Last-Minute Step-In Leads To New UFC Deal For Krause

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James Krause stepped in on a day’s notice to face Trevin Giles in a Middleweight contest last Saturday night (Feb. 8, 2020) at UFC 247 in Houston, Texas after Antonio Arroyo was forced out due to severe cramping.

And though he ended up losing a razor-thin split-decision that could’ve gone the other way due to the inconsistent judging on the night, James has no regrets and would do it all over again.

But not only did Krause pick up an unexpected payday and a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus, he also scored himself a new, higher-paying deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He explained how it all went down on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.

“So 3:45 rolls around and they said I have the fight. And I said, ‘No, no, no, there are things that need to happen. We need to talk about money. I’m not fighting this guy on 18 hours notice, above my weight class on the current contract that I’m on,’” he explained.

“So they worked it out, worked out the details and got on the shuttle and made it a few minutes before weigh-ins.”

According to James, as a result of his team’s negotiating skills, he bagged a brand new contract with a raise attached. And it was his business sense that helped it go through.

“Yes I am very happy with deal, I appreciate UFC doing that for me. These are things that some of the younger guys need to understand. They had 13 spots on the card and one fell off already,” he said.

“And then with Arroyo out, it would have been another one falling out, which would have put UFC in a tough spot given they have to fill the spots for ESPN and for pay-per-view. So it would have put them in a really tough spot if they didn’t have that fight, so I knew I had a good hand.”

For Krause, taking advantage of the unexpected situation is something all up-and-coming fighters need to do if they want to get ahead in the business.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and someone asked me if I thought that UFC would get me back on the next one. And I said, ‘No, this is not what this is.’ The younger fighters need to understand that it is not their job to get us back as fighters,” he explained.

“If you are not happy with the current deal, it is what it is, it’s face value. If you don’t give them what they want now, don’t expect them to get you on the next one.”

Krause also pointed out that his business lesson to all the young fighters is in no way, shape or form a shot at UFC.

“And I’m not saying they don’t take care of me, “explained Krause. “This is not a shot at UFC at all, at all. I am very happy with what we did. I have been very happy with them. I have never made as much money in my entire life, so it’s not a shot. But this is a business and the younger guys don’t understand that,” he said.

“We worked out a deal that gave them a fight and me what I wanted and it was a win-win.”

Prior to the loss, Krause was on a six-fight win streak with the bouts taking place at both Lightweight and Welterweight.

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