At UFC 196 earlier this month Nate Diaz shocked the world as he picked up a 2nd round submission win over Conor McGregor. The win for Diaz was undoubtably the biggest of his professional career, and according to UFC President Dana White, made him a millionaire.
Following the win, UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald, who defeated Diaz back in 2011, spoke on The MMA Hour to discuss Diaz’s massive win and massive payday.
“That’s awesome. I’m super happy for him, man. I hope everybody gets paid like that, especially guys who’ve been around for so long. I’ve seen a couple of his fight numbers after, and I was absolutely pissed. I was like, how is a guy like this making that money, you know?
“I feel the same way about my fights too. Sometimes I look at the numbers, I’m like, what the f**k, man? How am I getting paid that. So when you hear something like that, it makes you happy for martial artists.”
The issue of fighter pay is one that is being discussed more and more, especially following the UFC’s deal with Reebok, which has brought criticism from many top ranked fighters.