Aljamain Sterling does not agree with Michael Chandler on the pay grade that the UFC fighters are given in response the the total buys an event makes.
This past week, Michael Chandler has publicly defended UFC and UFC President Dana White over the issue of military compensation, saying disputes over high-paying soldiers are wrong because the UFC has worked hard to grow its business and the fighters will be better used. working hard to make money for themselves outside of the UFC. But bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling argues.
Aljamain Sterling on Michael Chandler
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“I love Michael Chandler. He’s a cool person, and every time I see him, I doesn’t have a problem with him. But I think it is a little different and it is not advisable for a person to say things that he says are insulting to all the other fighters out there.
“Michael Chandler was in Bellator, where he made a lot of money, he was the champion at Bellator, so he has all those things to him. The average fighter comes, they are not a wrestler, they are not a world champion, they have never been a Bellator champion, they do not have all those qualities and honors, they do not come from money – I do not say Michael Chandler comes from money, I do not know anything about his background, but he does not understand . Obviously, he doesn’t understand this, because he wouldn’t say what he said if he did – the background of other fighters who don’t make the kind of money that Michael Chandler makes, and that’s the difference. “
Chandler was not a national college champion but has been a top four NCAA Division I player of the year, and earned All-American honors in his senior season for Missouri. After a decorated career at Bellator where he became a three-time heavyweight champion, he joined the UFC as one of the biggest signings signed by a free agent in recent history.
That difference, Sterling says, is significant. Because he, and many other fighters, their UFC debut was very different.
Point of View
“If he looks at it differently, I think he can change what he said,” Sterling said. “What about your entire sleepless night of training, to lose weight? What about all the other fighters trained, to lose weight?
“Some of us have second jobs. I had a second job during my career until after I hit ‘Tanquino’ [Augusto Mendes], after losing two different decisions, when I thought I might lose my job. I have a college degree. To be honest I would have made more money by doing that at the beginning of my career if I had just stuck to that and I would have made more money than I could have done if I had just stuck in the fight.”
Aljamain Sterling shares his UFC Purse
“I joined the UFC at the age of eight, $ 8,000 to win, $ 8,000 to show. So when I step on the scale, I come out, and I go into the octagon, I make $ 8,000. Before taxes, before expenses, just to get to the war, travel expenses, all that, food, supplies, we are not talking about any of the inclusions. Then I make another $ 8,000 if I win. Now, take out the pay of the coaches … 5 per cent [for coach] Ray [Longo], five per cent [for coach] Matt [Serra], 10 per cent for the managers, and pay the tax on anything else, I keep. … My second battle is 10 and 10, my third war is 12 and 12, the last battle in my contract is 14 and 14.
“Now, you do the math. I then made $ 56,000 from scratch, in Long Island [New York], as a physical education teacher, with benefits, and retirement. So when you measure that, to get Michael Chandler to say the fighters just get up, train, sleep, that’s like, don’t you realize what you bring to the table for your bosses?
On Regards to Dana White
“This is not an insult to Dana. I’m not trying to get into the issue of paying a fighter, but bro, you can’t say there’s no problem with fighter pay because you’re sitting in the cream. Like, right now, I’m beautiful. I’m up. I earn very well at this time. It still pays less than what it would have been, depending on the numbers shown, what the money laundering is between the fighters and the management. “
For reference, and one of the highlights of those who claimed the best soldiers’ salaries, fighters receive about 20 percent of the UFC’s annual revenue, far from other major sports leagues, whose numbers are usually 50%. . Sterling, it seems, believes the gap needs to be closed slightly, especially when it comes to UFC fighters who have to work a second time to survive.
