <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-penultimate-fighter/480732/">Conor “The Notorious” McGregor</a>. Claims that its fighters are tougher than other athletes is also a big part of UFC’s brand. A heavy defeat for McGregor in Las Vegas might therefore do significant damage to the UFC brand, especially if a humbled McGregor is then able to make a successful return to his former hunting ground.</p>
<p>The decision to allow the UFC’s top star to compete in a high profile bout with the world’s best boxer is potentially damaging to both Mcgregor’s reputation and the branding of the overall sport that he is associated with. But at least McGregor will be rewarded handsomely whether he wins or loses the fight.</p>
<h2>Worse for boxing</h2>
<p>While MMA has been on an upward trajectory, boxing’s financial future has become less clear. Some recent matches, such as Anthony Joshua’s victory over Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 and Mayweather’s victory over Manny Pacquiao in May 2015 have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/12/mayweather-pacquiao-shatters-ppv-marks-with-44m-buys-400m-revenue">raked in the cash</a>, and attracted large crowds. But there is a more deep-rooted feeling that the boxing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/12/mayweather-pacquiao-is-over-and-boxing-is-dead-again">business is in decline</a>.</p>
<p>It is telling that a new eight-man tournament dubbed the World Boxing Super Series <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/world-boxing-super-series-like-a-gladiatorial-dating-game-kalle-sauerland-next-manny-pacquiao-2017-8">has been launched</a>, created by one of combat sports’ most powerful promoters and will offer combatants a share of US$50m. It’s clearly the hope that it will bring in some big names, as well as big money through ticket sales and sponsorship.</p>
<p>In some part, the decline in popularity of boxing may be due to the increased popularity of UFC, and associated MMA events. They are fighting for the same market share. The McGregor-Mayweather match therefore has the potential to reinvigorate boxing, especially if a boxer like Mayweather, who is at the end of his career, is able to publicly humble a current UFC star in front of such a big audience.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182958/original/file-20170822-30552-sfv7eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Conor McGregor is a poster boy for UFC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UFC_189_World_Tour_Aldo_vs._McGregor_London_2015_(18776759002).jpg">Andrius Petrucenia / Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Ultimately, though, the odds are against boxing. McGregor might not need to even win the superfight in order to do further damage to the sport’s lustre. McGregor is fighting on Mayweather’s turf. If he puts in a creditable performance (for example by lasting the full 12 rounds of the fight or by offering some credible offence before succumbing), then even this could constitute a small victory for McGregor and UFC. </p>
<p>Mayweather has often been portrayed as the best pound for pound boxer <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/boxing/story/_/id/14970037/ranking-top-25-pound-pound-boxers-25-years">of all time</a>, and if he is unable to deal with a rowdy upstart from a rival sport in a quick and conclusive manner it may add further credibility to the rise of UFC as a rival to boxing. It is therefore likely that representatives from both corners, invested in the bout emotionally and financially, will attempt to claim a moral victory after the fact.</p>
<h2>Could it be a win-win?</h2>
<p>An alternative way of thinking about the match-up between the two men is that it is an opportunity to attract new fans to both of the two sports. There’s a chance for cross-promotion. If this is the case then the pre-fight publicity may have turned off as many new fans as it has attracted, with accusations of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/15/mayweather-accuses-mcgregor-of-racism-and-uses-homophobic-slur">racism and homophobia</a> so far dominating the fight’s press. While it may be possible that some new fans will be attracted to the spectacle of the two men squaring off, it is unclear whether such fans are likely to become die hard followers of either sport, meaning the most significant impact will be on how perceptions of the two sports are affected.</p>
<p>Some things are certain about the upcoming bout: further insults will be thrown and further exaggerations of earnings will be proposed. But it remains difficult to see who will be the true winner from the collision, and it may take several years before the full impact of the result is truly felt in the two competing businesses. Nonetheless, the encounter will surely be felt beyond the bank accounts of the two fighters, and will affect the future health of the their respective sports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82791/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert O'Neill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Millions of dollars will be made by both sides from the fight but does boxing have more to lose than UFC in this big money head-to-head?Robert O'Neill, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Strategy, Marketing and Economics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.