Joe Rogan: Fighters ‘should get paid an incredibly generous amount of money’ – but sees business side, too

Joe Rogan: Fighters ‘should get paid an incredibly generous amount of money’ – but sees business side, too

For the past couple weeks, fighter pay has been back at the forefront of MMA conversations.

Several high-profile fighters, including UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and “BMF” belt winner Jorge Masvidal, have raised some eyebrows for spats with the UFC that seem largely focused on how much they’re compensated.

Even when they’re not explicitly mentioning pay, fighters like former two-division champs Conor McGregor and Henry Cejudo announcing their retirements have wound up leading questions of whether they’re really just making a play for new contracts for more money.

The situation has perhaps been amplified by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well, with some fighters potentially thinking they should be paid more to fight under circumstances that are even more risky from a health standpoint than they already were for just getting into a cage fight.

Longtime UFC analyst Joe Rogan probably wasn’t stressing out about money a few months ago, but really isn’t worried about it now after signing a deal with Spotify for his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast reportedly worth $100 million. But that won’t keep him from sticking up for fighters’ concerns about how much they’re getting paid.

“I think they should get paid more,” Rogan said on his podcast. “I think everybody should get paid more. I think it’s a crazy way to make a living. I think you should get the most amount of money you can possibly get.

“But it’s also a business, and I think if they are struggling as much as I think they are – I don’t talk finances with them, but I know the (Endeavor) people who own (the UFC) are hurting, bad. They’re laying people off. Most businesses are hurting. All the entertainment business is (expletive). So what do they do?”

Rogan said the timing for fighters like Jones or Masvidal to ask for more money doesn’t line up with reality for the UFC, given the promotion has had to cancel all live events that would’ve been attended by fans for three months now – and that will continue for the foreseeable future.

That means live gate revenues are out the window, as well as percentages of merchandise and food and beverage sales at events.

“Right now, in particular, there’s probably less money because there’s no live gate,” he said. “And that’s an extreme amount of money. But there’s also fighters that agreed to certain deals. They agreed to, like, an eight-fight deal and ‘X’ amount per fight. And then they become more popular and they want to renegotiate their deal. And the UFC is like, ‘We’re just trying to stay open (during the pandemic). We’re not going to renegotiate anything. You can take it or leave it, but this is what it is.’ I think it’s a matter of that.”

Rogan referenced Jones’ recent beef with UFC president Dana White over Jones’ desire to move to heavyweight to fight Francis Ngannou – a move White apparently isn’t keen on – as one in which he may have a hard time picking a side on.

Jones implied on social media that absent that fight, he’s prepared to not compete – and the spat with White even went so far as to include Jones saying multiple times the UFC should release him from his contract. White said it was about money and how much Jones was asking for, which Jones denied.

“It gets to a situation where a guy like Jon Jones says, ‘Hey, I’ve got a contract for light heavyweight fights, but what do you want to give me to fight Francis Ngannou, because I want a lot of (expletive) money because that guy’s terrifying?’ And they say, ‘You get what you’re paid in your contract.’ And he goes, ‘Well, I’m not fighting, then.’ OK. I don’t know who’s right or who’s wrong,” Rogan said.

Rogan said he thinks it would be best for fighters across the board if the UFC’s competitors – like Bellator, PFL and ONE Championship – are out there and successful. Competition for the UFC is better for everyone, he argues.

At the same time, if there was one giant organization with all fighters under the same umbrella, Rogan thinks it’d be a field day of excitement for fans.

But at the end of the day, if there’s a way to pay fighters more money, Rogan appears to be in favor of it.

“When it comes to me as a human who likes fighting, I know how (expletive) dangerous that (expletive) is,” Rogan said. “You should get paid an incredibly generous amount of money to step into a cage fight for millions of people to see.”