Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Jared Cannonier wants fans and media to understand he is fine financially, after making headlines when he said he was “broke” following his UFC Vegas 34 main event win.
After his important victory over Kelvin Gastelum last month, the 37-year-old had a moment that drew a great deal of attention from the MMA world. When asked about his future in the Octagon, Cannonier (14-5) referenced the need to fight soon because he was “broke.” The unexpected comment rehashed the topic of fighter pay and made many wonder if the six-year Octagon veteran was in dire financial straights.
However, in a new interview with “>Submission Radio, “The Killa Gorilla” tried to clear up the misconceptions about his current monetary situation.
Jared Cannonier is not really broke, but would like more pay
“Well, [Daniel Cormier] asked me what I want next, do I want a fight next or the champ, and then I realized that the champ is not going to fight [Robert Whittaker] until maybe next year. So I was just thinking into the future, and then I answer, ‘I’m broke and I can’t wait the rest of this year,’ and then four or five months into 2022,” Cannonier said. “It’s not that I’m poor or anything. My bills are paid. I’m renting this house and all the bills are paid. Everybody took it as if I’m struggling to make money.
“… That thing grew legs of its own and turned into something completely different from what I was trying to say in the Octagon. And of course, [Ariel Helwani] got a hold of it, and asked his questions. It turned into this big old thing that was definitely not my intent. But I would definitely like to see that gap [in revenue sharing] shorten if you will because hell yeah I want more money. But I’m not picketing outside [UFC President] Dana White’s, or [matchmakers] Sean Shelby or Mick Maynard’s house talking about they need to pay us more, because I honestly get paid pretty good. I just haven’t been busy the last couple of years.”
When asked if he is frustrated by his and other fighters’ pay, the native of Alaska wasn’t, because of the type of pay system his employer runs, which in his mind is merit-based. He also felt that the common complaint that boxers make more money on every level of their sport compared to MMA was an unfair narrative on fighter pay as well.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s frustrating. It’s an issue, but not that prevalent in my mind to be honest. I understand UFC as a merit-based pay system. So the better you promote yourself, the better you perform, the better you fight, the more money you’re gonna make. We make this comparison to boxing and MMA a lot, but I don’t think boxers are getting paid a lot of money at the lower ends of their careers. But I’m not too sure about that.”
Cannonier’s win at UFC Vegas 34 was a bounce-back victory following his UFC 254 set back to former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. He has won four of his last five and is currently ranked third in the division’s top-15 rankings.
