Outside Source
Justin Gaethje has been one of the UFC’s most entertaining fighters during his tenure. | Getty/UFC
The UFC will get $7.7 billion dollars over seven years from its new broadcasting deal with Paramount. According to Justin Gaethje, none of the promotion’s financial windfall is reflected in his fight purse for UFC 324.
The 14-time Octagon veteran discussed fighter pay during his media day session ahead of Saturday’s event. “The Highlight” pointed out that he hasn’t hit $1 million in bonuses despite being a frequent winner, and he also disputed Daniel Cormier’s recent claim that salaries were increasing across the board due to the new media rights deal.
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“To have 14 bonuses and not equal up to $1 million is not right,” Gaethje said (video via MMAjunkie.com). “It’s not right. It should be a lot more than that and I should have had opportunities to do smarter things with my money but I don’t and I haven’t.
“I hear Daniel Cormier saying everybody is going to get paid more on this card. I’m not getting $1 more than I would have if this deal did not happen.”
As a refresher, here is what Cormier, a former UFC two-division champion and a current commentator for the promotion, claimed during an appearance on the “Weighing In” podcast:
“They’re already getting more money, that’s the difference,” Cormier said in December. “People always talk about, ‘What’s the UFC going to do for the fighter? Well pay-per-view’s going away, what are they going to do?’ I know guys now that are making more money than they did even when they were making pay-per-view, because pay-per-views just, maybe, weren’t selling as much as they used to.”
Shortly after the UFC-Paramount partnership was announced in August, UFC CEO Dana White guaranteed that bonuses would increase. However, he made no definitive statements regarding overall fighter pay. As of Wednesday, there had been no announcement regarding how much post-fight payouts for “Performance of the Night” and Fight of the Night” would go up.
Focus on the Positive
It wasn’t all bittersweet for Gaethje, who at 37 is likely nearing the end of his UFC career. The former World Series of Fighting Champion also reflected on some of the good he has done with his earnings.
“I’m happy to achieve what I have achieved,” Gaethje said. “The best thing I did was probably invest in a commercial property. I purchased a house in Arizona that’s like a mile away from my parents. My sister’s renting that from me now. But really just being able to help my family. Help my parents, help my brothers and sisters. Give them Christmas gifts that I would have never been able to give them. Take them on vacations that I never would have been able to. “That’s the smartest thing I did because you can never get that time back with your family. It’s huge for me.”
Gaethje will face Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title in the UFC 324 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The main card airs on Paramount+ beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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