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Running a promotion like the UFC is no simple task. As the world's premier MMA organization, it is home to a deep roster of mixed martial artists from all walks of life. Unfortunately, for the people who are responsible for managing the promotion, it takes more than offering bouts to fighters to keep the roster happy.
Some fighters believe that they're not being paid what they're worth. This has led to several issues between the promotion and its fighters. Jorge Masvidal and Paulo Costa are known to have had spats with Dana White regarding being paid their perceived value.
Sometimes, fighters do more than bring their negotiations into the public sphere on social media. In the most extreme cases, they come to loathe the promotion altogether, and this list compiles five such fighters.
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#5. Randy Couture, former UFC light heavyweight/heavyweight champion
Randy Couture's issues with the UFC are well-documented. While it may be difficult for new-generation fans to believe, there was a point in time when the UFC wasn't the most dominant MMA promotion in the world. It was during this period that 'The Natural' first became the UFC heavyweight champion.
Despite the promotion's plans to match him up with Bas Rutten, the former Olympian opted to sign with Vale Tudo Japan. After spending three years in Japan, he returned to the UFC once Zuffa LLC bought the promotion. Unfortunately, the company's owners didn't view him as a marketable star.
Instead, they sought to put all of their promotional efforts on the back of Pedro Rizzo when it came to the heavyweight division. The same is true of how they regarded 'The Natural's position in the light heavyweight division after the emergence of Chuck Liddell.
Couture's complaints about the amount of money he was being paid compared to Liddell became a talking point. Furthermore, 'The Natural' repeatedly expressed his desire to face MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko, who the UFC failed to sign. Thus, he announced his resignation from the promotion.
After his departure, he sought a bout with Emelianenko, but the UFC threatened him with a lawsuit due to breach of contract. Other incidents occurred, with Couture taking exception to the amount of pay he was receiving as a FOX analyst for the UFC, prompting him to sign with Viacom, Bellator's parent company.
Even years after his retirement, Couture has expressed his disdain for the treatment he's received. The promotion even refused to allow him to corner his own son during his promotional debut, something Couture has spoken out against, as well as the controversial TUF contracts.
#4. Cris Cyborg, former UFC women's featherweight champion
The UFC and Cris Cyborg have never enjoyed a positive relationship. Years prior to her officially signing with the promotion, two of the most public faces from the promotion spoke negatively about her to MMA media members. The company's president, Dana White, said she resembled Wanderlei Silva in a dress.
Meanwhile, Ronda Rousey has an entire laundry list of insults, including referring to her Brazilian rival as an 'it.' Thus, the WMMA great already had a negative opinion about the promotion before joining it. While she eventually signed with the promotion as the face of its women's featherweight division, tensions remained.
After the WMMA legend suffered a one-sided, even humiliating defeat to Amanda Nunes in the latter's ascension to champ-champ status, Dana White was adamant that she didn't want a rematch with 'The Lioness' despite her saying otherwise. This prompted Cyborg to post footage of her confronting him backstage.
Unfortunately, the video was doctored and included subtitles that didn't reflect what White truly said. It was done in a manner that made him look worse, and it led to her being released from her contract. Since then, Cyborg has spoken out against the promotion's alleged bullying and harassment.
#3. Nate Diaz, former UFC lightweight/welterweight
Nate Diaz is not the easiest person to deal with when it comes to negotiations. This is a lesson that the UFC learned long ago. Whether it's him publicly complaining about the matchups or lack of pay he's earning, or it's him opting to spend long stretches without competing, he's done it all.
Diaz has claimed that the promotion held him hostage and kept him from enjoying his version of an ideal career. In the past, White has claimed that he is not a needle-mover, which Stockton's finest will never forget. After becoming a needle-mover, he became increasingly difficult to negotiate with.
Stockton's finest claimed that the UFC refused to offer him fights in an effort to schedule a trilogy bout between him and Conor McGregor. He even grew so frustrated that he mockingly asked to face Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou. He eventually agreed to fight Khamzat Chimaev.
The bout was a mismatch, but a weight cut gone awry caused the promotion to find a short-notice opponent for Stockton's finest. He faced Tony Ferguson and won in impressive fashion before being released from his contract.
Now that he's free, he'll no longer have to post pictures of himself urinating outside the UFC Performance Institute to express his grievances.
#2. Francis Ngannou, former UFC heavyweight champion
While he is no longer with the promotion, Francis Ngannou remains the best 265'er in the world until further notice. The Cameroonian knockout artist was never dethroned as the promotion's heavyweight king. Instead, he opted to ply his trade elsewhere. The issues between him and the UFC run deep.
'The Predator' has always longed to box. His initial passion was boxing, but he was persuaded to take up MMA. Ever since Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match, countless fighters have sought to convince the promotion to book lucrative boxing matches for them too.
Francis Ngannou expressed his desire to box Tyson Fury. But the promotion was adamant about him remaining an exclusive fighter under their banner. The Cameroonian great took exception to this by arguing that if they were really independent contractors, they wouldn't be held hostage.
He further complained about the amount of money he and his colleagues receive when compared to boxers. This led to other complications, like the cancelation of a bout between him and Jon Jones. Other issues arose, like possible healthcare benefits for the promotion's athletes.
He even had a sitdown with Jake Paul, who is known to take aim at the UFC, and Dana White for the promotion's controversial pay structure. According to 'The Predator,' his agent at the time was threatened with a lawsuit for speaking to 'The Problem Child's business partner about a possible boxing match.
This eventually ended with Ngannou's departure from the promotion after he felt grossly mistreated.
#1. Mark Hunt, former UFC heavyweight
Perhaps no other fighter has gone to the same lengths that Mark Hunt has. The former K-1 World Grand Prix winner is remembered for being one of MMA's most terrifying power punchers. During his run in the promotion, he became well-known for his patented walk-off knockouts.
He rarely needed to land follow-up blows to secure KO wins. Unfortunately, the second half of his career included a contract dispute with the promotion. In 2014, he considered retiring from MMA due to the promotion's desire to sign him to an eight-fight contract instead of a three-fight contract like the one he wanted.
While 'The Super Samoan' eventually agreed to return to the promotion, things collapsed. At UFC 200, Mark Hunt was scheduled to face Brock Lesnar. The WWE star outwrestled his opponent en route to a clear win. But the bout's result was later declared a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for banner substances.
He failed both a pre-fight drug test and an in-competition one. Hunt, however, was enraged as he was under the belief that the UFC was aware of Lesnar's PED usage and still allowed him to fight. Thus, he filed a lawsuit against the promotion and accused them of fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and more.
However, things didn't end there. Despite 'The Super Samoan' being on the losing side of the legal battle, he continued attacking the promotion on social media before ultimately challenging Dana White and the Fertitta brothers to an MMA bout.
