Anthony Johnson is not a fan of Bruce Buffer’s latest statements.
Bruce Buffer recently discussed Francis Ngannou’s contract dispute and possible free agency on his podcast. The long time UFC employee unsurprisingly toed the company line, but there are some who didn’t appreciate how Buffer said Ngannou shouldn’t be “stupid” because “you become irrelevant when you leave the UFC.”
One of those who spoke out is former two-time UFC title challenger, Anthony Johnson. “Rumble” commented via Instagram, telling Buffer to lay off the crack.
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“Bruce needs to stay off crack,” Johnson wrote (HT: MMA Mania). “How’s anything irrelevant when providing food and shelter for family? Oh, by the way, I got paid way more for moving to another organization.
“Bruce has his guaranteed money so he can talk. FIGHTERS have to wait and actually entertain people when they get the chance to make some money.”
As he alluded to, “Rumble” is a perfect example as he benefitted from switching organizations and raised both his pay and profile in the process.
His first UFC stint was from 2007 to 2012. He then spent the next two years fighting with different organizations such as Titan FC and WSOF (before they rebranded to PFL). He then had another stint with the UFC from 2014 to 2017, before eventually switching promotions again to sign with Bellator.
If Ngannou indeed becomes a free agent, it’s almost certain that the heavyweight champion can demand significantly more than the $600,000 purse (plus an estimate of around $400,000 more, if the event sold 500K PPVs) he received from his last UFC fight.