Sean O’Malley’s underwhelming payday after the historic UFC Freedom 250 event has sent shockwaves through the MMA community, and Dana White’s rival, Eddie Hearn, just poured gasoline on the fire.
The former bantamweight champion disclosed he earned roughly $600,000 for his dominant second-round knockout of Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250. O’Malley admitted the lower payout was disappointing compared to his past championship fights. However, he stated he accepted the fight to build his personal brand and grow his businesses outside of the cage.
But the Matchroom Boxing promoter didn’t hold back his reaction because everyone knows the White House card reportedly cost over $60 million to produce.
Eddie Hearn Rips Sean O’Malley’s $600K White House Check
The pay gap at UFC Freedom 250 was crazy. Alex Pereira made a massive $10 million flat, even though he lost his heavyweight fight to Ciryl Gane. Then you had Justin Gaethje, who took home around $2.925 million after knocking out Ilia Topuria for the belt, mostly because White handed him $825,000 just in bonuses.
Next to those multi-million dollar checks, Sean O’Malley’s $600,000 looked like pocket change. That huge gap on a single night is exactly why Eddie Hearn started talking trash about how the UFC takes care of its guys.
“You’ve literally got guys making more for an eight-round fight against a guy that I would beat than Sean O’Malley made fighting at the White House,” Hearn said on the recent episode of “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
He expanded his criticism by highlighting the mindset he believes keeps fighters trapped in low-pay situations, adding, “Those guys need to stop being suppressed. I’m just shocked by the mindset of, ‘Oh well, there’s nothing else we can do, really. It is what it is.
He explained, “There’s a guy fighting on the undercard in the fourth fight who’s making more than you. You need to grow some balls, and you need to start fighting for what’s right for you and your career.”
However, Hearn’s criticism extends beyond one fighter’s paycheck.
Dana White’s Rival Exposes Fighter Suppression by Comparing UFC Pay to Boxing’s Economics
Hearn was talking about a massive structural flaw that favors boxing over MMA. For example, Conor Benn signed a Zuffa Boxing deal worth $15 million.
Hearn pointed out how crazy that is, saying, “Sean O’Malley could walk around New York City and get mobbed. Yet Zuffa Boxing is paying $10 million or $15 million to fighters who could walk around New York and nobody would even know who they are.”
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. In the Forbes highest-paid athletes list, heavy hitters like Canelo Alvarez and Jake Paul are all over it, but you won’t find a single active UFC fighter. To make matters worse, kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven pulled in a $15 million paycheck for a single fight. That one payout alone made the entire UFC 328 card look like waterboys.
Hearn finds this whole pay gap disgusting. He is literally urging UFC fighters to speak up and fight back because the optics of this whole situation are absolutely brutal.
