Josh Thomson reveals he made more in Strikeforce than title contenders in the UFC
Josh Thomson has revealed that he was making more money during his Strikeforce days than some UFC title challengers.
As the UFC's earnings have grown over the years, so has the compensation towards its fighters. However, several critics insist that the promotion pays its athletes a considerably lower percentage of its revenue than other major sports leagues such as the NFL and the NBA.
While discussing Francis Ngannou's contract situation on the Weighing In Xtra YouTube channel, Josh Thomson revealed he made more money in Strikeforce than Kenny Florian and Sean Sherk did fighting for the UFC lightweight championship:
"They do pay their champions very damn well. Now back in the day, it wasn't always the case. And that was the thing... I can go back to the Sean Sherk and Kenny Florian days. When Sean Sherk was fighting Kenny Florian and the UFC lightweight title first came back, I was making at Strikeforce, and I wasn't the champ at the time, more than both of those guys to fight for the title."
Thomson added that the 155lbs division was just being brought back to the UFC at the time. It wasn't loaded with stars the way it is these days.
Check out the clip below:
John McCarthy weighs in on Francis Ngannou's UFC contract situation
On a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, John McCarthy said that the UFC would be making an error by letting heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou leave.
'The Predator' will face Ciryl Gane in the last fight left on his contract at UFC 270. Ngannou has been unhappy with his pay and could explore free agency. He's even expressed his discontent on Twitter in the past.
It's crazy to think that Logan Paul (0-1) just made $20M on a boxing exhibition.
WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG? 🤔
McCarthy believes the UFC should do everything in its power to hold on to the 16-3 fighter, even if he loses to Gane:
"Heavyweights, they're a different breed... good, big guys are rare... I don't know the numbers and I don't know all the dynamics behind it with the UFC but people seem to want to see Francis Ngannou fight and it's because he can knock people out. So, I can't believe that their numbers aren't at least adequate when Francis is on the card... If he loses this fight with Gane, which is a possibility, if they let him walk, I think they're crazy," said McCarthy.
If Francis Ngannou emerges victorious at UFC 270, the promotion may go out of its way to keep him. However, things could get complicated if he loses to Ciryl Gane.