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MMA is a growing sport when it comes to popularity and revenue; the UFC is its biggest stage. While MMA fighters have historically been paid a minuscule proportion of what other sports stars have made, things are beginning to change. UFC stars are now starting to make good money, especially after factoring in their pay-per-view points.
However, disputes in the UFC over fighter pay still remain. UFC fighters making less than the top-ranked champs want more money. In return, the UFC champs want as much money as superstars like Conor McGregor make. The cycle goes on.
It is natural for the UFC, as a business, to not give in to such demands every single time. What happens, therefore, is that many athletes get sidelined after starting a dispute over money with the UFC. Let's take a look at a few cases.
#3 - Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo won the UFC flyweight championship in 2018 and then grabbed the vacant bantamweight title less than a year later in 2019. In doing so, 'Triple C' became the fourth UFC fighter to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously.
Henry Cejudo defended his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz in 2020. Immediately after his fight against 'The Dominator,' he announced his retirement from MMA. The move was met with suspicion as various MMA experts and analysts considered Cejudo's announcement a ploy to negotiate his contract with the UFC.
'Triple C' admitted at the post-fight conference that he was willing to fight again if the UFC offered him the right money. He said:
"He (Dana White) knows the number, but let all these other bantamweights kill each other."
A week later, Henry Cejudo's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, stated in an interview that 'Triple C' was not retired. He said:
"Henry really felt that he just knocked out the greatest bantamweight of all-time, Dominick Cruz. What does that make him? The greatest flyweight. The greatest bantamweight and the greatest competitor of all-time. Now, he’s got boxing stars calling him out … Henry has everybody on their knees right now. I don’t think he’s gonna retire. You’re gonna see him fight by the summer."
However, the UFC officially vacated the bantamweight title less than three weeks after Cejudo's retirement, removing the former champ's name from the rankings. Henry Cejudo took to social media following his retirement to say that he was willing to come out of it. However, with the UFC not reaching out to him with any offers, Cejudo was sidelined for good.
Also read: 5 things MMA fans need to see in the second half of 2021.
#2 - Paulo Costa
Paulo Costa was defeated for the first time in his MMA career by UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2020. Despite the TKO loss, 'Borrachinha' made $380,000 ($350,000 to show and $30,000 fight week bonus).
Israel Adesanya has fought twice since that contest in September 2020, a venture into the light heavyweight division and another title defense against Marvin Vettori. But Paulo Costa has remained on the sidelines and is likely to stay there due to a dispute over remuneration with the UFC.
The UFC reportedly looked to book Paulo Costa against No.1-ranked UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker for March 2021. 'The Reaper' ended up getting booked against Kelvin Gastelum in April. 'Borrachinha' was presented with another opportunity for August, this time against Jared Cannonier. However, a dispute over pay led to the UFC sidelining Costa and handing the fight to Kelvin Gastelum, who is 1-4 in his last five.
Paulo Costa was reportedly offered less than $350,000 for the fight in August against Jared Cannonier. Unhappy with the money, Costa took to Twitter to slam the UFC.
Although Paulo Costa later iterated that he was ready to fight, Dana White had better plans. The UFC president hit back at Costa's comments about getting paid less than the Paul brothers and said:
"Guess what? You should have started a YouTube channel when you were f**king 13 years old and built your name up and everything else and you could have had the fight on Saturday night. But you didn’t. You’re not a [expletive] YouTuber, you’re a fighter, and this is what you do for a living. Or you don’t. It’s up to you. And you’re in no position to be talking about crazy money after your last performance. Okay? So you either want to fight or you don’t want to fight. No problem. You don’t want to fight, you can hang out and do whatever you want. When you’re ready, you let me know."
#1 - Jon Jones
Former UFC light heavyweight champion and No.1 pound-for-pound fighter Jon Jones has seen it all in the MMA organization, including a dispute over money with UFC president Dana White.
It was due to a dispute over his remuneration when Jon Jones vacated his light heavyweight title in 2020. He announced his decision to move up to the heavyweight division in hopes of higher pay. However, he was soon sidelined after as he teased the idea of making his debut in the heaviest division of the UFC against newly crowned champion Francis Ngannou.
Responding indirectly to Jon Jones, Dana White told the media at the UFC 260 post-fight conference that 'Bones' was trying to price himself out of the fight. While Dana accused Jones of asking $30m for the fight against Ngannou, Jones denied the allegation. This led to a back and forth between the UFC boss and the former UFC champion, with Dana White even suggesting Jones should retire.
Jon Jones did not budge from his demands for higher pay and said that he was doing it to bring change to the UFC. He said:
"And if I have to have a bad relationship with Dana, sit out for two years, three years, to bring light to what's happening, then these are the things people remember you for more than winning belts. I stood for the younger fighters. I don't want to fight soon. I have no interest in fighting in the UFC until I get paid what I believe I'm worth."
However, Dana White also showed that he was not one to bargain with. He accused Jon Jones of being greedy and said:
"Ask Jon Jones how much he’s getting paid. See what he tells you. He won’t tell you what he’s getting paid, because I think the narrative changes a lot when you find out what Jon Jones makes. I think he’s the greatest in the sport, within the last however many ever years and he doesn’t make the money that a Conor and a Khabib make and he doesn’t like that."
Also read: "This is a special guy, but..." - Jon Jones' former foe simultaneously applauds and criticizes him.
