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UFC wins when fighters blame each other.
That’s why the promotion was never really in danger of being unionized. But it seems like some athletes are (finally) starting to realize their worth, which is why Jorge Masvidal is taking a page from the Jon Jones playbook and asking for his release.
“If I’m not worth it let me go,” Masvidal wrote on Twitter. “Why make me fight for half of what I made on my last fight because the other dude can’t draw? Don’t tell me about a pandemic when reports today show highest stock market has ever been. Everybody getting back to work and you buying an island. Stop playing us and the fans.”
Masvidal was targeting a money fight against Conor McGregor because a “Notorious” payday would likely dwarf anything the promotion could offer for a championship showdown against Kamaru Usman. “The Nigerian Nightmare,” however, tells a different (but familiar) tale.
“History lesson for all the new fans that might have just started following my beautiful sport,” Masvidal continued. “16 years been at this. Never once turned down a fight. Asked to go fight No. 3 at the time in his hometown across the pond after a year off. Ko of the year nominee. Asked to fight No. 5 at the time and let’s be real didn’t have to fight him. Fastest KO in the history of UFC. Asked to fight three different guys and I said yes to all three. I fought in backyards and those dudes never disrespected me the way I’m being now.”
UFC has constructed “Fight Island” for its summer pay-per-view (PPV) events to help international fighters work around travel restrictions in the wake of COVID-19. No question that comes at a significant expense, which may explain why some fighters are still being paid $10,000 to compete for the world’s preeminent combat sports promotion.
“Watch the company men and the UFC white knights come out and condemn my train of thought,” Masvidal said. “You’ll quickly see who’s in their pockets.”
Maybe Don Frye was right?