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Tag: Gray Maynard
Gray Maynard Claims Dana White ‘Pimps Out’ UFC Fighters, ‘Takes Most Of The Money’
Former UFC lightweight title challenger, Gray Maynard has claimed that promotional president, Dana White “pimps out” fighters, and “takes most of the money” from revenue earned – amid the longstanding issue with promotional fighter pay. Maynard, a 20-fight Octagon veteran and former two-time lightweight title chaser, called time on his professional mixed martial arts career […]
Former UFC lightweight title challenger, Gray Maynard has claimed that promotional president, Dana White “pimps out” fighters, and “takes most of the money” from revenue earned – amid the longstanding issue with promotional fighter pay.
Maynard, a 20-fight Octagon veteran and former two-time lightweight title chaser, called time on his professional mixed martial arts career back in 2019 after parting ways with the organization the year prior.
The UFC and Dana White have received much scrutiny recently amid the issue of fighter pay in the promotion
13-7-1(1) as a professional, Maynard most notably competed for UFC lightweight gold twice against former champion, Frankie Edgar in 2011, battling to a split draw, before suffering a fourth round knockout loss in an October rematch.
Sharing his thoughts on the issue of fighter pay in the promotion amid a slew of complaints from fighters up and down the UFC’s roster, Maynard claimed its leader, White, was “pimping out” fighters on the organization’s books, and taking most of the revenue made for himself.
“No,” Gary Maynard replied to a Twitter user who suggested White put himself and other fighters on a “pedestal”. “He (Dana White) made money off my blood/sweat and paid me sh*t. (Dana White is) Still making money from a lot of my fights being replayed. I was on a pedestal because I worked my ass since I was 3 years when I started wrestling. He just pimps us out and takes most of the money.”
Maynard further claimed that he was guaranteed just $26,000 for his first title challenge against Edgar, and soon realised there may be better ways of securing income.
“Look man, I don’t expect you to understand my experiences working with the UFC,” Gray Maynard tweeted. “But I can assure you after my 1st title fight when I was only guaranteed $26k. Reality hit pretty hard and I started finding other ways to make money.”
During his Octagon tenure, Arizona native, Maynard landed notable victories over the likes of the aforenoted, Edgar, Dennis Siver, Rich Clementi, Jim Miller, Roger Huerta, Nate Diaz, Kenny Florian, and Clay Guida to name a few.
Sam Stout Launches GoFundMe To Help Spencer Fisher
Spencer Fisher recently made MMA headlines by revealing the impact a lifetime of fighting was having on him, now his career as a UFC athlete was over. The ‘King’ revealed that he had been diagnosed with early symptoms of CTE, at the same time as when the UFC had cut him from their roster of […]
Spencer Fisher recently made MMA headlines by revealing the impact a lifetime of fighting was having on him, now his career as a UFC athlete was over. The ‘King’ revealed that he had been diagnosed with early symptoms of CTE, at the same time as when the UFC had cut him from their roster of retired fighters.
Now Sam Stout, a former opponent of Fishers, is making moves to assist him through these hard times. Stout recently started a GoFundMe page for Fisher, with the initial goal of reaching $2000. However, the fundraiser has been met with a great response, currently having made over double the original goal.
Speaking with MMA Fighting, Stout had the following to say:
“It’s great to get him a couple thousand bucks, but it’s a short-term solution, it’s pretty sad to see.”
“It’s always a risky thing to say anything about the UFC’s practices, but we’re talking about a guy that I’ve got a bond with that’s going to last the rest of our lives,” he said. “Spencer’s earned my respect almost more than any other man walking this planet. Just to see him twisting in the wind with no help, it’s really hard for me to watch, because it could have been me.“
Stout also went on to discuss what steps need to be taken in order to ensure that more fighters in the future do not end up following Fisher’s tragic path.
“I think some things need to change. There’s more information coming to light about CTE and the lasting effects of head injuries. I think ongoing medical coverage for the fighters should be part of their expenses that they need to factor into their business. Sometimes I think they worry about the bottom line more than the people that are making their company the great powerhouse that it is. I think it’s not right and something needs to change.”
Gray Maynard Gives Further Insight
Former UFC lightweight title contender, Gray Maynard, has also weighed into the situation surrounding Fisher. ‘The Bully noted that it is essential that the impacts of a career in MMA become commonly known.
“(Fisher said) like, ‘Dude, I don’t care not being known and I don’t want to be in the spotlight. And I could relate to him,” Maynard said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, I hear ya. I’m with ya. But it’s not about us, it’s about all these other guys and girls. You have to get this story out and you have to tell them what’s going on in this sport and what’s going on in this world.’ It definitely was hard on him. We’ve talked a couple of times, but I really feel like he went through with it because of that. Because he definitely didn’t want to get his story out. That’s not the point of why he did it. ‘Oh, I want people to know what I’m going through.’ No. I want people to know what I’m going through because other people are going to go through this. And it’s going to happen a lot. It’s already happened’ He’s just the person that got the story out. There’s a lot of scared people out there, man.” (BJPENN.com).
