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Matt Brown put on a Fight of the Night performance against Bryan Barberena at UFC Columbus, netting the veteran an extra $50,000. Unfortunately, Brown came up short on the judges' scorecards, losing the fight by split decision.
Ohio has one of the few athletic commissions that still discloses fighter pay, so we know that Brown made $105,000 to show but didn't get his $105,000 win money. Even with that Fight of the Night bonus money, he's still walking away with less than if he'd won.
On a new episode of The MMA Hour, Brown was understandably unhappy with the show / win structure of UFC pay. He said:
"In a perfect world, we all get a flat pay. It shouldn't be a show and win. Like I got half of the pay last weekend and was there a loser in that fight? Even if they gave it to me, which they should have, Barberena walks away with half. He doesn't deserve half his pay. He deserves his full pay."
According to Brown, there's too many ways for fighters to get screwed out of their win money. He explained:
"You show up, you make weight, you put on a good fight. Things happen. This sport, you do all this work, all this training and preparation, the sacrifice, the grind. And then you go out there and some bulls**t happens. How often have we seen some fluke s**t happen in the sport? It's an almost weekly occurrence in this sport. And now you've just lost half your pay for that. Or judges. Bad judges. You lose half your pay for bad judging, which has happened to me more than once now."
Watch Matt Brown discuss fighter pay on The MMA Hour below:
Matt Brown and Bryan Barberena agree to a rematch
Matt Brown believes the judges got it wrong when they awarded Bryan Barberena with the win at UFC Columbus. Bryan Barberena respectfully disagrees, but would be happy to run it back with Brown.
Brown vs. Barberena was an early contender for Fight of the Year, and a rematch would add to any card it was put on. The only thing stopping the UFC from setting it up is Bryan Barberena's contractual status. His bout with Matt Brown was the final fight on his current contract, and while 'Bam Bam' is hoping the UFC decides to re-sign him, he's prepared to retire from the sport if they don't.
