Rory “Red King” MacDonald’s existing ZUFFA contract ends after his UFC Fight Night 89 headliner against Stephen Thompson, which takes place on Sat., June 18, 2016, inside The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on FOX Sports 1. Rory is the top Canadian fighter in the MMA game right now and if the UFC wants to keep him they need to dish out some cheddar or he will most likely exit the organization.
Don’t believe us? Let Rory himself tell you via MMAFighting.
I think it’s important to get it out there. It’s a known topic about fighter pay now and I think it’s beneficial to me that I get it out there too so when it comes time to negotiate I have other sources to talk with. It’s a known thing, people are buzzing about it. It’s a good thing. Now that I have a little girl on the way, I want to be able to provide everything she’s gonna need in her life. So that’s a big motivator to start getting paid for this because it doesn’t last forever. I want big money fights because first and foremost I think I’m worth it. I think I bring a lot to the table, I think I bring a lot of viewers. I think I’m the guy in the Canadian market right now, and I think that is a huge factor that is forgotten in some negotiations, but you know, we’re gonna see how it plays out.
Rory is the #1 contender to Robbie Lawler’s UFC welterweight championship despite getting TKO’d by Lawler in what turned out to be an exciting war. If he were to lose to Stephen Thompson it would put him back down the ladder, and renegotiating a new contract with the UFC would not be as lucrative as it could be with a win. At least, there wouldn’t be as much of an incentive for Dana and the crew to give him more than he is making already.