Francis Ngannou, current champion of the UFC’s Heavyweight division, is not happy with his paycheck. Logan Paul, 0-1 boxer and the best YouTuber in his family, took home $20 million to fight Floyd Mayweather this weekend.
Ngannou took to Twitter to vent his feelings: “It’s crazy to think that Logan Paul (0-1) just made $20M on a boxing exhibition. WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG?”
Heavyweight Champ Francis Ngannou goes OFF over fighter pay…
Ngannou isn’t alone in thinking the UFC’s fighters are underpaid. Former Light Heavyweight champion – and likely contender for Ngannou’s strap – Jon Jones has been agitating for better pay for a year now. As a result, he’s been frozen out of the UFC, and may wait another year for the chance to compete for the title. For as long as the likes of Derrick Lewis are willing to take the wages offered, Jones won’t have much luck convincing Dana White to pay him more.
Like it or not, the UFC is a business. That business will always try to maximise profits and minimise overheads. Above all else, the brand comes first. Ahead of fighters, employees, and, as we’ve seen with the Mayweather v Paul “bragging rights” charade on Sunday, integrity.
The Paul brothers are in many ways far bigger stars than any UFC fighter. Both Paul brothers have over twenty million subscribers on YouTube. That’s almost as many people as the entire population of Ngannou’s native Cameroon! The social media stars have made a very generous living from knowing how to leverage their audience.
It doesn’t hurt to fight a man so deeply associated with earning that his nickname is “money”, either.
Floyd Mayweather wasn’t wrong when he compared his exhibition match to legalised bank robbery.
Francis Ngannou pulled in $500,000 when he defeated Stipe Miocic to claim the Heavyweight title. Most fight fans would envy that kind of earning potential, but then again most fans aren’t risking life and limb every time they go into the office. Fighters have short careers, and need to earn money quickly to keep themselves and their families stable once they retire.
Even Jake Paul has weighed in on the fighter pay issue, telling Showtime that:
“It’s unfair. The UFC fighter’s don’t have fair pay. Out of all the sports, the percentage that the owners get versus the athlete, they’re the lowest.”
You might not rate Jake and Logan Paul as real fighters. Neither of them would stand a chance in the UFC, and they’ll likely continue to make millions from hype fights. Regardless, there’s clear disparity in what UFC fighters earn. Do you think Dana will start paying his fighters more, or will farcical exhibition matches continue to tempt the UFC’s best away from the Octagon? Let us know in the comments.
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