Michael McDonald tired of winning with less pay than loser

Michael McDonald ha a busy 2013. He lost to Renan Barao for the Interim UFC bantamweight belt. Then he bounced back with a win over Brad Pickett that won BOTH Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night. Then he got guillotined by Urijah Faber.

He hasn’t fought since due to a issues with his hand and wrist. He is now just 24, and ready to come back, but has thought about walking away, and not because of medical issues. Sooner or later, it all comes down to money.

McDonald tore into the UFC at age 19 and in his fourth fight faced former WEC champion Miguel Torres. McDonald won, making$16,000, while the defeated Torres made $32,000. When he lost to Faber his purse was $17,000; Faber’s declared salary was $200,000.

McDonald said he does not feel mistreated by the UFC. He is in a weird way a victim of his own success. He started with an ordinary UFC contract, and did so well, so fast, that he was fighting fighters at far higher contracted payouts. It did not feel fair to get half as much for winning as his opponent got for losing.

“I think everyone has expectations of being a professional athlete, and it’s just not exactly what you expect,” said McDonald to Brett Okamoto for ESPN.com. “It wasn’t very fun after a while. I didn’t feel any passion for fighting or the people around me.”

“I’d say things started to get complicated after the Miguel Torres fight. Money was something I’ve never wanted to focus on, but when I look around and see people who I’m beating making a lot more than me, I started to feel angry and resentful.

“I knocked out Torres and I barely made any money. That’s when that frustration started and it just makes you not enjoy your job. You feel underappreciated and cheated. You don’t want to go out and fight the best fighters in the world, then go home and wonder if you can pay your bills. You start to say, ‘Something’s not right now. I’m angry.'”

“When I joined the UFC, it was, ‘You’re the youngest fighter in the UFC! No one as young as you has ever fought for the title! You want to do it?’ It was like, ‘Uh, yeah.’ Now, there is a lot of stuff I have to correct.

“It’s a problem I made by not getting paid well and fighting the best in the world. It’s a difficult situation but I think we’re going to get through it. There’s no way I’m going to fight top guys for the pay I’m getting, especially when they’re getting so much more than me.

“I don’t think it’s as cut and dry as, ‘Oh, I’m not fighting this guy.’ I’m not looking for easy fights. One thing I see now is that if you’re talking to a businessman and you ask for something reasonable, usually they’ll be like, ‘OK, let’s work something out.’ If the UFC wants me to fight these great guys like Faber, it’s not like I’m looking to play hardball. But yeah, I wouldn’t want to fight him with the pay I’m getting now. So, maybe it turns into a contract renegotiation. Maybe it’s, ‘Let’s hold off and not take this fight right now.’ Maybe it’s, ‘Well, can we get a little more guaranteed money for this fight but keep the same contract?” I don’t know what it’s exactly going to be, but I have to be taken care of.”

No return fight for McDonald has been booked as yet. He would like to fight in 2015, but negotiations may push that into 2016