Mark Coleman on UFC fighter pay: “Compared to what we got back when I was fighting, they’re getting paid pretty good”
Mixed martial arts pioneer and UFC Hall of Famer, Mark Coleman, 56, recently sat down with Betway Insider to discuss the changing landscape of combat sports.
There has been debate for a number of years now as to why there is a major discrepancy when comparing the pay of professional boxers to that of professional mixed martial artists. Fast forward to the current climate and you can now add social media influencers to the list of combat sports “athletes” who are making just as much, if not more, than fighters who have been training and competing for a number of years. YouTuber Logan Paul’s fight against Floyd Mayweather drew around 1 million pay-per-view buys, while his brother, Jake Paul’s fight against former UFC fighter Ben Askren did similar numbers.
“I respect Dana a lot,” Coleman said about UFC President Dana White. “He’s called me as dumbass plenty of times, but who hasn’t he called a dumbass? So, I don’t take it too personally. I think he’s done one hell of a job, and we’ve got to give him a lot of credit for where the sport is at today.
Coleman’s comments about White come on the heels of the UFC’s sale to Endeavor just a few short years ago, the largest acquisition in sports history. With the UFC continually expanding, and its current valuation standing at around $7 billion, many believe fighters are not being paid enough, and much of the criticism has been aimed at White himself.
“Of course, everybody wants to be paid more. I think they’re probably going to have to pay more eventually, but right now everybody’s getting paid pretty damn good, I tell you that.
“Compared to what we got back when I was fighting, they’re getting paid pretty good.”
Mark Coleman (16-10) last competed professional 11 years ago in 2010 when he lost to fellow Hall of Famer, Randy Couture, by way of second round submission at UFC 109. “The Hammer” Coleman first broke on the UFC scene in 1996 when he defeated Moti Horenstein at UFC 10.
