Nate Diaz pocketed a cool $2 million just to show up to his fight against Conor McGregor at UFC 202.
Everyone on the UFC’s roster took note of this staggering figure. Suddenly, the athletes began to realise how big the UFC’s cash-filled pie had swollen to, and all the fighters in the lighter divisions wanted to get their slice while it was still hot.
That’s why well-established fighters such as Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber have actively campaigned to get their shot at the acerbic-tongued Irish man in the past. The numbers don’t lie and no matter how much earnings you’ve amassed throughout your career, a McGregor payday is a tough one to turn down.
10 things you need to know about the man hoping to stop Conor McGregor from achieving history https://t.co/fH1MgJTllM
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 6, 2016
The next man set for his Red Panty Night is lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who’ll be defending his belt in UFC 205’s main event in Madison Square Garden in November. The promotion’s New York debut was a huge event anyway, but when that headline act got booked, it became a potential record-shatterer.
However, as McGregor pointed out at the official press conference, the undisputed 155 lb king’s purse won’t be as astronomically huge as you might expect.
“He got it done by signing his last contract. He didn’t even negotiate new money for himself. Imagine that. Look at everybody up here, they’re all dressed like me, they’re all trying to talk like me, they’re all trying to be me. Everyone in the game wants this fight. This is the lottery fight and this man took it on his last contract.”
Alvarez didn’t deny this claim, but rather re-iterated that he took this fight because it was “easy money,” suggesting that it s true. While that may seem unfair considering how much Diaz earned in his sequel bout against McGregor, Chael Sonnen explained during a recent episode of his podcast, ‘You’re Fired’, that the Stockton native’s case was very different.
“Look, if you’re fighting Conor McGregor that’s going to bring in a ton of money, but your deal is your deal. When you are in Nate’s spot it was a little bit different. What was the first fight? Nine or 11 days notice? He gets called last minute he gets to come to the table and say. ‘You’re putting a gun to my head, let me put a gun back to yours,’ and the UFC go, ‘Yeah, you’re right. This isn’t a straight-line deal here. We’re kind of in a jam.'”
The American Gangster brought up a very valid point during his spiel. Although it was probably second nature to assume Alvarez took the fight with the intent of getting paid lavishly for it, he never actually mentioned the almighty dollar while he was campaigning for it.
“Eddie Alvarez is the champion of the world. Eddie Alvarez doesn’t get to complain about anybody. As a matter of fact, Eddie Alvarez came on this very show and said, ‘I want to fight Conor McGregor.’ Eddie never said he wanted to fight him to make a whole bunch of money and this and that. He said, ‘I can throw Conor down, I can kick his ass and I know I can do it. Give me the shot and I’ll prove it.'”
A high-profile example of this tactic coming off is when Chris Weidman turned down a new offer when he faced Anderson Silva the first time. The All-American had one fight left on his contract, but his reasoning was that the promotion would want to pay him a lot more once he had beaten the seemingly invincible champion. Weidman knocked him out, and he got paid.
Although Alvarez won’t be getting a huge amount in disclosed earnings, Sonnen pointed out that there was much more than just a fatter wallet to be gained from fighting on this event. He also reckons the UFC will make sure that he gets justly rewarded for taking the bout, even if they don’t do it publicly.
“Eddie is going to get a bonus. He’s from PA, he’s an east-coast guy, he belongs on that card. Eddie Alvarez has his deal. He will get taken care of on the back-side. I don’t think it would be appropriate if Eddie went ‘Give me Conor,’ and they’re like ‘Alright, we’ll give you Conor,’ and he goes ‘Give me a bunch more money.’ (They would respond) ‘Wait, what do you want here? You’ve got a contract with us, you’re our champion, we gave you the opportunity to become champion and now we’re letting you defend the belt in MSG. Where’s this ‘more money’ talk coming from?'”
A burning issue in MMA right now is the subject of fighters pay. A lot of athletes on the roster saw the promotion get sold for billions and they want to see some of that profit, even if they already have time left on their current deals. Sonnen couldn’t disagree with this attitude more.
“I’m getting a little tired of guys, and Eddie didn’t do this, singing a God-damn deal and not understanding it’s a deal. A deal is a deal. I don’t know anybody who has ever done a deal with the UFC and has walked out of the room mad. Now I know a ton of guys that once they get their push and they get their media they get a little big for their britches and they think they’re worth more than they are and they want a whole bunch of money.”
“Guys, that’s what business is. That’s why we gave you these opportunities, that’s why we put you in front of media, so we as a company can earn a profit. Where in the hell did that become a bad thing and why are guys trying to renegotiate a deal that they were happy with when they first got it?”
Sonnen praised Alvarez for not following this blueprint, but instead trying to prove his worth the old fashioned way – inside the Octagon.
“I’m refreshed by Eddie Alvarez, he goes ‘I want to beat this guy. I looked as his skill-set. He says he’s the champ. I got 12 lbs of gold that says I’m the champ, so let’s fight.’ Great! Well then let’s fight!”
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