What’s the story?
In recent days, a number of fighters have been irked by the UFC. The latest fighter to join that list is Cleveland native and UFC Heavyweight Champion, Stipe Miocic. According to Mmafighting.com, Miocic is highly agitated with the UFC for giving Alistair Overeem a bigger pay cheque for UFC 203.
The Champion recently made an appearance on The MMA Hour. On the show, he revealed his displeasure with the UFC. He was quoted saying the following:
“I just felt like I was kinda crapped on a little bit, I try to do things right and work with them, and they just didn’t give me a great deal. That’s my own fault, but also they knew what they were doing. They took my kindness for weakness. They told me it was the best deal they could do, and I said, oh okay, great. And then [I] come to find out, it wasn’t.”
In case you didn’t know...
The Champion defended his title for the first time at UFC 203 against Alistair “The Reem” Overeem. Although he got knocked down early in the fight, he recovered quickly and won the fight via first round TKO.
The Champion’s base salary for the fight was $600,000 while the Dutchman’s was $800,000.
The heart of the matter
The 265-pound kingpin claimed that Overeem making more money than him, felt like a slap. He was distinctly irked by the fact that though UFC 203 was in his hometown and he was the Champion, the UFC still gave Overeem more.
What’s next?
Miocic is just one victory away from equaling the record for most successful title defences in the UFC’s Heavyweight division. He revealed that he is planning his next title defence to take place in May.
His next opponent is currently tentative. However, rumour has it that his next opponent could be Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum.
Sportskeeda’s take
The UFC gives wages based on the drawing power and marketability of the fighters. Hence, “The Reem” got a bigger pay cheque than Miocic. However, a number of fans would surely agree with Miocic. The Champion should surely receive a bigger payday than the challenger.
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