Was Mamed Khalidov Lowballed by UFC?

Mamed Khalidov Has Been Offered a UFC Contract That Apparently Ain’t Worth Diddly Squat

If you’ve even been a semi-regular reader of this site over the past
few months, then you are probably familiar with our nuthuggery when it
comes to Polish powerhouse Mamed Khalidov.
With a record that currently stands at 25-4, Khalidov has made a name
for himself as of late by quickly and violently decimating any challenge
placed before him under the KSW banner. His diet has consisted mainly
of ex-UFC talent including James Irvin, Jesse Taylor, Jorge Santiago, and Matt Lindland,
and he has not lost a fight since March of 2010 (in a rematch with
Santiago). In those fights, Khalidov has proven to be as dynamic and
powerful a striker as he is a lethal submission savant, and with the Biblical-scale plague of injuries currently sweeping through the UFC’s roster, now seems like a better time than any for Khalidov to test himself in the sport’s highest promotion, don’t you think?

Well, even though it is being reported that Khalidov has in fact been
offered a contract by Dana & Co, the jury is still out on whether
or not we’ll actually be seeing him stateside anytime soon. The reason,
as it always is, boils down to simple dollars and cents. Or lack
thereof.

Even though Khalidov hasn’t faced a legitimate test since his
aforementioned rematch with Santiago (who, let’s face it, has proven to
be less than UFC material), he is looking to prove himself to a whole
new audience, and the UFC would obviously be the best place to do so.
The initial contract Mamed was offered, however, is apparently so
“laughable” that he is turning it down because he makes a great deal
more competing under the KSW banner. That’s right, the same promotion
that can’t even afford to hire ADHD-free judges can somehow manage to outbid the promotion that is willing to pay Nick Diaz three hundred thousand dollars just to show up to a press conference. You gotta love the places incompetence can bring you in today’s society.

According to FightersOnly,
Khalidov currently makes around $30,000 a fight under his current KSW
contract, which isn’t bad at all. When you consider that less than half
of his fights under the promotion have lasted over two minutes, it makes
that number look even more better. But if the UFC isn’t even coming close to matching that offer, Khalidov might as well plow through the next season of The Ultimate Fighter scrubs and
get locked into one of their paltry contracts. The fact that he is
considering turning down the contract must mean that the number offered
is far below the 30K he makes a fight over in his native Poland, which is pretty sad considering his skill set and record.

But looking at things from the UFC’s perspective, Khalidov is a
generally unknown (even to some more knowledgeable fans) prospect who
hasn’t been legitimately tested in a couple of years. He lacks the
drawing power, and could, like his Sengoku counterpart in Santiago,
prove to simply not be at UFC level within just a couple fights. But
that’s why they’re called gambles.

Personally, I think Khalidov will fair quite well in the UFC’s
middleweight division, and should be offered a contract that reflects a
good degree of confidence in his abilities. Check out a few of his most
recent performances and give us your assessment.

Pardon the shitty article.

But, damn, Khalidov would of been a great fill in for one of these injuries. Noobs don't know who anybody is so fuck'em, he would be a legit fill in for Bisping, Belfort or Stann.

I wonder if he was offered a contract and for how much and when if so? I wonder because it says that this is being reported. I've only seen it on Cage Potato, which I am often hesitant to trust in situations like this.

This came out about a week ago. KSW first said the contract was far less than he made in KSW, and then Mamed said it was pretty much an insult.

Pudz makes 6 figures in KSW and Mamed has become an even bigger draw than him over there. I'd imagine he is probably making or going to be making more than 30K.

UFC probably offered him 20K at the most. In the end, it's about the scrilla. He can hold out for longer a get paid really well in KSW and raise his stock. Though UFC will probably be spiteful because he publically called out their low ball and never raise their price even if they know he's worth it.

KingsOwn19 wrote:

Pudz makes 6 figures in KSW and Mamed has become an even bigger draw than him over there. I'd imagine he is probably making or going to be making more than 30K.

UFC probably offered him 20K at the most. In the end, it's about the scrilla. He can hold out for longer a get paid really well in KSW and raise his stock. Though UFC will probably be spiteful because he publically called out their low ball and never raise their price even if they know he's worth it.

In situations like this, I sometimes get the feeling Zuffa is spiteful of anyone who was good enough to earn respect or success within the MMA community outside of their brand. Dana White would probably be like "Khali-who? Some bum in the Soviet Union, lost to Santiago, let’s face it, Jorge has proven to be less than UFC material, amirite?"

GDPofDRC wrote:

KingsOwn19 wrote:

Pudz makes 6 figures in KSW and Mamed has become an even bigger draw than him over there. I'd imagine he is probably making or going to be making more than 30K.

UFC probably offered him 20K at the most. In the end, it's about the scrilla. He can hold out for longer a get paid really well in KSW and raise his stock. Though UFC will probably be spiteful because he publically called out their low ball and never raise their price even if they know he's worth it.

In situations like this, I sometimes get the feeling Zuffa is spiteful of anyone who was good enough to earn respect or success within the MMA community outside of their brand. Dana White would probably be like "Khali-who? Some bum in the Soviet Union, lost to Santiago, let’s face it, Jorge has proven to be less than UFC material, amirite?"

Yeah I could see that happening for sure.

Quote :

The KSW star was offered a four-fight deal by the UFC recently but made public comments about the financial terms being unacceptable to him. He is paid $30,000 per fight in Poland, plus sponsorship, and is slowly edging onto mainstream television chat shows and the like.
...

Fighters Only spoke to a source on the Zuffa side who said that Khalidov’s comments were puzzling considering that he was offered a $20,000/$20,000 deal. That means that his first fight, if he won it, would be worth $40,000. If he lost he would get $20,000 - less than his KSW rate but more than UFC newcomers who are unknown in the US.

Khalidov’s management supposedly told the UFC that his overall package had to be higher because the sponsors would not follow him from KSW to the UFC. “That was a strange thing to say,” said the source. “It equates to ‘please pay him more, because nobody wants to sponsor him’ - does that make your fighter sound more attractive or less attractive to a promoter?”

Khalidov's concern about sponsers makes sense to me. Maybe the UFC itself isnt that huge in Poland? so Khalidov, who has become a star in Poland is probably getting some huge sponsership deals there for fighting in KSW(which is becoming huge in Poland because of the countrymen) that would not follow him to the United States because the ad time is not worth as much in North America than it is in Poland. The "source" kind of twisted that into 'nobody wants to sponser him" when it could mean that Khalidov may have a really great deal with the sponsers in his homeland that Clinch Gear and all the other weak ass sponsers stateside don't sound as attractive.

Being an unknown international fighter means cookie cutter "oh you dont have a sponser come fight night? let me call Dan Henderson, he'll hook you up" when Khalidov..who is a star in Poland probably has pretty big sponsership deals that most international fighters going stateside can only dream of. Just my hunch.

While there is the most prestige obviously Khalidov has been fighting for a long time and it would be a drag for him to take a salary setback when going to the UFC is supposedly a fighters "big break".