- Dan Hardy is certain he’ll never make the same amount of money he’d get from boxing Diego Sanchez in the UFC
- “The Outlaw” lashed out at the way the UFC pays its fighters
UFC veterans Dan Hardy and Diego Sanchez are set to square off in an exhibition boxing match on July 2. Leading up to his return, Hardy discussed, and ranted about, how the UFC couldn’t pay him the money he’s about to make.
Earning peanuts from the UFC
In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Hardy said he and Sanchez were fortunate to have been given the opportunity to resurge and make some good money at the same time.
More importantly, “The Outlaw” pointed out that even if he sums up all his career earnings from the UFC, it wouldn’t equate to what he’s about to pocket from fighting Sanchez in an exhibition match.
“This is the turning of the tide when people like Diego and I, we make a bit of money toward the end of our career, because this is what we do, we’re prize fighters and people put a prize on the table – the one that’s standing at the end takes the prize,” Hardy explained. “Then we move on and we open up our own gyms and keep this sport moving forward, because the skin suits at the top aren’t going to do it. They’re going to keep lining their pockets.
“You could add all my paychecks together from the UFC and I’m still making more doing this,” Hardy continued. “The honest truth is this is a good middle ground financially, because what we were being offered for MMA was pitiful, and what was being offered for bare-knuckle was three times what we were being offered for exhibition boxing. I could either fight him in MMA, and we’d have to fight four or five times to make the same money, or I could fight him in bare-knuckle and do lots of really serious damage to him.”
There’s way more money outside the UFC
Hardy went on to exclaim about how the UFC has made tons of money over the years but never let its fighters get a fair share. For the 39-year-old, big-name UFC stars such as Nate Diaz could certainly make more money outside the promotion.
“Can you imagine how much the skin suits sitting cageside were making off the fact that I was selling all those tickets for them,” Hardy added. “That angers me right now. It angers me, the amount of money they’ve made off people like Diego, and these good promoters come along and put on shows and look after us in ways that we were never looked after by the promotion that was setting the stage for the sport as it is today. It’s embarrassing, to be honest.
“Look at Nate Diaz, for example… I know he’s making decent money with the UFC, but can you imagine what he’d be worth in a couple of fights outside the UFC. It’s crazy. And somebody’s making that money.
“We all know it — $175 million for Crypto.com [sponsorship], that money’s going in people’s pockets, and it’s not building the sport, and we all live off the sport. This is what we do and what we love, and there’s people skimming massive amounts of money off the top of it, and we’re all sitting here watching it.”
A lot has been said about how the UFC has been getting the lion’s share in the money generated by its fighters. Prior to Hardy, YouTuber-turned-pro boxer Jake Paul has already been throwing shades at the company for the same reason.
