Georges St-Pierre is Wrong About Fighter Pay in the UFC and Paramount Era – UFC Champion
Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley believes Georges St-Pierre is wrong about how UFC’s new deal could impact fighter pay.
As we know, Georges St-Pierre is one of the greatest of all time. Understandably, he chimes in on certain mixed martial arts issues every so often – including UFC’s blockbuster new deal with Paramount.
Georges St-Pierre believes that this deal, ultimately, could harm the fighters. As noted in an interview with Action Network, fellow welterweight champ Tyron Woodley disagrees.
Tyron Woodley responds to Georges St-Pierre’s comments
“I don’t think the Paramount deal is terrible. If GSP was in the UFC, it would be terrible for him, he was doing well, 500,000, 600,000, a million [buys]. He was doing well with pay-per-view. These other fighters that are champions aren’t breaking the threshold, especially when it’s not the old-school model of ordering with a remote control for $59.99.
“The average person, 50, 60, 70 years old, doesn’t know how to work the ESPN Plus app. They’re having difficulty even figuring out how to stream and put it on their television. They lost some of the people where the technology was too much, and they weren’t moving the needle. There are fights happening every week—so many UFC fights, so many other fights, so many options.
“The average fighter, I don’t want to throw names out because I don’t want to diss anybody, but a Merab, or someone like that, they’re not going to break over 200,000 or 300,000 buys.
“The UFC has to get behind you for you to become a big draw. You can’t become that by yourself. It’s impossible. Even Topuria—they got behind him. You saw him walking out to soccer games. He didn’t just call and ask to walk out; the UFC set that up. You don’t get to 12 million followers by yourself, they put the machine behind you.
“Most fighters were never going to get pay-per-view anyway. They should be thankful that now people can see them for free, and more people can get to know them. They should put their own money behind their brands. When you get a chance to be seen for free, have your own stuff to show people—what you stand for, why it’s important to watch you, your background, your “why,” your spirit. Things unique about you—fashion, cars, esports, whatever you do outside fighting.”
Quotes via Action Network
