UFC COO lists Jake Paul and two other reasons for recent complaints about fighter pay

UFC COO Lawrence Epstein has a few reasons as to why there have been more complaints about fighter pay.

Recently, fighters like Francis Ngannou have spoken out about UFC fighter pay. ‘The Predator’ has made it very clear that he is unhappy with his current contract. Ngannou was not the only fighter to talk about pay, as many of his colleagues have since claimed the UFC only pays 16% of revenue to fighters, which according to Epstein is not true. Instead, the UFC COO has suggested three reasons as to why people think fighters are underpaid.

“Some of the stuff is completely disingenuous,” Epstein said to Sports Business Journal of the criticism over fighter pay. The UFC COO also believes three primary factors have led to the current situation: Paul’s focus on the issue; fighters going public with contract negotiations to gain public backing they can leverage in the talks; and broader societal shifts in America where workers are demanding higher salaries.

“With Jake Paul, he profits from the attention economy where the more attention you get, the more money you get,” Epstein added.

Image Credit: Showtime Boxing

Although Lawrence Epstein believes Jake Paul is partly to blame for the complaints about fighter pay, the undefeated boxer doesn’t think that is the case. Instead, he says the reason is due to the fact fighters are underpaid but are now feeling comfortable speaking up about it.

“More encouraged, but encouragement isn’t what’s driving this,” Paul said about helping improve fighter pay. “This is about actual change, and we know we’re shaking down the tree and the steps we’re taking. We’re encouraging other MMA fighters and people in UFC such as Francis [Ngannou] to speak out about these topics like health care, so a revolution has started and it’s one small step at a time.”

There is no question the talk of fighter pay will not go away anytime soon, especially if Paul and UFC fighters like Ngannou continue to bring it up.

What do you make of the UFC COO saying, Jake Paul and two other reasons are to blame for complaints over fighter pay?