Chad Mendes says he will make more money in BKFC debut than Francis Ngannou did at UFC 270
Chad Mendes to make biggest payday to date in BKFC debut
Former UFC featherweight title contender Chad ‘Money’ Mendes has claimed that he will make some ‘big money’ ahead of his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut at ‘KnuckleMania 2’ later this month.
Mendes, 36, who has not fought since December 2018, will meet ‘Famez’ Joshuah Alvarez in a 155-pound bout on February 19 in Hollywood, Florida.
Not only will Mendes be making his return to competition, but it will also be his first professional bare knuckle bout, yet ‘Money’ says he will be raking in more cash for this fight than UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou did in his latest title defense at UFC 270 last month.
“I’ll put it this way: I just saw what the UFC heavyweight champion of the world just got paid, and it’s gonna be more than that,” Mendes told MMA Junkie. “It’s pretty crazy. I feel blessed for sure.”
The comments by Mendes come on the heels of discussion about fighter pay following the revelation of Ngannou’s disclosed purse of $600,000 for the win over Ciryl Gane on January 22.
For his final UFC bout, a loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 232 in December 2018, Mendes was paid a disclosed purse of $87,000 (and earned $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus), according to the report from MMA Junkie.
“Man, it’s very profitable,” Mendes said of fighting for BKFC. “I’m getting paid well for the fight, and I’m doubling that with the sponsors alone. It’s crazy. That was such a big money maker for us in the UFC (before the exclusive Reebok deal). Obviously not everybody, but people who knew what they were doing and could promote and actually get out there and do what they needed to do to get those, it was great.
“It’s a great way to make a big income without having to do much, just getting logos on shorts, helping these companies that I already work with. I’ve worked with a lot of companies in the outdoor industry for the last six to eight years, and it’s just expanding our relationship and getting something new. Instead of just social media stuff, now we’ve got social media, a fight platform, and some cool marketing on shorts. I think it’s just a win-win for everybody. It’s exciting, the ability to do what we were able to do in this fight, for sure.”
