Top 5 Forum Threads of the Week

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Tim Kennedy was never one to lay low.

The outspoken middleweight on June 25 took aim at the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its pay scale for fighters in an interview with Place to Be Nation’s “Grapple Talk” podcast. The 33-year-old Kennedy will make his promotional debut against 10-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Roger Gracie at UFC 162 on July 6 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“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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