Brendan Schaub, a former MMA fighter recently shared his thoughts on UFC superstar Conor McGregor and his earnings, suggesting that McGregor is one of the most underpaid athletes in UFC history.
In a recent video, Schaub expressed his belief that McGregor, despite his massive success outside the octagon, has not been adequately compensated by the UFC for his contributions to the sport.
Brendan Schaub Says UFC Star Conor McGregor is Underpaid
“Nobody’s more underpaid than Conor McGregor,” Schaub said. “Now, no one wants to hear this because you see his whiskey sales, you see him in that movie, you know, Road House, you see him in all this stuff, and he’s making all that money, and you’re like ‘No, he’s set, he’s a damn-near billionaire.’ I get that, but just from – it’s very black and white – from a numbers standpoint, if you look at what Conor’s brought into the UFC money-wise… He’s the most underpaid athlete, probably of all time.”
“Now people say the argument is ‘Well, he wouldn’t be that big if he didn’t have the UFC,'” Schaub continued. “Well, my argument would be the UFC wouldn’t be as big if they didn’t have Conor McGregor, so that’s why there has to be some sort of middle ground.”
Schaub’s commentary sheds light on ongoing debates about fighter compensation in the UFC. As McGregor continues to make waves both inside and outside the octagon, questions about fair compensation for fighters are likely to persist.
The Pay Difference from 2015 to Now
On October 10, 2015, Schaub was a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and announced his retirement from MMA. While he was competing and contributing to the growth at that time, the pay was significantly different even back then as opposed to now. He closed the curtain on his career after two back-to-back defeats to Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne.
In Brendan Schaub’s last UFC outing against Browne he was paid a $32,000, which was his tenth competitive matchup under the company.
Meanwhile, McGregor’s pay over the years has overshadowed that by a significant amount. Despite getting millions of dollars, Schaub believes the Irish native still deserves more.
As Conor McGregor gears up for his return fight against Michael Chandler, which is rumoured for this Summer, time will tell how important the former two weight world champion was to the sport.
What do you think of Brendan Schaub take? Is Conor McGregor being underpaid by the UFC? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
