Mousasi sounds off on shoddy salary ahead of last fight on UFC deal
Gegard Mousasi has chosen a crucial time to come out of his shell.
A winner of four straight, the 31-year-old would find himself within arm's reach of a middleweight title shot with a win over former champ Chris Weidman at UFC 210, a bout that happens to be the last on his contract. When asked why he's suddenly shed his typically mild-mannered persona during Wednesday's media day, Mousasi didn't mince words. "The Dreamcatcher" sounded off on his purportedly lackluster salary, and vowed to get his due and proper once he dispatched Weidman.
"When you get screwed, you're gonna say that, so after this fight, I'm going to get paid, and I'm gonna beat (Weidman) just because I need to get paid, not because I want to beat Weidman. I don't care about that," Mousasi told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.
According to the contender, the UFC brass has twice approached him with an offer to retain his services, the most recent coming just prior to fight week. When asked about the nature of the posited terms, Mousasi said they were "not even close" to his expectations.
When detailing the rationale behind his demands, the Dutchman pointed to several fighters he's beaten over his lengthy career, but who still command far more cabbage than he does, and even took a jab at reigning middleweight king Michael Bisping.
"(Mark Hunt) makes 10 times - maybe not 10 times - but he makes a lot more (than me). Vitor Belfort makes a lot more. Dan Henderson makes a lot more. Michael Bisping, let's be honest. I would be (the) favorite in that fight.
"Now he's the champion. Even before he was champion, he was getting paid more, so I should get what I deserve. I don't have extreme demands. They should pay me what's fair."
Mousasi's claims aren't unsubstantiated. In his final fight, the now-retired Henderson pocketed a reported $600,000 - excluding sponsorship and bonus payouts - at UFC 204, while Belfort made $300,000 to Mousasi's $80,000 in show money on the same card. As for Hunt, "The Super Samoan" most recently earned $750,000 in a losing effort to Alistair Overeem at UFC 209.
In a move eerily reminiscent of the recently departed Rory MacDonald's ultimately ill-fated gamble on himself, the Dutchman heads into the last fight on his existing deal knowing he has to hold up his end, and hoping a win over Weidman will give him some leverage in his next trip to the bargaining table.
"I have to perform at the end of the day. Once I perform, I can have demands. I can talk a lot and if I lose the fight, it's all for nothing. So let me win the first fight, and I will have a big mouth."
He meets Weidman in the co-main event of Saturday's card at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.