Chael Sonnen says UFC President Dana White was always a champion of higher pay for fighters.
The topic of fighter pay has long been discussed in MMA. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has been at the forefront of this discussion. He has expressed his belief that he deserves Deontay Wilder money for a showdown with UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou. What does that mean exactly? Jones believes anywhere between $8 million to $10 million is simply too low to fight Ngannou.
Ngannou has also made it clear that he isn’t too thrilled with fighter pay. Upon seeing the numbers that Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul have taken in for their exhibition boxing match, “The Predator” questioned what he and other fighters are doing wrong.
Sonnen has been known to defend White and the UFC when it comes to fighter pay. In a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, Sonnen insisted that White has long advocated for higher fighter pay (via Bloody Elbow).
“The person who believes fighters were exploited and fighters weren’t paid enough is Dana. And they’re now trying to use the same argument that he brought forward and act as though he is doing something wrong.
“When I first fought in the UFC, the year was 2005. I was paid $2,000 to show and $2,000 to win. I could not believe how much money I had in my pocket when I got that check. $2,000 in 2005.”
Sonnen went on to mention that the UFC has raised its minimum payouts from $2,000 back in 2005 to $12,000. He challenged anyone to find a company that has raised its minimum wage six times more than what it did 15 years ago.
