Jose Aldo: We Practically Pay To Fight In The UFC
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has piped up once again, on the subject of fighter pay in the UFC. The Brazilian has spoke out before about how he feels his employers at Zuffa are short changing their staff, and would appear that little has changed since then. His latest comments come at a tie when numerous fighters are filing suit against the UFC.
Check out what “Scarface” told FOX Sports:
“We get paid way less than we deserve. We deliver shows and deserve to get paid more. We practically pay to do this. You deserve to get better paid if you promote the fight. The athlete is not treated like he deserves. We deserve better. I’m not speaking just about the UFC, but also about the media. The fans treat us really well. We suffer a lot and live to do a show.”
As the topic of fighter pay rages on, it’s hard to believe that one of the biggest MMA promotion’s champions feels undervalued. If anyone should be reaping the benefits of their hard work, you’d imagine it would be the title holders. Aldo continued:
“To get closer to boxing is complicated, but it would be great,” he said. “Boxing is in the culture around the world for a long time, while the UFC is new and is still growing. I think it’s hard to get closer to what boxing pays their athletes, but we work for that. If they do get closer one day, I think I’ll be retired already.”
Do you think the latest attempts by fighters to get better pay will pave the way to it actually happening, or is Zuffa too powerful to be stopped now? The promotion that has eaten Pride FC and Strikeforce, and sent all other competition to the sideline continues to grow, but will it ever mature?
