Whittaker: UFC fighters are ‘sorely underpaid’

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Wild

Zi Nazi
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Mixed martial arts is a dangerous sport, and Robert Whittaker says UFC fighters do not make enough money for participating in it.

Whittaker, the UFC middleweight champion, said in a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that he and his fellow UFC fighters are “sorely underpaid for what we do.” Whittaker said because the UFC is considered the place to be if you’re an MMA fighter, it can choose what it wants to pay its athletes — and if you ask “The Reaper,” it’s not enough.


“It’s just one of those things when UFC has monopolized the whole sport and if you want to make it in the field you have to fight with the UFC,” Whittaker said. “When they’re the only ones that own the…


Robert Whittaker says UFC fighters are ‘sorely underpaid’
 

GO BIG RED!!!

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Oct 17, 2015
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its the fighters own damn fault. they could have had the ufc on their knees when the fertitta's were selling and they didnt do shit.
 

jason73

Yuri Bezmenov was right
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Jan 15, 2015
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Fuck em

They never do shit about it

Sick of them whining. Either do something about it or shut the fuck up
yup . i retweeted project spearhead tweets for months and they just did not sign up. i dont even give a fuck anymore. you cant help those who dont help themselves
 

Haulport

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I don't want fighters to make millions. Because then they don't fight. They don't fight the right people. They play safe when they win a belt.

Nothing good FOR THE FANS comes from it. It's better when you get crazy guys who aren't interested in money and just want to fight.
 

Haulport

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Filthy @minisitry of silly walks Not optimistic at all. Just look at what happens when fighters have serious FU Money:
  • Conor barely fights and goes crazy in personal life
  • Jon Jones...
  • Nick and Nate just retired and pretend they are still looking for fights (not really Nick anymore)
  • GSP got super cautious and specifically said he would have big problems with his sponsors if he lost the belt
  • DC says he is going to retire in March. Maybe. Maybe not. Fought Lewis instead of giving Stipe another shot.
 

JerryCranberry

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Jan 22, 2019
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I don't want fighters to make millions. Because then they don't fight. They don't fight the right people. They play safe when they win a belt.

Nothing good FOR THE FANS comes from it. It's better when you get crazy guys who aren't interested in money and just want to fight.
On the surface this point of view can seem cold-hearted, but I think there’s a lot of truth to what you are saying. I agree the sport would suffer if everyone in it made millions.

I do, however, wish there was a way for fighters who have given their all for years and put on numerous spectacular performances, like Donald Cerrone or Shogun for example, to have a lifetime of financial security when they retire. It’s frustrating that a guy like Conor has made more than both of them combined (many times over). But that’s just how it is.
 

Tiiimmmaaayyy

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Jan 19, 2015
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Tough spot for both sides. The fighters probably do deserve more money, but as people have said if they make too much they stop having the desire to fight and want to pick matchups etc. i guess where I’m at now is that I’m sick of hearing about it and they can do like the rest of us, if we aren’t being paid enough we find a new job.
 

Ministry of Silly Walks

came in like a wrecking ball
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Filthy @minisitry of silly walks Not optimistic at all. Just look at what happens when fighters have serious FU Money:
  • Conor barely fights and goes crazy in personal life
  • Jon Jones...
  • Nick and Nate just retired and pretend they are still looking for fights (not really Nick anymore)
  • GSP got super cautious and specifically said he would have big problems with his sponsors if he lost the belt
  • DC says he is going to retire in March. Maybe. Maybe not. Fought Lewis instead of giving Stipe another shot.
If the fighters were paid more, they wouldn't have to fight as long, and wouldn't have to be worried about sponsors, as much about health issues, and would be more willing to throw. A lot of the cautious fighting is because of the promoters cutting guys after a couple losses. There will always be a Jones/ conor out there, and that doesn't require money. Jones was fucking up long ago. Conor acquired a drug habit.
 

Haulport

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If the fighters were paid more, they wouldn't have to fight as long, and wouldn't have to be worried about sponsors, as much about health issues, and would be more willing to throw. A lot of the cautious fighting is because of the promoters cutting guys after a couple losses. There will always be a Jones/ conor out there, and that doesn't require money. Jones was fucking up long ago. Conor acquired a drug habit.
I disagree. Fighters are more willing to throw when they are rewarded for it. Just making money to fight saps their desire for the most part. The UFC's combination of paying a small few A LOT and punishing the shit out of people for loses (even split decision loses and loses where they looked good) is a double whammy...
 

BeardOfKnowledge

The Most Consistent Motherfucker You Know
Jul 22, 2015
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Someone should tell him he'd make more money if he fought more than once a year.
 

so long

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Dec 16, 2015
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It's better when you get crazy guys who aren't interested in money and just want to fight.
I don't know why but I instantly had to think of this moment :D



Today: "ohh, he must'Ve got CTE. They take steroids. The one guy should retire. And I'm sure they don't even get paid."
In older times: Fukkkk yeaaaaaahhhhhrr !
 

aghof

an person
Apr 15, 2015
2,037
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I don't know why but I instantly had to think of this moment :D



Today: "ohh, he must'Ve got CTE. They take steroids. The one guy should retire. And I'm sure they don't even get paid."
In older times: Fukkkk yeaaaaaahhhhhrr !
that's the kind of subtle, nuanced standup work we just don't see enough of these days
 

aghof

an person
Apr 15, 2015
2,037
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man, WME are even more brutal than the Fertitas when it comes to keeping fighters in line on these issues. A division champ speaks out about fighter pay and not a day later he finds himself in emergency surgery with a collapsed bowel
 

Sheepdog

Protecting America from excessive stool loitering
Dec 1, 2015
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Whittaker won't face any retaliation while he holds the belt, but they will screw him as soon as he loses it.
 

Haulport

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More evidence of what a cluster-fuck the sport becomes when fighters have FU money:

However, his management team claimed that Khabib is no longer interested in competing in the state of Nevada and would rather fight in November in New York, which potentially puts him out of action for a total of 13 months. Given these plans, UFC president Dana White is now looking at other options.

“Guys can’t sit out and wait that long if they have the title, you can’t do it,” White said during his UFC 234 post-fight…
Tournaments for championships on a yearly basis kill all this shit.
 

Wild

Zi Nazi
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Dec 31, 2014
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More evidence of what a cluster-fuck the sport becomes when fighters have FU money:


Tournaments for championships on a yearly basis kill all this shit.
Would love to see the UFC do some tournaments but it's not going to happen unfortunately.
 

Haulport

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Would love to see the UFC do some tournaments but it's not going to happen unfortunately.
Of course it won't because the Fertittas destroyed MMA and turned it into this half-assed mainstream boring wrestle-box shit and wrecked all the other promotions and now "set the standard" so that orgs like Rizin have 3 five min rounds and ONE holds fights in cages and eliminated soccer kicks because "they look bad".................

WHATEVER............................................