Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight Sam Albee doesn’t think a fighter’s pay is that much of an issue.
Albie competed in the UFC from 2014 to 2023, compiling a 10-13-1 record in the promotion, but ended his tenure with an 0-8-1 record. Despite his struggles, the UFC kept him around. He is grateful for this, knowing that the promotion pays its fighters what they deserve.
Required credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“The UFC is paying us more than we deserve,” Sam Alvey told Ultimate Punching (via MMAFighting). “You have these superstars. [Justin] with gazi [Max] The Holloway family and the John Jones family, they’re getting paid what they’re entitled to. However, most of the cards pay us far more than they are worth. ”
Some fighters complain about pay, but Albee isn’t one of them. Instead, he said he was treated more than fairly and put the points on his first win in the UFC and the compensation he received.
“My first win in the UFC ended in Australia,” Albie said. “They flew me and my corner there, and they flew my opponent there too. Once we got off the plane, they gave us $1,000. , they got off the plane and gave them $1,000. “We did the math, and by the time our fight is over, the UFC will probably spend $50,000 to $70,000 on our fight. , we didn’t get a dime. I mean, no one tuned in to watch “Smilin” Sam Alvey. No one tuned in to watch Dylan Andrews. They still paid me $70,000, or they paid “us” $70,000 to let us fight. It’s an incredible amount. We hadn’t done anything to deserve it. ”
Sam Alvey says UFC is betting on fighters
Sam Albee pointed out that some UFC fighters fail to become stars and are dropped from the promotion after a few fights, which actually cost the UFC money.
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As a result, when fighters enter the UFC, they end up getting paid more than they should because not many fans know about the debuting fighters, Albee said.
“They paid money in hopes of becoming Max Holloway or Conor McGregor or ‘Smilin’ Sam, like we ended up with,” continued Sam Alvey. . “But they are betting big on it initially.
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“As you move up the rankings, your paychecks go up and up. Nowadays, the number of people who watch the UFC is also overrated. , even though it’s surrounded by the UFC, it’s still a very small sport in the grand scheme of things.”
“The biggest event imaginable, it was Conor vs. Khabib.” [Nurmagomedov], it ended up at MGM, and there were about 15,000 to 17,000 people there. The NBA draws close to 50,000 spectators for a worthless midseason game. It’s funny to compare sports. They pay us more than our fair share and take great risks with every fighter they have. ”
Since being released from the UFC, Albie has competed in karate combat.
