Fighter pay in the UFC has been the subject of controversy for years, with many arguing that the promotion’s participants are grossly underpaid given the huge income that the company generates.

The UFC signed a massive $7.7 billion US rights deal with Paramount+ last year and that windfall reopened the debate about fighter compensation in a big way.

Matchroom Boxing promoter (and talent agent) Eddie Hearn recently went on record to state that his client Tom Aspinall was “extremely unhappy” with his UFC contract. Hearn went as far as to ask UFC CEO Dana White to release the company’s reigning heavyweight champion.

“I would like Dana White to release Tom Aspinall from his UFC contract. Tom is extremely unhappy.

UFC Fighter Pay Explored

GIVEMESPORT recently spoke exclusively to 14-fight UFC veteran Brad Pickett, in association with 247Bet. As one of the pioneers of British MMA representation in the UFC, ‘One Punch’ admitted he was saddened by the apparent breakdown in relations between Aspinall and the UFC.

Tom has fought just once in almost two years. That bout came at UFC 321 last October, where he suffered a gruesome eye injury thanks to an accidental eye poke from Ciryl Gane. The pair’s heavyweight title clash was ruled a no contest and Dana White vowed to book an immediate rematch.

However, with Aspinall not being cleared to return to training yet, the company has instead booked an interim heavyweight title fight between Gane and Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 later this month.

With the company now set to move the division forward in Aspinall’s absence, Pickett explained why the fighter’s decision to link up with Hearn as his manager was a double-edged sword.

“As for Tom, I feel really bad for this guy. He doesn’t seem like he can catch a break. But also, sometimes I do think he makes some interesting decisions.

“I think signing Eddie Hearn can be good for him in a lot of ways, but also can be very bad for him in a lot of ways. I think it’s going to get the UFC’s back up a little bit and, like I say, they’ll say you don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you.”

UFC Veteran Reveals ‘Truth’ About Fighter Pay

Pickett competed 14 times in the UFC Octagon between 2011 and 2017. Rarely in a boring contest, Dana White was a big fan of the former Cage Rage Featherweight Champion. During his time with the company, Brad earned five Performance of the Night bonuses for his efforts inside the cage.

He went on to speak about his pay during his own UFC career, and he offered a unique perspective on the harsh realities of trying to make a living in the sport.

“It’s public that there was a lawsuit against the UFC about underpaid fighters. I was one of them in that time. If you fought between the years 2010 to 2017 with the UFC, you’ve been compensated for what you got paid in those certain times. So that’s been done, settled, everyone got paid.

The Londoner continued:

“There are no other shows paying a lot of money, if that makes sense. And also now, if you think about MMA, the UFC is still the highest-paid promotion. You earn the most money fighting in the UFC. In the UFC, you can potentially fight two or three times a year, so there’s always that.

Social media superstar Jake Paul recently entered the MMA industry with his Most Valuable Promotions company, staging Ronda Rousey’s 17-second victory over Gina Carano.

‘The Problem Child’ has long been a critic of the UFC pay structure, but Pickett pointed out that delivering regular opportunities for fighters to compete [and get paid] is no easy task.

“Don’t get me wrong, you can come out of the UFC and earn good money, like the MVP cards. Of course, people earn some great money. But when’s the next show?

“I’ll give you some perspective. You’re a tradesman, right? You could either work for yourself and try and pick up work where you can here and there, and probably get paid more for the work, or go to an agency that gives you work every day. So you get constant work, or you’re not too sure when you’re working next.

“The UFC is going nowhere. So if I turn to the UFC, I know if I fight and do well, I have a job!”

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Lamine Yamal is attempting to follow in the footsteps of the greatest footballer ever, Lionel Messi, and is doing an admirable job.

The young Spaniard is among the best players in the world today, and could even put himself in contention for the 2026 Ballon d’Or if he guides his country to 2026 World Cup glory over the summer. At just 18 years old, he’s ridiculously good.

Yamal has just snapped up the 2025-26 La Liga Player of the Season award after playing a major role in Barcelona’s successful title defence. The winger already has over 100 goal contributions for his club in just 151 senior appearances.

Patrice Evra Thinks He Would Deal With Yamal Easily

One man who thinks he would’ve had no issues against the tricky winger in his prime is Manchester United legend Patrice Evra. The former French full-back is extremely confident, even claiming he’d ‘eat him alive’.

In a recent interview, the man who made 349 appearances for the Red Devils told Yamal to just ask Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He said:

There aren’t many defenders on the planet who would be confident in saying the wonderkid wouldn’t get the better of them. Evra is among the best defenders in Premier League history, having won five Premier League titles and one Champions League.

On the way to that European trophy in the 2007-08 campaign, United faced Barcelona in the semi-final, and none other than Messi. The Argentine was still young at the time, but was already building a reputation as one of the hardest players to face in world football, much like Yamal is now.

Patrice Evra: I Dealt With Messi ‘Easily’

Speaking on The Overlap in 2024, Gary Neville asked his former colleague about his battles with Messi in both legs of that semi-final in 2008. The ex-France international put in an impressive display as United stopped Barca from scoring in either match.

“For me, as a defender, it was easy to catch Messi, the only problem was when he played in the middle part. When he was on my side, it was fine, but when he played in the middle and you came late, he would destroy anyone,” Evra explained.

However, he was on the losing side in three Champions League finals against Messi. The Argentine superstar scored in the 2009 and 2011 finals and played a significant role as Barca defeated Juventus in 2015. Directly against Evra in all three games, although drifting into the pockets as the ex-United man pointed out, it’s safe to say Messi won the battle overall.

Tottenham cult hero Steffen Freund believes that Erling Haaland would be the dream signing for Roberto De Zerbi this summer, stating that what Spurs already have in attack is “not good enough”.

Spurs escaped a shock relegation to the Championship by the skin of their teeth on the final day of the Premier League season by beating Everton 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and condemning rivals West Ham to the second tier instead.

De Zerbi has already made hs first move in the summer transfer window – signing a player Spurs almost brought in in January, by agreeing a deal for Andy Robertson to join on a free transfer from Liverpool.

Man City threatened Real Madrid with legal action over Haaland

Having been brought in to rescue the club at the end of March, De Zerbi has been working with a squad that was not his own and he will now want to use the summer transfer window to make his own changes and improvements.

Haaland is never going to make the move from Manchester City to Spurs, with the Citizens threatening Real Madrid with legal action this week after it emerged that presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme said he would sign the Norwegian if he arrived at the club.

But Freund knows that is where Spurs need to strengthen and he even named three players who should probably move on this summer too.

In a blog for Betway, he said: “I would take Erling Haaland, the best striker in the Premier League. Don’t forget, they lost Harry Kane and Heung-min Son. Those two players did a huge job and that’s why Spurs were always in Europe or in the Champions League, even the Champions League final. They came close to silverware, but they were always top six and maybe top four.

Spurs stars are not good enough for De Zerbi

Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

“But I think a top striker is so helpful. Ask Vincent Kompany at Bayern [Munich] about Harry Kane. That’s why I would take Haaland, because he’s young, physically strong, and he will score goals.

“You can see it with Richarlison, [Randal] Kolo Muani, [Dominic] Solanke, are they good enough to bring Spurs back to the top six? At the moment, I would say no.

“They were too inconsistent with all of those players, so it is up to De Zerbi to get them back to the top level. Did they play all the games successfully? No. So that is why I would take Haaland.”