Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has publicly questioned the alleged $15 million payout that Zuffa Boxing is giving British boxer Conor Benn, claiming it exhibits how far more top-level boxing pays than the UFC. O’Malley remains to be lively within the Octagon and is extensively referred to as one of many promotion’s largest stars, however regardless of constructing a mainstream identify via UFC essential occasions and social media, O’Malley stated his per-fight earnings aren’t even near that.
Sean O’Malley: How Conor Benn’s $15 million Zuffa Boxing contract exposes the UFC’s pay disparity
O’Malley advised listeners on his podcast and YouTube channel, “I do not even know who Conor Benn is…It is loopy how he works so laborious within the UFC and builds this identify and creates this character and turns into this star. I am making $15 million a battle. Though he careworn that the information in regards to the numbers got here from another person and can’t be confirmed, he nonetheless finds it laborious to simply accept {that a} fighter he does not acknowledge might command such numbers in a single battle below the Zuffa Boxing banner led by Dana White.
O’Malley identified that Benn reportedly signed a one-fight cope with Zuffa Boxing, the UFC’s new boxing arm overseen by UFC president Dana White, with the backing of Saudi promoter Turki Alarusik. Veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael reported that the contract was price $15 million per look, a determine that instantly prompted comparisons to UFC pay. Within the UFC, even champions usually mix base pay, bonuses, and pay-per-view shares to reach at the same complete for a number of fights.
O’Malley acknowledged that boxing’s construction permits promoters to compete for fighters, which might result in larger costs than the UFC mannequin, the place one promotion dominates the principle stage and faces antitrust scrutiny over suppressing fighters’ pay. He additionally identified that he has much more social media followers than Benn, which additional strengthens his disbelief that the British boxer is being positioned as a big-ticket acquisition.
his UFC scenario, O’Malley stated his present contract has two fights left and must be renegotiated, including, “The UFC does not like folks combating over contracts. Technically it must be larger than my final contract as a result of I am successful.”
