(Feature Image from mmasucka.com)
There have long been concerns around the UFC and the way fighters are paid, with recent articles even raising the concerns that many fighters have felt over the years after paying for training camps and all of the specialist parts of being a high-level fighter being covered meaning that some only come out with a small figure toward the end of it. It has been highlighted particularly as some previous fighters have turned to big money fights, with the recent example of Ben Askren stating he made over $1 million in his two-minute performance against Jake Paul, more than his entire Bellator run. But Bellator is seemingly one of the fairer promotions too as UFC fighter turned Bellator in Corey Anderson recently put out a tweet stating “UFC gave me the career…Bellator gave me the life!! In 2 fights 6 months with Bellator, I’ve made double of what I did in 15 fights (11 wins, 2 bonuses) 7 years with the UFC. Now I live and enjoy life to the fullest with my family every day! Let that marinate….”
There have been plenty of stories of punters placing big bets of fights through big bookies like us-bookies.com and have come out better off than even the fighters winning them their money and it has been considered a huge problem, it’s not like the pay issue hasn’t come into light in the past but with the recent hopes for Jon Jones to score the big money in his heavyweight title debut, and this recent tweet could lead many of the big stars in the UFC to start wondering whether or not there’s a bigger payday in greener pastures with another organisation.
There have been those trying to speculate how much Anderson could be making at Bellator based off his previous winnings in the UFC, as well as whether or not he could be factoring in sponsorship money into that pot too given that is something that was being taken away from UFC fighters and likely isn’t coming back because of the Reebok deal, but it’s likely there will be some smarter observers who’ll be able to come up with some more realistic figure, and if it does ever come out how much is earned by those who have made the transition to a different organisation then it could see many big stars leaving the UFC behind.
It’s certainly an interesting situation to be in, it’s good to hear that Anderson is thriving in his new fighting home and isn’t having to put himself through the difficulty of being a professional fighter without being compensated for doing so, but also shows how many fighters have been taken advantage of over the years and highlights just how much money could have been lost over the years for those who have made much less than they could have been.
