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The issue of fighter pay within the UFC has been something Dana White has had to contend with for some time now. The reported profits made by the UFC relative to the reported salaries of fighters have been called disproportionate.
Dan Hardy is the latest professional fighter to call out White over fighter pay. The comments were made in response to a video posted by the UFC president on Twitter, giving Kyle Forsgeard $250,000 cash as a birthday present.
Hardy tweeted the following:
"Retweet if you think Uncle Dana should give all of the UFC’s top 15 ranked fighters $250,000 for their next birthday."
Dan Hardy seems to be making a sort of hyperbolic retort. However, in a tweet that followed shortly after, he provided some background to the suggestion he made to White.
"Just for context - It's only $45 million, which would leave approximately $455 million from his profits off the sale of the UFC....or they could pay it out of the Billion dollars profit that the UFC makes per year, which would leave them around $955million.
Dan Hardy knows all too well just how much the UFC can underpay their fighters. He admitted on an episode of The British Entrepreneur podcast that he was paid $24,000 to fight George St-Pierre. It's also worth remembering that he would have been fighting for the title.
"I fought GSP for 24 thousand dollars."
Watch the full clip below:
The UFC certainly did not make the same level of money back then as they do today. Yet, the feeble sum granted to Hardy is certainly mind-boggling.
The issue of fighter pay is going nowhere fast. Unless Dana White and the UFC reconsider their stance, the narrative of underpaid fighters in the worlds biggest MMA promotion will continue to fester.
Dana White and the UFC paid Dan Hardy less for over 10 fights than he will earn for boxing vs. Diego Sanchez
A boxing bout expected to take place on July 2 between UFC veterans Dan Hardy and Diego Sanchez has unfortunately been postponed until November. Hardy will be making his boxing debut and will be taking home a paycheck heavier than all of his UFC checks combined.
Hardy is always quick to mention the issue of fighter pay in relation to the UFC. Having felt he was underpaid throughout his time with the UFC, it is nice to see him earning handsomely in the latter stages of his career.
