UFC Veteran Matt Brown Says Fighters, Not Dana White, Are To Blame For Poor Pay

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Fighter pay has long been a hot-button issue in the UFC, with multiple big-name fighters even leaving the company due to what they believed was unfair pay.

But UFC veteran Matt Brown, who recently announced his retirement after an historic career, says that the fighters, not the company, are to blame for the lack of pay raises.

Brown says that UFC fighters have repeatedly turned down the opportunity to organize and negotiate for higher pay.

“It’s hard to expect the UFC to just be completely fair about it,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “They’re running a business, and they run it very f—— well. They’ve done an amazing job building their business. I think 99 percent of people in their shoes would be doing very similar to what they’re doing.

“Does that make it right? That’s up to each person to decide on their own. I think it’s just way more complex than people give it credit for.”

Matt Brown Says UFC Fighters Are Afraid To Go Up Against The Company

Brown says that fighters know that the UFC is only trying to maximize profits. But he claims that fighters haven’t held the company accountable or worked to collectively bargain for better pay.

“If anybody is to blame for fighter pay, it’s the fighters — and I’m one of them, at least formerly,” Brown said. “I never fought against the UFC about my pay. You’ve seen on Instagram, Twitter, different interviews where the fighters stick up for the UFC.

“I’ve never heard of a business in my life where the employees — if you want to call us employees or even subcontractors — where they’re going to say, ‘I shouldn’t be paid more, they’re paying me a perfect amount of money.’ That is so unbelievable to me.”

Brown, whose 15 fight finishes ranked fourth all-time in the UFC, says that fighters often believe it’s a waste of time to even try to go up against the company.

“Look, I’ve always been happy with how the UFC’s treated me, I like them,” he said. “There’s no hate against them at all, but if I thought sticking up for myself and fighting with them about pay would get me paid more, I would absolutely do it in a heartbeat. I only question if guys are saying that because we know the amount of power that [UFC] have.

“If you try fighting against [UFC], your chances of getting more pay just get diminished. You’re just lowering your chances of getting more pay. So of course you publicly stick up for them even though something in the back of your head is saying, ‘d—-, this isn’t really what I want.’”