With prominent present-day UFC fighters in Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal airing their grievances with the company regarding appropriate pay a few former fighters to are coming out over the same. One of these fighters is former UFC Lightweight Championship contender Gray Maynard who revealed it is a long-standing issue and hit out at Dana White.
Gray Maynard hits out against the UFC and Dana White
The former fighter was answering follower questions on Twitter. One user questioned him on the split he got from PPV’s he fought at. ‘The Bully’ replied, “NOTHING! I never received a PPV split from the UFC. They’ve never played me for the replays of my fights.”
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NOTHING! I never received a PPV split from the UFC. They’ve never payed me for the replays of my fights. https://t.co/IkVJr9ECNJ
— Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) June 10, 2020
He also revealed the highest contract Dana White offered him for a single fight. This was $42k to show up and win.
Highest contract they ever offered me was $42k to show and $42 to win https://t.co/aDFI50F8G9
— Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) June 10, 2020
Furthermore, he echoed the message from a tweet in Jon Jones’ recent twitter rant.
“Your pay does improve as you win. But not the type of pay you think. Again UFC pays approximately 18% of the revenue to the fighters.”
Your pay does improve as you win. But not the type of pay you think. Again, UFC pays approximately 18% of the revenue to the fighters https://t.co/e35XMHY8v3
— Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) June 10, 2020
Maynard has not fought professionally since walking away from the company at UFC 229. At the event, ‘The Bully’ lost to Nik Lentz in a return to Lightweight after 3 years. The fighter was never the same after his title clashes against Frankie Edgar. He notched up just 3 wins in his last 11 fights after having a 10-0 start to his MMA career.
In one tweet, he says even at this time he couldn’t negotiate. This is because he was given a “take it or leave it” offer.
Wasn’t really any negotiations. Take it or leave it. UFC bought most of the organizations up. I’m just speaking out in hopes for change to help the fighters now. Do you think I should keep my mouth shut and let it continue the way it is. 18% revenue share w/ the athletes https://t.co/lqQ96yr4Uw
— Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) June 10, 2020
As a result of his losses, he slipped down the pecking order with someone ready to jump into his place. He replied to a question in this regard too.
“Speaking out as fighters. We need to be transparent as possible. Start thinking about the bigger picture.”
Speaking out as fighters. We need to be transparent as possible. Start thinking about the bigger picture https://t.co/mMKmuK5VDs
— Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) June 10, 2020
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He ends by saying he can speak freely as he is not under contract anymore.
“There’s many variables that go into speaking out against your employer that has you locked into a contract. Im not in contract with the ufc anymore, its a lot easier for me to speak up and share my experiences. Randy couture almost went broke trying to stand up to them back then.”
There’s many variables that go into speaking out against your employer that has you locked into a contract. Im not in contract with the ufc anymore, its a lot easier for me to speak up and share my experiences. Randy couture almost went broke trying to stand up to them back then https://t.co/GeoEYtSupP
— Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) June 10, 2020
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What do you make of Gray Maynard’s comments?
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