Sean O'Malley backs UFC against critics of fighter pay
Sean O'Malley recently weighed in on the ongoing criticism that the UFC receives pertaining to fighter pay.
While speaking to George Janko, O'Malley shared his thoughts on fighter pay and explained his contract situation with the UFC. He mentioned that he believes he has a great relationship with the promotion and had no issues when negotiating his latest deal and doesn't forsee that changing.
He said:
"I just re-signed with them, but I've never fought out a full contract. So, you sign 6 fights, you know, you do two fights - couple KOs, you could renegotiate...Technically, you don't have to, contractually you can't but I have a really good relationship with the UFC, so I've always been able to renegotiate my contracts before the contract ends." [28:17 - 28:38]
'Sugar' then brought up that he has no complaints with the promotion regarding pay. He mentioned that he believes the UFC are fair and pay the fighters based on the attention and money they bring in for their fights, saying:
"I mean, if you're bringing in the UFC money...they don't mind paying people. They don't wanna pay people...You eat what you kill in this sports. You're doing good, you're bringing in money, they'll pay you." [28:47 - 29:03]
Many fighters likely won't share O'Malley sentiments regarding fighter pay, but he did insinuate that a fighter can possibly use their performances as leverage to renegotiate a new deal.
Sean O'Malley intends to renegotiate his UFC contract again
Despite signing a new deal with the UFC, Sean O'Malley intends to renegotiate his deal with the promotion rather than fighting it out.
During the affromentioned interview, 'Sugar' noted that he plans on winning the bantamweight championship and after defending it a few times, negotiate a new deal with the promotion, saying:
"I think is the last one, was like 7 or 8 [fights]. I plan on going out there, finishing Aljo [Sterling], fighting again, fight two fights, renegotiate again." [28:39 - 28:46]
It will be interesting to see what his next contract looks like as the bantamweight contender could have more leverage should he dethrone Aljamain Sterling and if his fights do well on pay-per-view.
Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight title against Sean O'Malley on August 19 at UFC 292 in Boston, UFC announced on Tuesday. https://t.co/b0fmL3BD1Q