Jorge Masvidal joins Jon Jones in calls for release from UFC contract following dispute over his pay much like the UFC Lightweight champion before him.
UFC President Dana White got into yet another war with one of the biggest talents at his disposal. After days of sparring with Jon Jones, White is now being confronted by Jorge Masvidal who has taken to social media to air his grievances over the breakdown of his contract with the UFC.
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Masvidal is coming off of 3 big wins in the space of 8-months. The last of which was a third-round TKO win over Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November. However, despite the anticipation around his match against Kamaru Usman for the Welterweight Title, the outspoken fighter revealed that the UFC only offered him half of what he received for his last match.
Jorge Masvidal joins Jon Jones in calls for release from UFC contract
“I fought in backyards and those dudes never disrespected me the way I’m being now,” Masvidal wrote.
Dana White responded on Friday afternoon saying that while other sports around the world were negotiating with their players over salary cuts, everybody wants more money.
“Anybody that doesn’t want to fight doesn’t have to fight, including Masvidal and Jon Jones and all these other guys,” White said.
“It doesn’t have to be because of the pandemic. These guys are independent contractors. This isn’t like the NFL where I can make you: ‘You come to practice and you do this or you’re going to get fined or you’re going to get this.’ These guys can do whatever they want. They can say whatever they want.
“… We’re not begging people to fight. We’re offering fights because in our contract, I have to give you three fights a year. You have the ability to turn them down and not take them.”
Masvidal responded on twitter that White shouldn’t compare the UFC to other leagues who pay the players in revenues they help generate.
“We are negotiating from like what 12% to maybe 18% of revenue we generate?” Masvidal wrote. “We are negotiating down from way under. … I don’t get paid on the hot dog you sell in the arena or the logo on the cage. I’ve never made a dollar on a ticket you sell. I get punched in the face for a living and even I know the pandemic or what’s left of it has nothing to do with it.”
Masvidal finished by calling out his independent contractor status if he wasn’t allowed to earn money elsewhere.
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