UFC Decides To Pay Fighters From Canceled London Card
The UFC was forced to cancel their London card recently, due to global health concerns. However it seems that they will be paying the fighters at least something to help cover their training expenses.
UFC London was supposed to take place on March 21st, at the O2 Arena. The card was pretty decently stacked, for a fight night card, with several notable names on the bill. However the main event was the bout everyone was talking about, as it featured to return of Tyron Woodley, as he took on England’s own Leon Edwards.
Unfortunately, due to an increasing concern about the state of things in the world, the UFC would ultimately scrap the card. This was not an easy decision for them to make, and it was one that they tried to avoid as much as possible. However with athletic commissions against them, and fighter unable to travel, there was no choice but to cancel the event.
Following this decision, there were questions as to if the UFC would compensate the fighters for their preparation to compete. Other organizations, such as Bellator, offered their fighters their show money when they canceled cards. Therefore there were hopes that similar measures would be taken here.
Now it would appear that at least some of the fighters are being paid by the UFC. Marvin Vettori, who was expected to fight in London, took to Twitter to thank the UFC for taking care of him. Although he is rather vague about what he means by that.
Thank to the @ufc for taking care of me for the London card situation, I’ve been all in from day 1 in this and it’s good to see that even in hard times like these the work im doing is being recognized.
Always ready always working 💯
Thank you @ufc @danawhite @Mickmaynard2— Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) April 1, 2020
Additionally, UFC London co-main eventer Nicholas Dalby seems to understand that the UFC is trying to figure out what to do in the bigger picture. Moreover he says that his manager is in talks with the promotion, and is expecting to be paid as well.
“It’s taking some time and it’s a bit frustrating,” he told MMAFighting. “The first of the month is coming up, and I’ve got bills to pay, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be resolved in a nice way, and if it doesn’t, we’ll take it from there.”
It is honestly good to hear that the UFC is trying to do the right thing by the fighters, and pay them. However a healthy degree of skepticism should be applied until more specific figures are shared, and more fighters open up about getting paid.
