How Do We Make Money Off of Pain?
Initially, Combat sports were not to make money. Like mentioned before, recreational combat has existed along with civilized society in order to stay ready for war, and spectating followed shortly after.
Despite this, Greek fighters were not very concerned with earning the favor of spectators, or even making money for their victories. Instead, they hoped to prove their physical superiority, and appease the gods. They achieved this by becoming sponsored by rich citizens at the time, giving them lodging and food for their success.
The idea of fighting for money and fame occurred largely with boxing, which became a popular spectator sport in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The introduction of radio and television broadcasting in the mid-1900s helped to popularize boxing even further, with millions of viewers tuning in to watch fights. Boxing also became a major betting industry, with bookmakers taking bets on the outcomes of fights.
This showed to be a successful industry going forward, as many different aspects of combat began running their own promotions and growing in size.