Anthony Birchak thought he was fighting to stay on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster back in July 2016.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. After going 1-2 inside the Octagon, “El Toro” knew he had to earn a victory if there was any chance of him being re-signed to the UFC. Birchak defeated Dileno Lopes by split decision, but an offer never came.
Speaking to MMAJunkie.com, Birchak said his motivation to compete significantly decreased when the UFC didn’t want him anymore:
“When they kind of put me on the back burner, absolutely it’s a blow to your ego. So, it’s just hard. When kids grow up, and they’re playing Pop Warner football, they’re not saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to be the best goddamned CFL player out there.’ I want to be in the NFL. I want to be Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith. I want to be Peyton Manning. The UFC was saying, ‘We’re the NFL of fighting,’ but the treatment of fighters doesn’t show that, and the pay of the fighters doesn’t show that, so how can you make that comparison? Once you’ve got there, you realize there’s more opportunities out there around the globe. The UFC isn’t the only organization. They may be the best. They may be the top dog, but you can always be a king in an organization that treats you like a king.”
