UFC veteran Nate Diaz reportedly made over $1 million thanks to his UFC 196 victory over Conor McGregor, making March 5th by far the biggest payday of his 29-fight career.
Some fighters might feel a strong pang of jealousy upon hearing such information, but not Diaz’s former opponent Rory MacDonald.
“I’m super happy for him, man,” MacDonald said on The MMA Hour. “I hope everybody gets paid like that, especially a guy who’s been around for so long.”
UFC welterweight contender MacDonald revealed yesterday he will be testing free agency when his UFC contract expires after his next fight, after he was unable to agree on terms with UFC bosses when negotiating a new contract.
As a fighter who is unhappy with his current salary, Rory sympathized with Diaz when he saw his former opponent had been paid just $40,000 ($20K to show, $20K to win) for his extremely impressive UFC on Fox 17 victory over top lightweight contender Michael Johnson.
“I’ve seen a couple of his fight numbers and I was absolutely p**sed. I was like, ‘How is a guy like that making this money?'”
“I feel the same way about my fights, too,” he added. “Sometimes I look at the numbers and I’m like, ‘What the f**k, man? How am I getting paid that?'”
MacDonald is set to face Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 89 on June 18th.
