Max Holloway urges UFC fighters to work together for increased pay

Max Holloway hopes UFC fighters can get together to push for better pay.

With the UFC's new Paramount deal, fighters have already seen an increase in bonuses, which went from $50,000 to $100,000. However, Zuffa Boxing paying Conor Benn $10 million for a one-fight deal sparked plenty of concern from UFC stars such as Sean O'Malley and Michael Page.

Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) used Jon Jones' failed negotiations to fight Francis Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight title in 2021 as an example, in which Jones said $8-10 million would not be enough. Derrick Lewis jumped in and said he'd fight Ngannou for $8 million, and Holloway says fighters can't be doing that.

"One time that will always stick out to my mind was when – I love Derrick Lewis, he's the man, but when Jon Jones said, 'I’ll fight Francis, give me $10 million,' or whatever it was, and the UFC said, 'Hell no, we're not paying you that,'" Holloway said in an interview on Demetrious Johnson's YouTube Channel.

"Derrick Lewis I believe was ranked at the time and he said, 'What? Jon is doing this for 10, Give me a mil and I'll fight Francis now.' We cannot be doing that, brother. You needed to be almost stand in Jon's corner, and be like, 'Yeah Jon, you deserve $10 million, go get that 10.' Because guess what, if he's fighting for ten, your base pay probably comes up too. I hope that these new fighters coming in, just know your worth."

Holloway returns to action when he defends his BMF title in a rematch against Charles Oliveira (36-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC), which headlines Saturday's UFC 326 (Paramount+) event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Max Holloway: UFC fighters need to work together to increase pay