"Does your boss give you 50/50 split on revenue?" - Chael Sonnen defends UFC's fighter pay system amid criticism
Earlier today, MMA legend Chael Sonnen went on an absolute rant on X after a Canadian lawyer suggested the UFC should employ a 50/50 revenue split with its fighters.
Fighter pay has long been a concern in the world's premier MMA promotion, with many feeling that the company severely underpays its roster. Earlier this year, a federal judge granted class certification to an antitrust lawsuit against the UFC.
Piggybacking on the ruling, Canadian lawyer Erik Magraken criticized the company in a post on X. He wrote:
"Hot take -If the UFC embraced a 50/50 rev split they would not be in the antitrust suit, would be locked in as the market leader, and would have that position unthreatened for decades to come."
Suffice it to say Chael Sonnen disagrees with this assessment. The trash-talking extraordinaire replied to the post, reasoning that it was not ideal for any company to employ a 50/50 revenue split with its employees:
"Enough about a company in a country you don’t reside [in]- let’s talk about YOU. Does your boss give you [a] 50/50 split on revenue? Maybe you ARE the boss. Do you give [the] crew 50%? Can you name 1 company on Earth that gives [a] 50/50 revenue split? (The word you were looking for was PROFIT btw;)) Same question."
Interestingly, 'The Bad Guy' is also among the few fighters who feel UFC was right to ban individual sponsors in the organization.
Chael Sonnen says boxing is not a real sport
After Francis Ngannou's impressive showing against Tyson Fury in October, Chael Sonnen is convinced that boxing is not a real sport.
At the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, 'The Predator' scored an early knockdown against the lineal heavyweight champion as he gave Fury a run for his money for the entirety of the fight.
Although 'The Gypsy King' was ultimately handed a split decision win, many in the combat sports community felt the Cameroonian was unfairly robbed of a victory in Saudi Arabia, and Sonnen is one among them.
During a recent segment on his YouTube channel, 'The Bad Guy' lamented his disappointment in witnessing a boxing novice like Ngannou putting up a great fight against the WBC champion. He said:
"This is a heartbreaking thing for me, not because of whatever weirdness I’ve got going on with Francis. It’s a heartbreaking thing for me because my entire life, I have respected boxing and to find out that boxing is fake... You cannot be a real sport... This is the second time I’ve seen the best in the world in boxing, the absolute best, in their prime, in boxing, get beaten up by a guy with zero experience."
Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below (2:22):