Cannonier demands million-dollar UFC deals after seven years in the top ten

Jared Cannonier has gone public with his frustration over UFC fighter pay, insisting that his decade-long career across three divisions and a sustained run inside the top ten of the middleweight rankings justifies a dramatic pay rise.

The 42-year-old, who faces Christian Leroy Duncan (14-2) in the co-main event of UFC Oklahoma City in what will be his 21st Octagon appearance, told Full Send MMA that the current compensation structure falls well short of what top-level fighters deserve.

“I would love to get paid more,” Cannonier said. “I would love all of us MMA fighters to get paid more. But there is big differentiation in skill level, even in the UFC. I think the UFC pays based on merit, how you perform, A, how you market yourself, B. I would like to get paid as much as the highest-performing athletes in any sport get paid.”

Cannonier, nicknamed “The Killa Gorilla”, has competed in the UFC since 2015 and spent the better part of seven to eight years ranked among the division’s elite, including a middleweight title challenge. Despite that pedigree, he says his contracts have remained in the six-figure range — a figure he considers well beneath his market value.

“I think I should have million-dollar contracts, not $100,000 contracts and stuff — at the stage that I’m in,” he said. “I’ve been top five, top ten for about seven to eight years. I’m not complaining, but this is definitely how I feel. I’m not gonna hold back my voice and my opinion.”

Cannonier also pointed to the erosion of fighter sponsorship income following the UFC’s policy change more than a decade ago, which he argues compounded the financial squeeze on athletes. “We used to get a bunch of sponsors; we still get sponsors, but the changing of the landscape changed that for us,” he said. “And it didn’t leave us with much of anything at the end. Fighters are definitely at the sh*t end of the stick of this whole business.”

The veteran was careful to frame his comments as honest opinion rather than grievance, but made clear he would not stay quiet on the issue when asked. His upcoming bout against Duncan at UFC Oklahoma City represents another opportunity to strengthen whatever leverage he has heading into future contract negotiations.