SUMMARY
- The UFC commentator made a comparison between the top promotions in different sports.
- Further, the light heavyweight contender spoke about how he and his wife needed to have jobs to keep themselves afloat.
Joe Rogan has become renowned for his basic take on numerous matters. However, every now and then, some of his comments come under heavy scrutiny. Such is the case with his recent statements, which were contested by former UFC fighter Corey Anderson.
Recently, Rogan spoke to Bo Nickal in a recent episode of his podcast. Here, the UFC commentator made a comparison between the top promotions in different sports. As such, the comedian and podcaster believes that only the top promotions like the UFC and NFL serve as the ideal ground for budding talents and superstars.
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Whilst a lot of people may agree, it is understandable if the people associated with their contemporary promotions take it as an offense. On Instagram, Anderson hit out at Rogan’s comments. “As someone who spent 7 years in the UFC and left at #4 in the organization….. fans seeing me fight wasn’t enough to pay bills or even begin to set my family up for a future”.
Further, the light heavyweight contender spoke about how he and his wife needed to have jobs to keep themselves afloat. Despite being ranked in the LHW top 10 within his first year, Anderson never broke six figures during his tenure.
To make matters clearer, during his 7 years in the UFC, Corey had 15 fights, with 13 top 15 opponents. Even though the UFC has a valuation of $12.1 billion, they couldn’t pay the fighter a six-figure amount. Thus, he has always supported Bellator for paying him better.
Corey Anderson’s strained relationship with UFC boss, Dana White
In the same response, ‘Overtime’ went on to reveal that he made ‘5x’ more money in his first Bellator fight. As such, this allowed him to free his wife from a job and allow him to fully focus on MMA. Notably, Anderson is not the first Bellator and UFC fighter to dispute how the UFC treats and pays their fighters.
For the most part, Chael Sonnen has always defended Bellator for how much they would pay their fighters. Similarly, former UFC and Bellator fighter Josh Thomson also once stated that the now-sold promotion was paying him close to seven figures. At the time, many relentlessly trolled the fighter-turned-analyst and commentator for trying to make his parent company look good.
It doesn’t bother me that he’s still lyin on my name. Anyone who knows me or knows MMA knows this isn’t true. But what doesn’t sit right with me is the people I consider close to me who have power that knows this isn’t true are sitting quiet. Just know I see you. #thataintloyal https://t.co/xRhP5wsHuf
— Corey ‘Overtime’ Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) August 24, 2020
However, as for Corey Anderson, his problems with the UFC were more than just pay disparities. Previously, in 2019, Anderson had just collected his fourth win in a row with a devastating KO of Johnny Walker. Following that, he suffered a similar fate himself at the hands of Jan Blachowicz in 2020. Soon thereafter, the UFC granted Anderson’s release to Bellator, with Dana White indicating that he would be more competitive there.
Naturally, the demeaning comments did not sit well with Corey Anderson, who publicly lashed out at his former boss. Interestingly, Corey has also had spats with fighters like Jan Blachowicz and Jamahall Hill, who have referred to him as a ‘B league’ fighter. Currently, the 34-year-old is planning his next move after a victory against Phil Davis in June 2023. With the recent PFL acquisition, it will be interesting to see how things progress for Anderson.