Jason Burgos
Recently released UFC veteran Kevin Lee claims his new contract with Eagle FC will pay him more than many of the current champions in his old promotion.
Fighter pay in the UFC has been an ongoing topic of debate for the last decade. As the promotion continues to rake in record profits, their athletes reportedly earn only 10 to 15% of that revenue the pie. It is a stunning number compared to leagues like the NBA and NFL, where players earn 50% or more of the league’s revenue.
Furthering the sad state of pay for many UFC athletes is that several former champions have had to take their talents to Boxing in recent years to find the best paydays of their storied combat sports career. Unfortunately for men like Tyron Woodley and Frank Mir, who held UFC belts during their tenures, record paydays also coincided with embarrassing losses in a sport they were far less qualified in.
Kevin Lee claims Eagle FC will pay him UFC champion-level money
Fortunately for UFC lightweight and welterweight veteran Lee (18-7), he did not have to wait until the back half of his career to land his best paychecks. In November, “Motown Phenom” was surprisingly released from the UFC after an 11-7 run in the promotion.
But Lee wasn’t a free agent for long. As he was scooped up by Khabib Nurmagomedov led promotion Eagle FC a month later and will spearhead their new 165-pound division. Along with being the new face at 165, Lee claims that the promotion boss — and UFC lightweight GOAT — will pay him quite well. So well that it will trump the fight night paydays of several UFC champions.
“People lose their life doing this type of sh*t, so the competitor in me is still up there and still driving. I’m making a bunch of money, though,” Lee told MMAJunkie. “That’s the part I’m not upset about. My contract will make more than most UFC champions see, so that part is kind of nice … I’m going to make more than UFC champions in my first fight, so we’re having fun.”
The base pay for UFC champions, before bonus checks and pay-per-view points, often ranges between $200,000 and $700,000.
Lee makes his Eagle FC debut on March 11 when he faces fellow Octagon veteran and UFC Hall-of-Famer Deigo Sanchez.
