Dana White is never one to take an insult lying down, so it’s no surprise that he is firing back at complaints regarding fighter pay from former UFC lightweights John Cholish and Jacob Volkmann.
On Wednesday evening, White revealed his feelings on social media when a fan tweeted him about the situation:
@mmathefilter washouts are never happy
— Dana White (@danawhite) May 21, 2013
Cholish, who retired from the sport after getting submitted by Gleison Tibau at UFC on FX 8 in Saturday, spoke out on fighter pay by saying that his fight purse from the event didn’t even cover the costs of his training camp, according to MMA Mania.
The 29-year-old Wall Street broker called it a career after just three fights inside the Octagon, where he posted a record of just 1-2.
In the case of Volkmann—who is now signed with the World Series of Fighting—he said in an interview with Ed Kapp of Above and Beyond MMA that he planned to “expose” the UFC for the “politics” that play a role in who makes money in the company.
While Volkmann is criticized more often than not for his wrestle-heavy style and off-color post-fight interviews (via Cage Potato), his cut was a bit unexpected since he boasted a 6-2 record at 155 pounds.
On the flip side, many fighters are complimentary of the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization for providing “under the table” fight bonuses that are not disclosed as part of fighter payouts.
For example, check out this recent tweet, which has since been deleted, from UFC light heavyweight Vinny Magalhaes, who last lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Phil Davis at UFC 159 last month:
“@danawhite just received an unexpected gift in a envelope today.Thanks for taking care of your fighters, even after a loss. @ufc“
At this point, who is right and who is wrong on the open-ended topic of UFC fighter pay?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
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