The very hands that deliver pain and punishment to men with muscles the size of bowling balls are tackling a considerably more delicate endeavor thanks to the lucrative encouragement of Ultimate Fighting Championship executives.
The new policy of UFC is to reward its mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters with financial bonuses for tweeting.
The effort represents a stark contrast from other sports organizations, which have closely monitored and often fined its players for their social media antics.
Executives for Ultimate Fighting Championship are taking a different approach. In fact, they want their fighters to tweet their tails off.
According to a report published Thursday, the compensation package outlined is incredibly enticing.
Beginning June 1, UFC and Strikeforce fighters “will be divided into four categories, based on how many Twitter followers they currently have.” At the close of each quarter, three fighters from each category will be awarded a $5,000 bonus. The three winners will be based on who has gained the most followers since the start of the quarter, who gained the highest percentage of new followers and who wrote the most creative tweets. White will be the judge of the last category. At the conclusion of a full calendar year, the UFC will end up paying $240,000 a year to its fighters for their Twitter usage.
With many UFC fans being closely tied to social media, the franchise of fisticuffs is likely well-aware of the promotional goldmine that engaging its talent on Twitter could produce.
Although the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has been supportive of its talent using Twitter, it isn’t believed that WWE wrestlers are paid for using the platform as a promotional tool.