Tim Kennedy (top) has issues with fighter pay. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Tim Kennedy was never one to lay low.
“I’m 100 percent committed to fighting,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s pathetic that so many fighters ... you know, I’m like one of the top three percent paid guys in the whole entire sport, and, you know, it would be slim pickings to survive off what I make in fighting. I think it’s just the nature of the beast, and I think a lot of guys would second what I’m saying. Fighter pay is always the hot topic of conversation, especially once post-fight pay purses come out.
“People are like, ‘Holy cow, that guy made $60,000? Woah, he’s so rich.’ I’m like, ‘$60,000? Well, you pay 35 percent taxes on that and then you pay 50 percent between your coaches, your manager, training expenses, your medical, your nutrition,” he added. “That $60,000 is really like 10 or 12 [thousand] once everything is said and done, so, you know, good luck surviving. Let’s say you fight three times a year on $36,000 a year; that’s insane. So, yeah, it’s good to have another job because the UFC doesn’t pay very well.”
Kennedy has won seven of his past nine bouts, losing only to former Strikeforce champions Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold. He has not been finished in more than a decade.
Items of interest on the Sherdog.net forums this week:
Pay Grade
‘Spider’ Not Surprised
Submission Savant
Looks Matter
Twenty-Minute Man
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