Jake Paul hits out at Conor McGregor rival's purse for huge UFC fight
Jake Paul has urged fighters to "wake up" after UFC legend Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone revealed he did not enjoy a bumper payday when he fought Conor McGregor at UFC 246.
Cerrone was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last year, having retired from the sport in 2022 after losing to Jim Miller at UFC 276. However, his most high-profile fight came in 2020 when he welcomed McGregor back to the octagon for the Irishman's first bout since his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
McGregor was well and truly the sport's biggest star at the time and his disclosed payout for the fight, which he won by TKO in 40 seconds, was $3million (£2.3m) according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He also earned a $50,000 (£39,000) performance of the night bonus and pay-per-view points, with McGregor claiming he ultimately made $80m (£63m) from the event.
Cerrone, however, was paid just $200,000 (£157,000) and admitted in an appearance on the Rodeo Time podcast that he did not attempt to renegotiate for more money ahead of the fight. "Kudos to Conor. What a good dude and what a name to make for yourself, that's what I'm talking about," he said.
"The well-oiled machine, he deserves $100 million, he went out there and did that. Good for you. Everyone thinks I got super paid on that [fight]. I did not. You're contracted, you have a contract, it's what it is... I would always sign — which is unheard of — eight-fight deals.
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"Most people do one, two, three, but I knew I wanted to fight eight times a year, so an eight-fight deal for me was a year, half a year. So I was on those eight-fight deals, I'm locked into that. It's not like, three fights in I can be like, 'Time to renegotiate because I'm fighting Conor.'
"No. You still have four more fights on your contract, this is what you're getting paid. So everyone was like, 'Red panty night, you got paid.' No, I didn't. I got paid what I always got paid, which is good.
"I ain't complaining. I'm not making s*** up saying, 'Dana, he owes me money.' I made great money. In my career, I made $10 million (£7.8m). I'm good."
However, YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul believes Cerrone deserved to be paid much more than $200,000 for the fight, having become a high-profile critic of UFC president Dana White over fighter pay.
"Fighters need to wake up," Paul wrote on social media in response to Cerrone's comments. "Cowboy is a legend. Put in years and years of work. Massive name and veteran for MMA. That event probably did $80M in revenue."
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