GSP threatened to walk after becoming champion and got offered millions by the UFC

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https://www.mmamania.com/2021/6/14/...hters-exposes-ufc-payouts-making-millions-mma

Do you think there's any fighters right now on the UFC roster that can substantially increase their pay rate by walking?

Henry Cejudo tried to pull this and failed
Jon Jones tried to pull this and failed.

Khabib didn't really try to pull this but got crazy offers to not walk.

Do you think there's currently any fighter that has this kind of sway over the UFC?

Maybe McGregor but his hype has died down a lot from the past.
 
It only worked in the past when the UFC is still trying to corner the market. Alternative organizations were going strong, and it wouldn't do for the ex-UFC champ to appear on a rival promotion's program due to pay dispute. Today, the brand name is bigger than any of the fighters on their roster. With their marketing structure in full force, UFC can always hype up the "Next Big Thing" should anyone walk away. There are always hungrier fighters waiting to step in.

Cejudo walked? Now they have a newly-minted first time ever Mexican champ. Jones pulled the prima donna card? Now he is trapped between getting murdered by Francis or going back to LHW in shame after all the talk. So in answer to your question, nobody has that kind of sway anymore. While Dana did try to get Khabib to stay, no skin off his knees if Khabib doesn't fight again. They brought on Chandler, elevated Charles, and there is still activity in LW.

The only way a protest can work is if a large enough group of top fighters band together and go on strike. Fat chance of that happening, since everyone is looking out for their own interests first and foremost. Once they get the pay they want, screw the under-card right? Even GSP speaking up now, well, he has nothing to lose since he is retired.

Alternative way is if someone dies in the Octagon, or a high profile CTE case gets blown up by the media. This is the only realistic scenario I can see happening for fighters to finally get to unionize.
 
You have to be a draw to actually get paid substantial dollars by the UFC. A guy like Cejudo that nobody cares about would never make the kind of money GSP did. And there just aren’t very many fighters in the UFC that are big draws.

This last card should have sold well with 2 title fights, and Nate on it. But, I’m not even sure if Izzy is a big draw on his own. It’s a tough situation, but the champs make decent money.
 
I like GSP laying out a blueprint for other guys.

He has leadership potential in that everyone looks up to him. He just has to lead and others will follow.
Yeah bro, it was pretty badass how he seemed to duck legitimate competition and only came back, briefly, for a low risk/high reward fight in Bisping that he almost lost. Definitely set the example that I hope other fighters can study and emulate.

(i actually love gsp but this is exactly what happened lmao)
 
It only worked in the past when the UFC is still trying to corner the market. Alternative organizations were going strong, and it wouldn't do for the ex-UFC champ to appear on a rival promotion's program due to pay dispute. Today, the brand name is bigger than any of the fighters on their roster. With their marketing structure in full force, UFC can always hype up the "Next Big Thing" should anyone walk away. There are always hungrier fighters waiting to step in.

Cejudo walked? Now they have a newly-minted first time ever Mexican champ. Jones pulled the prima donna card? Now he is trapped between getting murdered by Francis or going back to LHW in shame after all the talk. So in answer to your question, nobody has that kind of sway anymore. While Dana did try to get Khabib to stay, no skin off his knees if Khabib doesn't fight again. They brought on Chandler, elevated Charles, and there is still activity in LW.

The only way a protest can work is if a large enough group of top fighters band together and go on strike. Fat chance of that happening, since everyone is looking out for their own interests first and foremost. Once they get the pay they want, screw the under-card right? Even GSP speaking up now, well, he has nothing to lose since he is retired.

Alternative way is if someone dies in the Octagon, or a high profile CTE case gets blown up by the media. This is the only realistic scenario I can see happening for fighters to finally get to unionize.

Great post. Only thing I can think of which isn't 100% the same as OP's point is Khabib threatening to walk after beating Conor if his friends were cut/banned from UFC/events and it worked.
 
Yeah bro, it was pretty badass how he seemed to duck legitimate competition and only came back, briefly, for a low risk/high reward fight in Bisping that he almost lost. Definitely set the example that I hope other fighters can study and emulate.

(i actually love gsp but this is exactly what happened lmao)
I'm hard on him too.

I think the real story might be that he got offered that fight to make his fighters union go away.

At the end of the day GSP likes the money and the glory. He's human.
 
$9K to fight Hughes for a title? And I thought Hardy's $24K to fight GSP was bad.

I will say this though. There was a time where fighter's actively said they're just happy to be getting enough money to pay their bills. The UFC must have thought this thought process was shared by all mixed martial artists.
 
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I like GSP laying out a blueprint for other guys.

He has leadership potential in that everyone looks up to him. He just has to lead and others will follow.
You don't remember the fighter's association huh? Where GSP basically extorted the UFC and dropped out as soon as he got what he wanted.
 
Yea at that point the UFC was trying to expand to the Saudi market, and it wouldn't do if Khabib walked out on them. Especially since Conor had insulted Khabib's beliefs and family. Punishing Khabib would seem unfair to the Arabs (and almost everyone else to be honest). Even without the Saudi market factor, Khabib had just destroyed UFC's biggest hype job. It would be crushing to UFC's rep if he walked off in his prime and joined Bellator or something under acrimonious circumstances.

