The Reebok Deal has caused some friction between UFC management and talent, most notably between UFC president Dana White, and heavyweight Brendan Schaub. The fighter said that he was making $100,000 in sponsorships, and that when the deal starts, it will be $10,000.
White defended the deal, and questioned pointedly whether Schaub really made 100k per fight.
“If somebody called me a liar, I would release the papers,” said Rogan to Schaub as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMAFighting.com. “If I knew that I had everything on paper that would show that I wasn’t a liar. It doesn’t make sense to call you a liar. It makes sense to ask you what you were getting paid and then, ‘Well, can you send me that?’ That’s like a rational conversation. It gets irrational when someone calls you a liar when you know you’re not a liar and you do have the tax returns. The rational response to that is to just show.”
Schaub said he did not want to get into a fight with White, out of respect for all he has gained from the organization.
“I’m not lying,” said Schaub. “But it does nothing for me to prove this and do all this stuff, because first things first, I’m Team UFC, man. I wouldn’t have this platform, I wouldn’t have this fame, I wouldn’t be able to make money that I’m doing now if it wasn’t for Dana White and the UFC. I’m not anti-UFC in the least bit.”
“I just think he was misinformed. Someone misinformed him.”
Rogan said that Schaub couldn’t avoid a pissing contest, because he was already in one.
“You’re in a pissing contest,” said Rogan. “He pissed on you. I saw him on that Landsberg show. He basically pulled his d— out and peed all over you.”
Schaub again reiterated he is not looking for a fight, and if the Reebok Deal is good for the UFC, he is for it.
“The UFC is no different than a Microsoft or an Apple,” said Schaub. “You’ve gotta crack some eggs to make an omelet. There’s gonna be some guys upset. But in the grand scheme of things, it might be better for the overall concept of all the UFC fighters. I don’t know. Maybe I’m the exception.”
Rogan said Shaub was far from alone in his reservations.
“That’s not true, though,” said Rogan. “A lot of people don’t like this deal. This is a deal that a lot of people have criticized … I don’t know if he actually knew how much money guys like you who are very clever with your marketing and really good at promoting yourself how much they were making. He obviously didn’t talk to you about it, so how could he know?”
“Dana called you a liar. I know you’re not a liar. I love Dana. He’s been my friend for a long f—ing time. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t even be working for the UFC. If he quit or the UFC got sold to someone else, I’d probably stop doing it. I really would.”
