I don’t know what the deal is but the number of fighters complaining about money seems to grow every day. There is a constant comparison to boxing pay which is ludicrous because the sports are entirely different in structure. I could write an entire book on why they are and should be different, but I don’t have the time or the desire.
Boxing has a few big money stars in different promotions whereas the UFC is the king of the MMA world. The number of fighters on the UFC’s s roster is sizable and making sure they all get paid and bonuses are handed out has to be challenging. I’m not taking up for Dana White and the UFC but I am saying that somehow fighter pay has become a hot button during this quarantine period.
The top level fighters make more money because they make the UFC more money and if they aren’t a draw they don’t get paid like they are. It’s a pretty simple formula and one that is easy to understand which is why you have the Conor McGregor, Chael Sonnen, Colby Covington, and other characters cut from similar cloth out there and making noise. They want to get noticed and they want to draw interest in fights because it gets them higher pay. It’s really not that hard. Be an exciting fighter, be entertaining, and connect with the fans and that should help you draw more money.
The latest to ask for a ridiculous sum of money is someone that has not even close to earned it. I’m going to let you read this but I’m going to put it in context first. The tweet came from this individual after stating he wanted to coach opposite the UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya on a season of The Ultimate Fighter before squaring off with him for the belt. The amount of money though… Just read this.
Costa is referring to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones who has caused a lot of drama recently about how much he should be getting paid. I don’t have a dog in that fight but I do know that Paulo Costa is just 5-0 in the UFC and has no true big wins on his resume except Yoel Romero, no offense to Johny Hendricks or Uriah hall. Asking for $15 million with five fights in the company, no real hype, and not being a proven draw is admittedly unreasonable and possibly insane.
What do you think of his request? Do you think it’s reasonable