The standard compensation practice in mixed martial arts, as it is in boxing and other professional combat sports, is to have one contracted sum to win, and another to show. The very best fighters sometimes get a single sum, regardless of fight outcome, and Bellator MMA heavyweight Matt Mitrione wants that to become standard.

It’s stupid, said Mitrione, as transcribed byMarc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. A split purse is ignorant. All it is, is a way for promoters to save money and to put a carrot in front of a horse. That’s all it is. Like, if you win you’ll get 24 grand. All that does is make guys fight like bulls*** or it makes it so you can’t base your financial life. You can’t say, ‘After this fight, I’ll have 24 grand.’

The fighter calculates that a purse of 12/12 ($12,000 to show and another $12,000 to win, which is a typical starting figure in the UFC) could end up leaving the loser with very little after state and local taxes, management, and trainers fees, among other expenses.

Good job, you got 4,000 bucks, he said sarcastically. Good for you. And that’s the way it is. You end up like, what the hell do I do? You’re living on a couch with some guy that you don’t know that well. You’re living in a gym just to have a shower. … And you’re on the main card. Everybody knows your name now but you ain’t got s*** for it. Good job, Chuck. That’s the way it goes. It’s a rough gig.

Now 38, the former NFL player says in his first eight UFC fights, which took place across four years, he made less than $100,000.

We’ve been taken advantage of — willingly, said Mitrione. Because I don’t think any of us are educated enough on the finer aspects of a business or being an athlete. I think we were taken advantage of for a long time. I think that we were naive about a whole lot and I think that we were so afraid of either being cut or being blackballed or getting really bad fights or whatever.

There are currently three separate organizing efforts underway, the MMAFA, the PFA, and the MMAAAA. The latter two seek only to unionize the UFC which would have no impact on Mitrione, and the groups are publicly at cross purposes. Mitrione is not impressed, but never the less feels there is a strong need for a union.

Mitrione fights Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Bellator 172 on Feb. 18 in San Jose.