Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler wants to see fighters earn more money during and after their careers.
Lawler is back in the win column after earning a TKO win over Nick Diaz at UFC 266. Entering the highly-anticipated rematch with Diaz, Lawler had lost four straight and hadn’t earned a win since 2017.
Lawler is one of the OGs of the fight game. Going back to his UFC debut at UFC 37, he has been arguably one of the biggest fan favorites in the sport.
Lawler is still intent on performing at a high level, even in the latter stages of his professional career. But during a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, he admitted there’s still one change he wants to see be made in MMA.
“I would obviously like the fighters to get paid more,” Lawler said. “But, I’d also like them to have something like a pension after the fact, so that they’re getting paid—those types of things. Obviously, everyone’s not going to make it to the highest level and make a whole bunch of money winning world titles, but once you get to the UFC, Bellator – these bigger organizations – I think there needs to be some sort of—kind of like the NFL does. I mean they take care of their guys after—at least try to. And the NBA does a great job, and baseball probably does the same thing, where guys are still continuing to get something after they’re done with the sport. So if there’s a way that we could get this for the fighters it’d be awesome.”
Opinions on the fighter pay issues have been largely in promotion of change, including from UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou. However, there have also been some fighters like heavyweight Chris Daukaus who believe the effort of Ngannou and others won’t promote change.
Lawler has been around the fight game for years, and he believes that it’s time for fighters to be treated fairly and compensated correctly for their efforts.
Do you agree with Robbie Lawler?
