UFC flyweight Ian McCall told MMAJunkie in an interview that he feels the sport of MMA is financially ruined, and it has not evolved like other major sports. He indicated that he’s planning his exit from the sport.
“Our sport’s in ruin, financially,” he said. “Our sport sucks. It’s not what it used to be. It’s not what it was five years ago. It’s not even what it is when I first got to the UFC. It’s horrible, as far as finances. So I’ve got to get another job, just like many other fighters. This one could take me away from MMA.”
“If I make enough money to where I don’t have to fight, then f-ck it, I’m not going to fight,” he said. “I want to fight. Fighting’s my passion. I’m still going to fight because I love it, but if I’m making half a million dollars a year – one million dollars a year, whatever – why would I fight? Why wouldn’t I just train and be a martial artist at my gym and train other fighters? “It’s fun to fight on TV, and it’s fun to fight for the UFC, but they’re just so corporate. It’s just such big business now that it’s not fun, having to deal with all the other sh-t. We have to jump through all these hoops to do all this sh-t, and yet, we don’t make any money. If you paid me a couple of million dollars a year, I’ll f-cking do whatever you want. If I was making MLB money or NBA money, OK, sure, I’ll be your whipping boy. But you’re going to enforce all these laws on me and not pay me anything? That’s bullsh-t. I’m not blaming the UFC or (UFC President) Dana (White). It’s just how the sport evolved. It evolved like a big, big sport, yet we don’t make that kind of money.”
McCall last fought at UFC 183 in January, in a loss against John Lineker by unanimous decision.
