"I sacrificed my whole life for this sport" - UFC 293 fighter reaches out to Andrew Tate after Australian tax cripples his earnings

John Makdessi reached out to Andrew Tate while revealing his shocking UFC 293 payout.

On September 9, Makdessi fought on the UFC 293 preliminary card, which took place in Sydney, Australia. After three rounds of action, ‘The Bull’ lost a somewhat controversial unanimous decision against Jamie Mullarkey.

The judges’ decision wasn’t the only disappointing aspect of Makdessi’s latest octagon appearance. Earlier today, the 38-year-old shared his official payout, which went from $58,000 to $28,461.65 after taxes and expenses.

Makdessi voiced his frustration with his earnings by saying in a since-deleted message on X (formerly Twitter):

“I sacrificed my whole life for this sport and put everything on the line. D*mn Australian government and the judges robbed me pretty badly. #MATRIX @Cobratate”

Makdessi tagged Andrew Tate and used the hashtag referencing the 'matrix'. Over the past few years, Tate has become a world-renowned controversial social media personality partially due to his belief that governments and higher powers are corrupt, creating the matrix.

Andrew Tate didn't provide a reaction to Makdessi's situation.

John Makdessi's deleted post

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Fans criticize Australian tax rates after seeing John Makdessi’s UFC 293 payout

Fans have never been shy of voicing their opinions on fighter pay, especially in the UFC. A different aspect of the controversial topic was brought up after John Makdessi revealed his UFC 293 fighter pay.

Instead of blaming the UFC, most fans turned their attention to the tax rates for fighters competing in Australia. Once Makdessi’s post went viral, the comments section was filled with shock and anger:

“Man half your bread goes to tax, why even entertain a fight there?”

“Bruh 45% tax rate is insane …”

“Government taking half of your money for no reason is WILD”

“That’s absolutely criminal, imagine how the 12/12 fighters even afford to live”

“No wonder no one wants to fight here”

X comments

John Makdessi made his UFC debut in December 2010 with a professional MMA record of 7-0. Since then, he’s fought in the octagon 20 times, leading to an 11-9 promotional record. Unfortunately for ‘The Bull’, he’s suffered back-to-back unanimous decision losses against Nasrat Haqparast and Jamie Mullarkey.