Jorge Masvidal is not alone in his dispute with the UFC over fighter pay.
Masvidal made headlines recently when he urged the UFC to let him go if they were not ready to pay him his worth. He revealed he was being offered half of what he earned against Nate Diaz to fight Kamaru Usman and took umbrage at how little Dana White and the UFC pays its fighters compared to other sports.
“Gamebred” explained more in an appearance on SportsCenter.
“So I am asking for a bigger revenue share of what we bring in you know,” Masvidal said. “I got a lot of questions and one of them is NBA, NHL, baseball, they (the players) make, I think 50 percent of what the organization brings in. Football, I think it is 47 percent. Mine is like 18 percent.
“So I have these questions like why so much. Does putting the cage up cost so much? Is it the setup? But what is it that is so much? And I want these questions answered. So I thought what better place to come then on here and ask for these questions you know.”
Masvidal tweeted further on Sunday as well.
Yang: UFC Taking Masvidal, Other Fighters For A Ride
He certainly has support from Andrew Yang.
The former 2020 presidential candidate has long been an advocate for better pay in combat sports as he responded to Masvidal’s latest tweets.
“The UFC is taking fighters for a ride and laughing all the way to the bank. The ESPN deal was for $1.5 billion+. How much of that is @GamebredFighter or any other fighter seeing? Most fighters are desperate to fight. Dana exploits that. Fighters should be making 3-4x more.
“Fighters need an association or union and to be included in the Ali act. When @LeslieSmith_GF raised this she got fired. @IamRagin got released. Dana plays hardball because if fighters got what they should be getting the UFC wouldn’t hit its numbers and his payout goes down.
“The independent contractor designation is garbage. The UFC controls what you wear, media responsibilities, and professional opportunities. They call fighters contractors just to avoid having certain legal obligations – like the ability to organize.
“Dana talks about the UFC as the biggest sport in the world and then he refuses to professionalize like every other sport. Fighters getting their fair share would improve the sport because you would see higher level athletes go into MMA.
“As a fan I’m sick of seeing athletes put their heart and soul on the line getting paid pennies or nickels on the dollar and have to figure out how they are going to support their families while competing in a sport they love. It’s total bullshit. Pay the fighters.
“To the extent there’s a public lever it may be Conan O’Brien. Cam Newton. Tom Brady. Serena Williams. Jimmy Kimmel. Anthony Kiedis. LL Cool J. Mark Wahlberg. Ben Affleck. All UFC shareholders and celebrities who benefit personally from being in a union or association.”
The UFC is taking fighters for a ride and laughing all the way to the bank. The ESPN deal was for $1.5 billion+. How much of that is @GamebredFighter or any other fighter seeing? Most fighters are desperate to fight. Dana exploits that. Fighters should be making 3-4x more.
— Andrew Yang
(@AndrewYang) June 7, 2020
(@AndrewYang)
Fighters need an association or union and to be included in the Ali act. When @LeslieSmith_GF raised this she got fired. @IamRagin got released. Dana plays hardball because if fighters got what they should be getting the UFC wouldn’t hit its numbers and his payout goes down.
— Andrew Yang
The independent contractor designation is garbage. The UFC controls what you wear, media responsibilities, and professional opportunities. They call fighters contractors just to avoid having certain legal obligations – like the ability to organize.
— Andrew Yang
Dana talks about the UFC as the biggest sport in the world and then he refuses to professionalize like every other sport. Fighters getting their fair share would improve the sport because you would see higher level athletes go into MMA.
— Andrew Yang
As a fan I’m sick of seeing athletes put their heart and soul on the line getting paid pennies or nickels on the dollar and have to figure out how they are going to support their families while competing in a sport they love. It’s total bullshit. Pay the fighters.
— Andrew Yang
To the extent there’s a public lever it may be Conan O’Brien. Cam Newton. Tom Brady. Serena Williams. Jimmy Kimmel. Anthony Kiedis. LL Cool J. Mark Wahlberg. Ben Affleck. All UFC shareholders and celebrities who benefit personally from being in a union or association.
— Andrew Yang
It should certainly be interesting to see how White responds, if he does at all.
What do you make of Masvidal and Yang’s latest tweets?