5 times UFC fighters explained why their pay was inadequate

#2 UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier

UFC Fight Night: Cannonier v Gastelum

In the most recent example of a fighter talking openly about their financial situation, UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier made waves last weekend by claiming that he's broke.

'The Killa Gorilla', who beat Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision to move closer to a title shot, said he needs to stay active in order to make ends meet:

"I mean, it's not dire, it's just a natural occurrence if you will, you know. But, of course, coming off an injury and I'm not balling out of control or anything like that and a lot of people don't understand that when we have these fights, we owe people money after these fights. You know, so after this win, 60% of my money is already gone between the gym, between management, between taxes. On top of that I got bills, credit cards, I got kids. I have a house up in Alaska, I got a house here, I got car payments."

Cannonier went on to explain that fighting is his only source of revenue:

"That money goes, money don't last forever and right now, fighting is our only revenue. I don't have sponsors or anything like that. You know, fighting is my only focus, I'm not out here doing commercials or doing anything like that. Nobody is asking me to be in the next Marvel movie. So, you know, and not being able to fight for the last 10 months put a strain on our pockets, so I'm glad to have gotten back in there, I'm glad to have gotten two cheques, plus that main event bonus and I'm glad I'm not injured so I can do it again. I don't need like a super quick turnaround but you know, the division is moving on. We got a big fight coming up this weekend and I'm ready to go."

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#1 UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira

UFC 262: Charles Oliveira v Michael Chandler

Even UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, who has been on a tear in the division over the last few years, isn't exempt from issues with fighter pay. The Brazilian, who clinched the title with a win over Michael Chandler earlier this year at UFC 262, elucidated how he is perceived as "rich" but actually isn't.

"I have to pay for training, supplementation, it’s complicated. People think I’m rich, but I’m not. I’m still going to become rich, I’m going to make money with a percentage of pay-per-view, I’ve reached a level where I start to make serious money. Things will start to improve, more than they already are."

'Do Bronx' continued by breaking down his expenses for a fight, opening up about the post-fight bonuses he has earned and the misleading numbers on show.

"Do you know how much gets deducted? The team alone gets 30 percent, then you need to discount another 12 or 15 percent depending on which U.S. state you fought in. You have other deductions for I don’t know what or to where. When you see it at the end you got less than guys who didn’t do anything. I didn’t earn $50,000 bonuses 17 times. I actually earned $15,000, $12,000, $10,000."

Oliveira is expected to face Dustin Poirier next, and that fight promises to be an easy sell. As he says, he could soon move up the wealth rankings just like the UFC rankings. But spare a thought for all the other fighters who aren't at the very top.