UFC Hall of Famer blasts promotion's "ridiculous" discrepancy in fighter pay, questions how much Dana White earns per event
A UFC Hall of Famer recently blasted the promotion for their discrepancy in fighter pay and questioned how much MMA promoters like Dana White earn per event compared to the fighters.
Fighter pay has been a hotly debated topic among the MMA community, especially considering how much championship-level boxers command for their bouts.
Former two-division champion Randy Couture has been at odds with the promotion for quite some time and has been vocal about fighters standing up for themselves and knowing their rights. He was a high-profile fighter that stood up and challenged the norms, which resulted in him basically being blacklisted from the promotion.
'The Natural' is currently working for the PFL and has been a strong supporter of fighters like Francis Ngannou, who tested the free agent market and signed the best deal for himself.
During his appearance on Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's JAXXON PODCAST, the Hall of Famer shed light on how contracts are structured. Couture mentioned that once signed, UFC fighters basically give up all their rights and lose their freedom to maximize their earnings:
"[They have] horrible contracts, very restrictive. No transparancy in our sport. Does anybody know how much any of these promoters are making off any single event? I can tell you what the fighters are making off of any single event, it's under 20%. Show me another professional sport in our society where that's the case, it's ridiculous."
Check out Randy Couture's comments below:
Randy Couture discloses what angered him about the UFC's contract structure
In addition to blasting the promotion for not being transparent with the fighters, Randy Couture disclosed what initially angered him about the UFC's contract structure.
Under the promotion's contract structure, 'The Natural' would require permission from Dana White should he receive offers from outside the UFC. During the aforementioned clip, Couture mentioned that his ancillary rights and likeness was a major factor in his eventual dispute with the promotion:
"They basically would own my ancillary rights in every single category in perpetuity forever. And my management at that time...educated me on what that was worth and what that meant. I have to ask Dana White's permission to do a movie, to write a book, to be in a video game. Any of these things that were outside of the purview of stepping up in that cage and fighting for them and that didn't make sense to me."
Check out the full JAXXON PODCAST episode with Randy Couture below: