On Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com, longtime UFC Welterweight contender Rory MacDonald shed light on an interesting contract situation he has with the UFC heading into his next — and final — fight on his current deal with the company.
According to MacDonald, he and the UFC failed to come to terms on a contract extension, meaning he will go into his next fight against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson rolling the dice in terms of his negotiation leverage with the promotion.
Below are some comments MacDonald made during his appearance on Ariel Helwani’s show earlier this afternoon:
On his next fight being the last fight on his existing UFC contract:
“I am fighting my sixth fight of my six-fight deal. I will be a free agent afterwards. Basically, we didn’t really come to an agreement so I am going to honor the contract and go from there. We weren’t too far apart when we came down to it, but I felt that I was worth, my offer was fair and I was going to stand my ground for what I feel I am worth and what I brought to the table. They didn’t see it like that, so, it’s okay. I’ll try to make a dominant performance and show my worth in my next fight. Then maybe after that we will come to a new agreement.”
On being willing to sign with whoever offers the most money:
“I want to make the most money I can. I want to get paid for what I bring to the table. I’ve sacrificed a lot to get to the top, to the world title. I really sacrificed and I took a lot of chances and did a lot of favors for UFC. And I don’t think it got returned. So now, it’s all about making money and whoever wants to pay me the most is where I will go.”
Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson headlines UFC Fight Night 89 on June 19, 2016.