Tony Ferguson won so many in UFC and never got a title shot - Drakkar Klose eyes bagging "million dollar" PFL salaries in future
Drakkar Klose's upcoming fight against Rafa Garcia is the last fight on his current UFC contract. While Klose appreciates the job security that comes with a UFC contract, he has also admitted to considering a PFL move.
The lightweight veteran noted that the PFL offers lucrative paydays unlike the UFC, where fighters like Tony Ferguson were never truly offered title shots despite ammassing incredible winning streaks.
Asked if he is intrigued by the idea of a potential PFL career, Klose told James Lynch in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA:
"It does. It does. You know what I mean?! You know, getting a chance to fight for a million dollars, unlike UFC. Like [Tony] Ferguson, you know, he won so many, really never got a title shot. You know, over there you can fight for a million dollars and make extra money, so."
Watch Klose's interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:
Tony Ferguson racked up a 12-fight win streak from 2013 to 2019 which was snapped by a brutal fifth-round TKO loss to Justin Gaethje. 'El Cucuy' only tasted interim gold during this impressive run, which he won against Kevin Lee in 2017. Ferguson is currently on a four-fight skid and appears to be well past his prime.
Former UFC fighter Anthony Pettis reportedly earned a $750,000 show purse during the recent three-week Atlanta run that covered PFl 4, 5 and 6. Kayla Harrison was the second highest earner, cashing a flat $500,000 show purse. Six other fighters also bagged six-figure paydays during the three-week run.
Meanwhile, Drakkar Klose had a guaranteed purse of $34,000 for his last UFC fight which included $6,000 sponsorship money. The veteran managed to bag a $50K performance bonus on top of the $28k win bonus.
Drakkar Klose is the favorite going into his bout against Rafa Garcia
Drakkar Klose was left without an opponent after Carlos Diego Ferreira withdrew from their scheduled UFC 277 bout citing an injury. A young and surging Rafa Garcia agreed to step in against Klose on short notice at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on July 30.
Going into the last fight on his current UFC contract, Klose opened as a -185 favorite against the +160 underdog Garcia.
UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2:
Drakkar Klose (-185)
Rafa Garcia (+160)
bestfightodds.com/events/ufc-277… #ufc277
Klose returned to the octagon in April after almost two years of inaction due to a cervical neck sprain. The 34-year-old scored a second-round TKO win over Brandon Jenkins that also won him a performance bonus. Meanwhile, Garcia started his UFC journey on a two-fight skid but has since bounced back with back-to-back wins over Natan Levy and Jesse Ronson.