Fighters like Max Holloway have already taken steps to avoid such future ramifications, by no longer having heavy sparring as an integral aspect of their training camps.
What are your thoughts on the Spencer Fisher situation? Will you be donating the page set up by Sam Stout?
Gray Maynard Explains Why He’s Speaking Out On UFC Fighter Pay
Gray Maynard has been vocal about fighter pay in the UFC and he has explained why now is the right time to do so. Maynard is a former longtime UFC fighter. He made his debut for the promotion in June 2007 and had his last fight with the organization in…
Gray Maynard has been vocal about fighter pay in the UFC and he has explained why now is the right time to do so. Maynard is a former longtime UFC fighter. He made his debut for the promotion in June 2007 and had his last fight with the organization in Oct. 2018. “The Bully” only […]
The post Gray Maynard Explains Why He’s Speaking Out On UFC Fighter Pay appeared first on MMA News.
Gray Maynard Talks UFC Pay, Compares Fighters To Strippers
Former title challenger Gray Maynard discussed the ruthless business side of UFC amid the ongoing pay dispute. Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal have led the charge against the UFC in recent weeks when it comes to fighter pay. Both fighters notably asked for their release from the promotion as they felt they were not being […]
Former title challenger Gray Maynard discussed the ruthless business side of UFC amid the ongoing pay dispute.
Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal have led the charge against the UFC in recent weeks when it comes to fighter pay. Both fighters notably asked for their release from the promotion as they felt they were not being paid what they’re worth.
Masvidal opened up another debate about the UFC’s pay system in general with the promotion reportedly only paying 16% of its revenues to fighters as per 2019 figures. In comparison to other leagues such as the NBA, the UFC is ripping off its fighters who are putting their livelihoods on the line each time they compete.
Maynard believes the UFC is getting away with murder as he revealed he only made $26,000 guaranteed for his lightweight title rematch against Frankie Edgar back in 2011 — with most of that money going into his camp and paying his coaches.
“Getting up to the title dude, I would be in the hole almost all of the time,” Maynard told The Body Lock. “Paying my coaches, paying for the best training, and then it just gets old where you’re like f*ck man, there’s just no getting ahead with this sport. There’s no payoff at the end.
“I walk to the cage with a pay-per-view main event guaranteed $26,000. If I would’ve lost that fight and had to pay $26,000 I would’ve had to pay to be in that fight. There’s a lot of crazy shit. That’s why I really feel like if you get a big name sticking up for the guys in the sport its gonna be a game-changer. The UFC got bought for 4.5 billion dollars, not because of how it great it is or whatever, it’s because there are no rules. They could get a guy to fight for $100 on a pay-per-view, they can get away with that.”
Maynard: Fighters Get Tipped Out
Jones recently tweeted how he felt like a fool thinking about all the money he missed out on and how the UFC made millions while appeasing him with cars.
That seems to be a common trend according to Maynard who compared fighters to strippers with how the UFC gives them bonuses which aren’t part of their contracts rather than guaranteed money they should already be earning.
The case in point being how the promotion handed Maynard a $100,000 bonus for his rematch with Edgar — something he considered “hush money” more than a bonus.
“People have no idea how ruthless this sport is business-wise,” Maynard said. “I mean people have no idea. We’re kind of like strippers – we get tipped out and we get a shitty pay.
“That was kind of how it worked. We had a bad contract, but that we would get a little bit of money afterwards and it was like what is this, a tip? You can’t guarantee us this cash? It happens all across the world, it’s not just here. Promoters just get that power and all the guys just turn into numbers, they constantly think ‘how can we make the most off him.’ It’s the wild wild west man, the wild west. We don’t know the numbers and everybody’s just trying to get what they can get on a small portion and not looking at the big picture.”
Maynard did mention how a big name sticking out for other fighters could be a game-changer. Maybe Jones can be that big name.
What do you make of Maynard’s comments?
Former Title Contender Gray Maynard Compares UFC Fighters To Strippers
Gray Maynard has a lot to say regarding the business side of MMA, particularly under the UFC banner. Maynard competed in the UFC for over a decade. He even competed in two lightweight title bouts under the promotion. Maynard made just $26,000 in base p…
Gray Maynard has a lot to say regarding the business side of MMA, particularly under the UFC banner. Maynard competed in the UFC for over a decade. He even competed in two lightweight title bouts under the promotion. Maynard made just $26,000 in base pay for his first title bout against Frankie Edgar. “The Bully” […]
The post Former Title Contender Gray Maynard Compares UFC Fighters To Strippers appeared first on MMA News.