Former UFC middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold remains convinced that fighters are underpaid.
Several UFC fighters as of late have come out and said they are broke and some have even started GoFundMe’s to help pay for training. UFC fighters only receive 16 percent of revenue, while stick-and-ball sports are near or over 50 percent, while boxing is around 70 percent.
However, as many fighters complain about their pay, Kevin Holland has made it clear the UFC pays them enough and has no reason to complain.
“I make good money in the UFC. I don’t know what Paige VanZant’s money was, but it’s like, some of these people talking about they don’t get paid this much money in the UFC, they don’t get paid that much money in the UFC,” Holland said last month on the MMA Hour. “Either A, they need to fight more or B, they need to get a better manager. I make good money. I’m very, very happy. My son’s happy, my mom’s happy, my stepdad’s happy, my daddy’s happy, my grandma’s happy, my whole family’s happy. So I don’t know what they’re complaining about…Do your job and you will be more than paid.”
With comments like that, Luke Rockhold knows that could hinder any chance of the fighters coming together to make a union or push for change. He also revealed he messaged Holland after those comments he made.
“I DM’d Kevin Holland the moment I heard that bullsh*t he said,” Rockhold said on MMAFighting’s MMA Hour. “I was like, ‘What the f*ck are you talking about, kid? Come on.’ Yeah, you lose a couple more fights and you’re going to be on the other side of that f*cking argument. He’s naive. He’s a good kid [but] he’s naive.”
Rockhold certainly has a point about his stance on fighter pay. However, he also knows what Holland and several other fighters say makes it seem like not a big deal to the general public. Whether or not anything will change with fighter pay also seems unlikely at this time.
What do you make of Luke Rockhold blasting Kevin Holland?
