Donald Cerrone Still Unhappy With UFC Fighter Pay & Treatment
When UFC president Dana White claimed Donald Cerrone was too inconsistent, the topic of fighter pay and treatment was again up for debate. The subject was never really off the table, but those comments from White hit a nerve. Following his performance of the night TKO win against Patrick Côté, ‘Cowboy’ spoke his mind at the UFC Ottawa presser. Claiming the UFC ‘didn’t give a sh*t about him,’ Cerrone was voicing his frustration over his pay check. The response from Dana White was equally frank.
Also stating Cerrone needed to ‘win them all’ to get better pay, Dana White‘s reaction nearly caused ‘Cowboy’ to jump ship. Talk of free agency didn’t last long, though. Blasting Rick Story with an incredible finish at UFC 202, Cerrone was immediately offered a new contract by his employers. Now under new ownership, the UFC clearly wanted to keep one of their most consummate company men. Willing to fight anywhere, anytime and against anyone, if someone is deserving of better pay its Cerrone. Is ‘Cowboy’ now satisfied with his working conditions? Well, no, not completely.
It’s Not Only About Pay
During the latest episode of the ‘BMF Ranch Podcast,‘ exciting UFC lightweight/welterweight Donald Cerrone spoke about a fighters union and the UFC’s current lack of benefits and medical care. He states that not only fighter pay is the issue, but the fact athletes under UFC contract have no aftercare at this time:
“I’m joining the union. Fighters union, here we come. I’ll headline it, we need the union. We’ve spoke about this for a long time, I think we need strong fighters to stand up, popular fighters who can headline. Not only for pay, but we need dental, medical, where’s our 401K? Every other sport in the world has a union. It’s not fair with what we are doing. If you were Derek Brunson playing baseball or football, you’d be a $10 million dollar a year guy, at least. Why are you not now? Because we don’t have a union. What happens if you don’t want to fight for that pay? Someone else says ‘Oh I’ll do it for 2000, or for free.’ We need a union, it goes much deeper than pay. When it comes I’ll be front line saying ‘I’m pro union.'”
