Featherweight champion, Conor McGregor has rewritten the standards of pay for himself, and while some feel there may be a sort of "trickle-down effect," Miller believes that the majority of the roster won't see any real change as a result in the immediate future. Ever pragmatic, he has a suggestion of his own for helping out veteran fighters that have devoted their careers to Zuffa.
"He's [McGregor] a unique character and it seems like that's what the UFC is going to be searching for to spend their money on. I don't think it's going to help the majority of the roster, at least any time soon. The thing is, the base pay is steadily growing now, and it's certainly higher than any local promotion.
In my opinion, the biggest thing that could be done, the way to take care of guys and girls in the sport, is hitting a certain limit. Some fighters get jumps in pay very early in their careers. Myself, I've just been picking away at it. I get paid pretty decently. I've been taken care of, and by more than they've been contracted to pay me, which is strictly generosity on their part, and I appreciate it, but it's been scratching and clawing...and winning 14 times in the UFC. That's how I've gotten to the pay scale that I'm at.
I think that if you get to 8 or 10 fights in the UFC, when you hit that limit, there should be a jump in pay. Here's a salary. Nothing crazy, but here's a salary, so you don't have to worry about having a job outside teaching classes or banging nails, because you've proven that you belong. You've proven that you're at this level. It's a lot harder to stay here than it is to just get the call.
So yeah, once you hit that plateau, and you've got 10 fights, either give them a large jump in their show and win money, or like I said, give them a little salary to make things easier. You're gonna have guys that train better, and training better leads to performing better."
LINK: UFC 196: Jim Miller discusses possibility of different weight class & fighter pay changes
