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Georges St-Pierre recently penned a first-person essay for Wealthsimple Magazine, talking about his financial situation when he was fighting in the UFC.
In a piece titled, 'The UFC Won’t Pay You Fairly Unless You Make Them,' Georges St-Pierre revealed that it wasn't until 2008 that he earned what he considered fair compensation for a fighter of his caliber.
The French-Canadian fighter made his octagon debut against Karo Parisyan at UFC 46 in 2004. Georges St-Pierre said he was excited about making the major leagues, but looking back, he realized he was underpaid.
"I got recruited by the UFC, which was the most prestigious organization in the world. It was like making the NBA. But the money was still terrible," St-Pierre wrote.
For his debut fight, Georges St-Pierre revealed that he fought under contractual terms of "$3,000 to show and $3,000 to win".
Later that year, GSP earned a title shot against then-welterweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 50. According to the Montreal native, he was paid $9,000 to show for the title fight. However, his failed bid to dethrone Hughes prevented him from earning another $9,000.
Georges St-Pierre's gambit
Georges St-Pierre recalled how he bluffed the UFC into giving him a substantial pay increase. As UFC welterweight champion in 2008, GSP revealed that he refused to sign an extension, pressuring the promotion into giving him a better deal.
"We took a big risk. Because it’s like the stock market. Your stock might go up if you’re successful, but it can also go down if you lose. But that’s what we decided to do. I always believed in myself, so we took a big risk," St-Pierre noted.
The UFC superstar's "poker bluff" paid dividends, as the company ended up offering Georges St-Pierre a giant-sized contract. The 40-year-old wrote:
"So after I won the championship in 2008, I took a big gamble on myself and told the UFC that I was not going to re-sign with them. And then, the day before my fight with Jon Fitch, the UFC came back with a big, crazy contract because they didn’t want me to become a free agent. You read I made $400,000 a match? No. I made a lot more than that. A lot more than that. Millions. When I was at the peak of my career, I was making many millions of dollars."
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