Tag Archives: teddy riner

Comparing Top Salaries of Combat Sports

Posted on by
Reply

There is an illusion that since UFC is “fastest growing sport” that its stars would be paid on the level of other professional. That illusion was shattered for me when I found out that the prize money for Chael Sonnen from this weekend was just $50,000 (source). Of course, he perhaps earned over a million dollars through sponsorship deals, but still.

The following are the top earners (based on approximate yearly earnings from their fights alone) from each of the sports in a recent year.

  • Boxing: Floyd Mayweather at $85,000,000
  • MMA: Rashad Evans at $710,000
  • Freestyle/Greco-Roman Wrestling: $0 (unless they medal, then some countries give bonuses. Russia is highest with $100,000 bonus for gold)
  • Judo: Teddy Riner was paid $100K without sponsors and then sponsors bring that up to a about $1,000,000.
  • Jiu Jitsu: ADCC pays $40,000 to the superfight winner. World Pro pays $30,000 to the winner of the absolute and $8,000 to the winner of the division. Ultimate Absolute pays $10,000 to first place. So someone like Andre Galvao who won almost all of these prizes, could earn $88,000 a year.

It’s clear that superstars in any sport get paid well. An example of that is judo’s Teddy Riner. But still, it surprised me that the top 10 earners in boxing still make more than the top paid UFC fighters.

For many Olympic sports, money is not the main motivator, which is why the Olympics often feel like the purest form of athletic competition. There’s something beautiful about a human being sacrificing the prime of his or her life for the singular (and nearly impossible) goal of a gold medal…

Everyone Loves to Complain About the Referees

Posted on by
Reply

I competed at the Liberty Bell Judo Classic yesterday. Fought some tough black belts and had a good experience. I’ll have more to say about that when I get around to editing the video blog of that day.

I got to watch a lot of matches, and if anything was a common theme, it was that people complained about calls the referees made. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Just the usual amount of complaining. But that’s just it: people love to complain about referees and tournament organizers. The stress, nerves, emotions of competition need to go somewhere, and where better than to put them on the shoulders of the very people that make the event happen. That’s a sarcastic statement, by the way.

I’ve never felt that way about refs and tournament organizers. I am always filled with gratitude and genuine respect for the people that run the tournament. Perhaps I’m naive, but to me it seems that they are some of the most passionate supporters, fans, and practitioners of the sport. I’ll get a “bad” call and will be upset about it, but I won’t see it as the refs fault, but just bad luck. It’s part of the game. The ref only comes into play when your jiu jitsu and judo are not dynamic, active, and dominant. I always put it on myself if a referee was put into the position of having to decide the match.

I’m just grateful for the folks that love the competition side of the sport enough to help out. Many of the refs and organizers are current or past competitors themselves. They know what it takes to step on the mat, fight your ass off, and give everything for the chance to win gold.   They know it, they respect it, and they nurture it.

Alright enough of that. I just wanted to say that you’ll never hear me complain about the refs or tournament organizers, except jokingly over a beer or something. Because talking about the weather and complaining about the referees are the two things you can always fall back on where there is nothing to talk about at the bar.

By the way, I’m being nice in this post, so you would think I would get more good calls in my favor. On the contrary, I’ve learned over the months and years that I competed that the more I become friends with the refs, the harder they are on me when I’m competing.

PS: The picture in this post is that of Teddy Riner losing the 2010 World Judo Championships open category by a split referee decision.

Two of the Best Judoka in the World Practicing at the Kodokan

Posted on by
1

The following is a video of Ilias Iliadis and Teddy Riner in a randori session at the Kodokan in 2011, who are two of the best in the world in their respective weight divisions.

Iliadis is a -90kg player and Riner is a 100+kg player (actual weight of 129kg). So, there is an 85 lbs difference between the two men. However, Iliadis is probably one of the most powerful judoka to ever fight in 90kg.

It’s exciting to see two world class judoka at the top of their game practicing together. It’s almost as if they are both relaxed enough to not take the whole thing very seriously, and yet the natural competitive spirit definitely takes over at times.

Here’s a video of Iliadis practicing:

Here’s a short Riner highlight:

Both are some of the greatest judoka of all time, but if I had to pick one to watch, I’d go with Iliadis every time ;-)