Tyron Woodley voiced his frustrations with him and Demetrious Johnson getting paid the same as Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone during their time with the UFC.
In March 2021, Woodley suffered a first-round submission loss against Vicente Luque in his last fight under the UFC banner. ‘The Chosen One’ left the promotion with a 9-6-1 record, including three successful welterweight title defenses against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, Demian Maia, and Darren Till.
Since parting ways with the UFC, the former University of Missouri wrestler has repeatedly trashed Dana White and other promotional executives for how he was treated. The 41-year-old recently did an interview for Demetrious Johnson’s YouTube channel and continued to open up about his grievances.
During their extended conversation, Woodley began discussing UFC fighter pay and why he left the promotion. ‘The Chosen One’ had this to say about wanting to leave earlier than he did because he was aware of what other fighters were getting paid:
“I was going to leave the UFC after [fighting] Darren Till. I told them, f*cking cut me dog, ya’ll don’t want me here. Why ya’ll keep holding on to me, dog? We keep fighting and sh*t every fight because you know how I was, I was a gorilla…I knew the numbers so well. I knew what everybody was making.”
Woodley continued by referencing Cowboy Cerrone as a fighter who he believes shouldn’t have been getting paid the same as him:
“I’m not finna go out there and be making the same as Cowboy Cerrone. That motherf*cker ain’t never touch gold in his life. That’s just a principle thing. Sometimes when you’re an African American in this game, they think you should just be appreciative. I’m not just appreciative, I’m thankful that you gave me an opportunity, but you didn’t give me the gifts god gave me, I’m thankful to him.”
Tyron Woodley claims he argued with the UFC about Demetrious Johnson also getting paid the same as Cowboy Cerrone
Demetrious Johnson has not trashed the UFC like Tyron Woodley, but the former flyweight champion considers himself an unappreciated superstar. During the previously mentioned interview, Tyron Woodley had this to say about allegedly getting into arguments with the UFC brass over what ‘Mighty Mouse’ was being paid:
“I argued with [the UFC] over you [Demetrious Johnson] a couple times. It ain’t have sh*t to do with me, but I was like, nah. I was talking numbers, I’m like, when you go to basketball, it don’t matter if Steph Curry throwing a Monster can at somebody dome or bust a window out. He can pull a three, he can pull a three, he gonna get paid top dollar.”
Woodley continued by once again referencing Cowboy Cerrone in comparison to what ‘Mighty Mouse’ was paid at the time:
“You got DJ who got eight titles, but you gonna pay Cowboy Cerrone the same as him? Cowboy was making 350. He never touched gold ever. So, your reason behind him making $350,000 per fight is that he never complains, he takes any fight that you offer him, he’ll even fight injured, he’ll even fight last-minute notice. That don’t work for me.”
Tyron Woodley has fought in two boxing matches against Jake Paul since leaving the UFC. Although he lost both, ‘The Chosen One’ allegedly received career-best paydays. Woodley has called for a rematch against Paul in MMA, but it’s unclear if the matchup will materialize.
Watch Tyron Woodley’s interview with Demetrious Johnson below:
1 thought on “Tyron Woodley Trashes The UFC For Paying Him And Demetrious Johnson The Same As Cowboy Cerrone: ‘He Never Touched Gold Ever’”
It’s about star power, brand recognition, how much does the person or character move the needle, bring extra eyeball$ to the event. Cowboy was authentic, had real wars in the octagon and was one of the most popular fighters in MMA history. I get the championship argument but what’s it say when he gets same paper just doing his thing. Mighty mouse was or is insanely skilled, it’s just the smallest weight class has always been at bottom. Woodley, outside of couple fights wasn’t the most entertaining. Nothing wrong with guys being rewarded for stepping up. No sense crying over another man’s paper.