In recent weeks, the biggest story in MMA has been the sudden emergence of well-known UFC fighters publicly voicing their displeasure with their current pay. Henry Cejudo retired from the sport, in part because of the money he was making; Jorge Masvidal asked for his release from the company because they wouldn’t pay him what he believes he’s worth; and Jon Jones has had an ongoing public battle with the UFC over their refusal to pay him to move up to heavyweight and they poor pay he received earlier in his career. All of this is to say that fighter pay has been at the top of everyone’s mind lately and now, UFC commentator Joe Rogan has weighed in.
Speaking about the topic on his podcast on Tuesday, Rogan opined about why fighter pay has become such a hot topic recently.
“Right now in particular, there is probably less money because there is no live gate, and that’s an extreme amount of money,” Rogan said. “But there’s also fighters that agree to certain deals. They agree to like, an 8-fight deal at X amount per fight, and then they become more popular and then they want to renegotiate their deal, and the UFC is like, ‘Look, we’re just trying to stay open. We’re not going to renegotiate anything. You can take it or you can leave it, but this is what it is.’ I think it’s a matter of that.
“Looking at it from the fighters’ perspective, fighters would certainly be better off if there was more competition. That’s always how it works. So whether it’s Bellator or ONE FC or all these different companies, the more of those there are, the more World Series of Fighting, Professional Fighting League, whatever the f*ck it’s called now, the more those rise, the better it is for everyone.”
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.