Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone takes a shot at the UFC over his current pay
For the 17th time in his career as part of the Zuffa family, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone earned a post-fight bonus for his performance, but according to the veteran fighter, he's not very happy with what he's been paid by the UFC.
Cerrone put on an extremely impressive performance on Saturday night as he defeated Patrick Cote by TKO in the third round while earning a "Performance of the Night" bonus for his win.
That $50,000 bonus will feel good in his bank account, but Cerrone took a swipe at the UFC over his pay after his 21st fight inside the Octagon.
According to the most recent figures available, Cerrone earned a reported $152,000 ($76,000 to show, $76,000 to win) for his victory over John Makdessi at UFC 187 in May 2015. Cerrone has fought three times since then, including a title fight against Rafael dos Anjos, but those pay figures were not made available by the athletic commissions of the states where he competed.
Based on the salary figures available prior to the fight with Makdessi, Cerrone earned a reported $140,000 ($70,000 to show, $70,000 to win) against Myles Jury at UFC 182 and $126,000 ($63,000 to show, $63,000 to win) for his fight against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 178. Typically, fighters are paid on a graduating scale with each bout on a contract upping the potential salary an athlete can make.
Apparently Cerrone isn't happy about what he's making based on his current contract, and it appears he's ready to sit down with the UFC to discuss a new one.
The fight with Cote on Saturday was Cerrone's second bout in 2016, and he stated after the win that he'd like to fight again as early as UFC 200 on July 9.
That date is obviously not going to happen unless somebody on the card suffers an injury between now and then, but Cerrone made it clear he's ready to fight again as soon as possible.
As far as the weight class goes, Cerrone is available for welterweight or lightweight so long as the check clears and he gets to fight sooner rather than later.
"I like (155), I like (170)," Cerrone said. "Whatever the fastest trip to the next fight is. So if it's 55 or 70, that's the route I'm going."
