"There is no way that Kamaru Usman made only $500,000" - Josh Thomson argues against the narrative that UFC should follow boxing's pay structure
Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson has defended the UFC and its pay structure following arguments for the organization to adopt a boxing pay model when Kamaru Usman's UFC 278 purse was revealed.
Thomson believes that the current structure of the UFC and its pay model is working because it's creating jobs and giving employees financial stability. The 45-year-old added that fighters under UFC contract are also given opportunities to use some of the best facilities in the world, like the Las Vegas Performance Center, free of charge.
The WEIGHING IN podcast host acknowledged that boxers on the main card are definitely earning more money, but their welfare and opportunities are far more limited than the UFC's.
Kamaru Usman lost his welterweight title to Briton Leon Edwards and won $500,000 (N213,630,000) but Leon Edwards who won got $350,000.
Can anyone explain the reason?
Thomson used Kamaru Usman's UFC 278 main-event appearance as an example of the media spinning a narrative between the two sports:
"There's no way that Kamaru Usman only made $500,000... Anthony Pettis just came out and said he got two or three of those million dolllar bonuses while he was in the UFC. All of these things happen, there are backroom deals... There's a lot of cheques at home that people don't realize. The money the UFC shows to the commission, that doesn't have to be the number."
Thomson added:
"The media needs to really stop on ragging on the fact these top level fighters or these fighters in general that they're not making enough. Of course I am on the side of the fighter, I want them to make more money."
Catch the full video here:
Joe Rogan slams sponsors that cut ties with Kamaru Usman after UFC 278 loss
Joe Rogan has spoken out against former sponsors of Kamaru Usman after learning that they had ended their association with 'The Nigerian Nightmare' due to his UFC 278 loss.
In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan welcomed filmmaker Walt Harris. The pair discussed the stunning win for Leon Edwards over 'The Nigerian Nightmare' and Harris informed the UFC color commentator that Usman had lost sponsorships due to the freak leg kick KO loss.
Still not over this INSANE KO from Leon Edwards this weekend at #UFC278 https://t.co/1kso7yL3XX
Upon learning this, Rogan appeared frustrated and compared the situation to NBA icon LeBron James:
"All those sponsors can go f**k themselves. If you drop Kamaru Usman because of a one-kick knockout in a sport... that's like dropping LeBron [James] if someone dunked on him... What are you talking about? Like, this is what the sport is and that is the consequences and those consequences are available even to the greatest champions. If you get head-kicked, that's it. That's the button... It was clean. There was no surviving that. That's how it is. That's the sport."
Catch the clip here: