Masvidal decries UFC's revenue share with fighters: 'It's not fair'
Jorge Masvidal wants there to be changes made to the UFC's revenue share with its fighters.
Past reports indicate the UFC pays its athletes about 20% of generated revenue, far less than other major sports leagues in North America. After asking for his release on Twitter over a pay dispute last week, the top welterweight contender spoke on the matter again Saturday.
"Basically, it's not that I'm asking for more money - I'm asking for a bigger revenue share of what we bring in," Masvidal said on ESPN's SportsCenter. "I got a lot of questions, and one of them is: NBA, NHL, baseball, they make I think 50% of what the players ... bring in. Football, I think it's 47%. Mine is like 18%. I have these questions in my mind: Why so much? Does ... the cage cost so much to set up?"
He continued, "If I'm bringing in X, Y, Z dollars, giving me 18% of those dollars that I bring in, it's not fair. ... I don't think it's fair for any fighter - I'm speaking for everybody, even the guys that I dislike."
Masvidal, who's been in talks to fight welterweight champion Kamaru Usman for months, said he's found inspiration in light heavyweight champion Jon Jones' public spat with UFC president Dana White.
"As I saw (Jones) going through his thing, I was like, 'Funny, my negotiations are reaching a standstill,'" Masvidal said. "We're kind of at a stalemate, and it just got worse and worse.
"They offered the fight to somebody else for a lot less money, and that person is willing to take it, so I get shortchanged in a way. It's cool if somebody else is willing to do it for less money, but that puts the guy that doesn't want to do it for less money in a weird situation. It's not like I can go to another show and stuff like that, because that's illegal for us - we're under contract."
Masvidal believes it's no surprise that popular fighters - from Conor McGregor to Henry Cejudo - have had issues with the UFC lately. He said they're forced to either agree to the promotion's terms or not fight at all.
"Where in America does that happen, where you go into a job and you ask for a promotion and they tell you, 'No, you're not getting it, you're not getting a raise and you gotta retire,'" Masvidal asked. "I don't think that's too cool."
"Gamebred" maintains fighters have had issues getting what they're worth because MMA is a sport of individuals.
"When we talk about a union and stuff, a lot of fighters are like, 'Nah, I can get that money all on my own,'" Masvidal said. "But then you get to the pay-per-view model and it's not what you think, and you find out after 10 years in the sport, 'Man, I'm not getting nowhere near what I thought once I'm champion.' That's why you have so many champions complaining."
Masvidal said he hasn't weighed his options but is willing to leave the UFC if they can't come to an agreement.
"I can only take exactly what you offer and give me, and I've done that my whole career," he said. "Now, for once, I'm voicing my opinion, and they're not liking it at all. They're putting their foot down on it."