So at that time, Khabib had the power to make things happen. But he was looking out for his buddies rather than arguing about fighter pay. It is not in his character as well, since he has humble beginnings and always seemed grateful for the opportunities. Also, he is set in life due to his popularity in his home country + owning various local MMA schools and promotions.

This is unlikely to be replicated again though. Unless China comes up with a super dominant champ (not Zhang, WMMA isn't popular in China).
Khabib was set in life before the he was even in the UFC. He was literally given millions to teach people for the dictator before even stepping foot into the UFC.
 
I don't think that's exactly what GSP meant. All he said was that when you become champion, you get a different contract so you can't go to another organization as the UFC champ, like BJ did back in the days. For GSP, he got a lucrative contract. And that contract would have been negotiated right after he beat Serra not a day before a signed fight against Fitch. The amount paid obviously wasn't the same for other less popular champions.
 
You don't remember the fighter's association huh? Where GSP basically extorted the UFC and dropped out as soon as he got what he wanted.
I don't know all the moving parts with that... Would you care to explain?
 
Yeah bro, it was pretty badass how he seemed to duck legitimate competition and only came back, briefly, for a low risk/high reward fight in Bisping that he almost lost. Definitely set the example that I hope other fighters can study and emulate.

(i actually love gsp but this is exactly what happened lmao)
What are you talking about? It was 1-1 on the scorecard going into the 3rd when Bisping got finished. "Almost lost".
 
I don't know all the moving parts with that... Would you care to explain?
https://www.fightsports.tv/ufc-stars-announce-fighters-association/

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/u...eorges-st-pierre-and-his-fighters-association

McGregor heard all about the MMAAA as well as his name being dropped during the conversation, but he's definitely not on board with that particular association after what he witnessed.

"Did you see that union thing? What happened with that union thing? I'm watching this union thing, it's like a press conference, and I'm like what the (expletive) is going on here," McGregor said during his recent Q&A in England. "They're standing up and they're all wearing the same t-shirt and they're saying 'Conor, please? Conor please, you know what's right. Help us out, Conor!'

"Georges (St-Pierre) is saying 'Conor's a good person, I know he gets paid well but he doesn't get paid enough'. I'm like what the (expletive) are you talking about? The only reason you're standing in the middle of that union is because you couldn't get the deal that you want. You're the fakest of everyone up there. That's another situation maybe down the line."
 
Top UFC fighters need to hire a publicist and take a page out of Conor and the Paul brothers playbook, and gain more mainstream exposure. Talent + mainstream awareness = more negotiating leverage
I agree.

I think this next gen, guys that are like 20 now, will be a lot more saavy in that regard as it's what they grew up with. 'Selling out' used to be a major major taboo. At the end of the day though there are no rewards for not selling out. Those credits go to those that sell out and then stop selling out after they already rich or just complain about it as their selling point.
 
Yeah bro, it was pretty badass how he seemed to duck legitimate competition and only came back, briefly, for a low risk/high reward fight in Bisping that he almost lost. Definitely set the example that I hope other fighters can study and emulate.

(i actually love gsp but this is exactly what happened lmao)
He took on all comers as the champion. Which is what a champ should do. Get a grip with this ducking legit competition shit. It’s easy to spot a GSP hater. Because half of them claim to be a fan of his while talking nonsensical shit.
 
Henry's retirement thing not working and UFC and no one caring as both FLW and BW flourish had just been hilarious. He thought he was some big draw or something lmaoooo

Now he got a chick pregnant with a baby on the way so you know he's gonna be fighting again sooner rather than later lol
 
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https://www.fightsports.tv/ufc-stars-announce-fighters-association/

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/u...eorges-st-pierre-and-his-fighters-association

McGregor heard all about the MMAAA as well as his name being dropped during the conversation, but he's definitely not on board with that particular association after what he witnessed.

"Did you see that union thing? What happened with that union thing? I'm watching this union thing, it's like a press conference, and I'm like what the (expletive) is going on here," McGregor said during his recent Q&A in England. "They're standing up and they're all wearing the same t-shirt and they're saying 'Conor, please? Conor please, you know what's right. Help us out, Conor!'

"Georges (St-Pierre) is saying 'Conor's a good person, I know he gets paid well but he doesn't get paid enough'. I'm like what the (expletive) are you talking about? The only reason you're standing in the middle of that union is because you couldn't get the deal that you want. You're the fakest of everyone up there. That's another situation maybe down the line."
Look, that makes sense.

I've always held the belief that GSP is a master manipulator of the press. Like the steroids thing. Bullshit. He just didn't want to lose and it was a big distraction to paint him as a hero. Hero of what!? It shouldn't be the pro athletes fault that the public demonizes PED's. It just seemed like low hanging fruit for GSP to take the heat off of him. In fact I see that act as one of the most selfish short sighted moves anyone's ever made in the sport and it harmed a lot of people imo.

I just don't see GSP as the hero or good guy he presents himself as, just more of a tactician getting his way with the company.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing though.

Getting paid 9K to fight Prime Matt Hugh's is like highway robbery. These guys were fighting for peanuts. It's insane when you think about it, like the mindset of these guys, how high on bullshit they had to be to think they were getting a good deal in life for fighting in cage for that sort of pay.

What I think it comes down to is that GSP was scared to fight Andy and the whole fucking charade is to distract us from that. He just needed to fight Andy and he'd of been a super star but that didn't happen so Conor was the first Super star.
 
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