Mark Hunt says there’s “no prestige” in winning a UFC belt, because the promotion doesn’t pay very well.
Mark Hunt has repeatedly clashed with the UFC in recent years, with their former heavyweight star even filing lawsuits against his former promoter. The 46-year-old again criticized their business practices, saying that the UFC title doesn’t have any prestige because the fighters aren’t paid enough.
“There’s no prestige in that title, in the UFC title. There’s no money in that title. And that’s not just me telling you, you can see from the evidence that everyone’s doing,” Hunt told Submission Radio.
“Why would you want to be a UFC fighter? Why would you want to be the heavyweight champion of the UFC? Why would you want to be the champion of these things when they’re just f—king paying them 16 percent? It’s garbage. It’s honestly garbage.
“When people say to me about the UFC product, I just sit there I cringe and I laugh. I just go, wow, you’re the world champion of wanting to ask for more money,” he said.
Hunt, who interestingly enough is competing in boxing next, compared MMA purses to their combat sports counterparts.
“You look at the boxing side, when you make it there, you make it there. When you make it to Anthony Joshua status, Joseph Parker, Tyron Fury, you make it. One fight is one hundred million dollars, fifty million. I mean, Conor made that money when he transcended to boxing. So, what’s the point of being a UFC fighter?”
“He might think 5 million, 10 million dollars is a lot of money. It is for what it is, but you’re talking about someone who’s the elite in the world. He’s talking about Anthony Joshua, he’s talking about – Jon Jones complains about money, and he’s making five million dollars. Well, of course, he should be on that 100 million dollars a fight.”
Hunt previously discussed fighter pay when Henry Cejudo decided to retire, saying that world champions shouldn’t need to ask for more money.
The PRIDE and K-1 veteran left the UFC in 2018, after going 8-8-1 (1 NC) with the promotion. In those seven years with the UFC, Hunt delivered some iconic knockouts and received seven post-fight bonuses for his entertaining bouts.