Josh Thomson and 'Big' John McCarthy discuss why MMA promotions don't reveal true fighter pay figures

Josh Thomson and 'Big' John McCarthy weighed in on the controversy surrounding MMA promotions not revealing the true fighter pay figures after the payouts for Bellator 290 were reported.

During episode #333 of their Weighing In podcast, Thomson and McCarthy addressed fighter pay and the reason why the commission reports the figures. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion mentioned that Fedor Emelianenko wouldn't have fought if his fight purse was the reported $100,000.

He said:

"The biggest one to me was Fedor {Emelianenko}. There is no way, no way. That guy's not getting out of bed to even stretch for a $100,000...He was on the last fight of his contract, he made a ton of money." [30:49 - 31:14]

McCarthy also chimed in and revealed how the UFC pays the fighters in comparison. He mentioned that the fighters earn what's owed to them in their contractual agreement in addition to the added bonuses, saying:

"Just to put it out there, the UFC does this too...The UFC does it in a different way. They'll give you what your contract is and then they'll be selective and hand out bonuses. Sometimes you hear about the $50,000 bonus, they'll hand that out but they'll also hand out other ones. The envelope in the back and they give a fighter a bonus." [35:05 - 35:27]

Fighters and their respective promotions have their reasons why they don't disclose the fighters' full payment, and Thomson revealed that maintaining their privacy is one of the main reasons.

Check out the full video:

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John McCarthy describes difference in fighter pay between the UFC and other promotions

'Big' John McCarthy discussed the difference in fighter pay between the UFC and other rival promotions like Bellator and the PFL.

During the affomentioned episode of Weighing In, the former MMA referee mentioned that fighters in PFL and Bellator earn more than they did in the UFC and revealed why that's the case.

He said:

"You have not heard of one fighter that came from the UFC to Bellator or the PFL who has said, 'I'm making less money.' They're not because Bellator and the PFL have to pay more money. Because if I could sit there and fight in any organization and it's the same amount of money, well then yeah, I'll stay with the UFC." [35:45 - 36:13]

The former MMA referee makes a great point as Bellator and the PFL are trying to entice a free agent fighter to join their promotion rather than stay in the UFC.