Mark Hunt waits for a start of a round in a heavyweight bout against Alistair Overeem of the Netherlands during UFC 209 at T-Mobile Arena on March 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Mark Hunt hit out at the UFC for not paying their stars properly
MMA legend and former UFC star Mark Hunt didn’t mince his words as he ripped into his former promotion.
The New Zealand star was speaking exclusively to MMA Unhinged and was asked about the pay issues in the UFC.
Hunt and the UFC have been locked in legal battles for years and he wants the Muhammad Ali act to be brought into MMA. However, he started off by saying that the UFC didn’t treat him fairly:
“No, I wasn’t treated fairly to be honest. For him [Dana White], doing what he is doing, he has been doing it for a long time.
“He has been doing the same thing for years and at the end of the day, people are starting to realise that 20% of the revenue share is jack s***, to be honest.”
Hunt was then asked about his lawsuits against the UFC but didn’t want to speak too much on it. He did confirm that his personal lawsuit against the UFC would come to an end soon. However, there still was a class action lawsuit in the works.
The legend suggested that the UFC isn’t keen on bringing in the Ali act which would increase the revenue share with the fighters to close to 40%-50%.
“People are starting to realise that it’s not really a prestigious title they want to fight for and there is no money involved in it.
“There is money involved but they aren’t getting a fair share. That’s the problem.”
Hunt was reminded that top stars such as Jorge Masvidal and Jon Jones had spoken about a lack of money to the UFC fighters. He was asked if he sided with them, and the New Zealand star agreed:
“These [UFC] fighters are complete fighters. Why shouldn’t they be getting Anthony Joshua money and Tyson Fury money?”
Hunt claimed that top boxers can earn more than $10million for winning a fight and wanted Masvidal, Jones and the other UFC stars to earn similar amounts too.
The 35-year-old also wanted the Ali act to be brought in to make it transparent to how much a fighter can make in MMA promotions.
Hunt hit out at White regarding how he was dismissed from the UFC. However, the Kiwi legend is set to return to action soon. Hunt claimed that he could fight Paul Gallen in October and believed he had six fights left in him.
Hunt suggested that he could return to the MMA Octagon too. However, his fight against Gallen would be a boxing match for now.
This was an exclusive interview from MMA Unhinged. For more exclusive interviews and content please follow the link.
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