Conor McGregor's UFC earnings leaked, PFL CEO talks Francis Ngannou's next fight, Usman Nurmagomedov retorts at Bellator fighter's anti-Islam rhetoric: MMA News Roundup
Find out about the biggest UFC updates and other stories with Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup.
Today's issue will discuss Conor McGregor's earnings, Francis Ngannou's next fight, and more.
#3. Leaked court documents reveal exactly how much Conor McGregor made in the UFC
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court recently denied the UFC's request to remove the class action status from the ongoing case, where hundreds of MMA fighters have come together seeking unpaid wages and other legal protections.
With the matter now being handled by the judicial court, all the related documents have been made public. Among those were papers revealing the earnings of multiple UFC fighters over the years, including Conor McGregor.
According to a report by Bloody Elbow, McGregor made $3,285,000 against Chad Mendes, somewhere north of $4,450,000 against Jose Aldo, $5,576,315 and $5,615,490 for the two fights against Nate Diaz, and $6,812,374 against Eddie Alvarez.
'The Notorious' overall made around $25 million for all the mentioned fights combined, which some fans feel is criminally low compared to the number of pay-per-view buys he has sold in return. Others were surprised by the amount his opponents made for the self-proclaimed "Red Panty Night".
Jake Paul, who has historically spoken up against UFC's fighter pay issues, said in a deleted tweet:
"This is f***ing hilarious and sad at the same time."
The document revealed the earnings of some other fighters too, such as Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Ronda Rousey, and Anderson Silva. It said that CM Punk was paid $1,042,736 for his disastrous MMA debut against Mickey Gall.
#2. PFL CEO Peter Murray discusses Francis Ngannou's next fight
Despite an impressive boxing debut, PFL CEO Peter Murray feels Jon Jones is the next best fight for Francis Ngannou. 'The Predator' is currently signed to the PFL, where his contract allows him to occasionally box outside of the promotion, which is something the UFC never allowed anyone, with the exception of Conor McGregor.
Murray is hopeful that they will be able to find the right opponent for Ngannou, but what he truly hopes for is the fight with Jones in collaboration with the UFC.
In an interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Murray said:
"That is the fight that fans want and by the way, that's the fight that Jon Jones wants, that's the fight that Francis wants, that's the number one on both of their lists and the fans know that. We would love to deliver it. It just will take two parties coming together and make it possible and it would be epic."
If not Jones, Murray would love for Ngannou to fight Deontay Wilder inside the cage with modified rules.
#1. Umar Nurmagomedov hits back at Israel fighter's son for anti-Islam comments
Former Bellator fighter Haim Gozali recently made headlines for an extremely offensive post. The Israeli fighter shared a picture of a missile with the names of four Muslim UFC fighters - Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Khamzat Chimaev, and Belal Muhammad - with the implication that the explosive was meant for them and other people of their faith in general.
You can see the post here.
His son, Aviv Gozali, aligned himself with his father in the controversy. The Bellator fighter commented in an equally insensitive tone in response to Gozali Sr.'s post but got shut down by Usman Nurmagomedov.
Check out the exchange below:
Usman is the current Bellator lightweight champion and a cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov.