More and more UFC fighters are coming out to reveal their financial struggles. After strawweight Cheyenne Buys previously came out to reveal she’d been “so broke” her entire life “because of this sport,” middleweight Jared Cannonier made a similar comment after his UFC Vegas 34 win over Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday.
“I’m broke, so I need to fight,” Cannonier told Daniel Cormier during the Octagon interview. “Hopefully, I get that title shot, but the right name might make me say yes.”
During his Monday guesting on The MMA Hour, Cannonier shed some light on where his money is going.
“After this win, 60% of my money is already gone. Between the gym, between management, between taxes, on top of that, I’ve got bills, credit cards. I’ve got kids, I have a house up in Alaska, I’ve got a house here, I’ve got car payments. That money goes. The money don’t last forever,” he explained.
“And right now, fighting is our only revenue. I don’t have sponsors or anything like that. Fighting is my only focus. I’m not out here doing commercials or anything like that. Nobody’s asking me to be in the next Marvel movie. And not being able to fight for the last ten months put a strain on my pockets.”
But unlike many of his high-profile contemporaries, Cannonier isn’t blaming the UFC for his current state. In fact, he is perfectly satisfied with what he’s getting paid.
“Everybody’s saying the UFC needs to pay its fighters. In my situation, when I quit my job, I was able to get paid from the UFC to sustain myself. So I’m not here to say, ‘the UFC isn’t paying me!’ because I’m getting paid pretty good from the UFC. It’s just that money don’t last forever,” he said.
“I’m not balling out of control, I’m not splurging or anything like that. I’m not stupid, I don’t spend my money on dumb stuff. But it’s just life, I guess.”
The number three-ranked Cannonier improved to a record of 14-5 after his win over Gastelum.
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