Morning Report: Sam Albee looks back at UFC's start, says fighters are getting paid 'more than we deserve'

Sam Albee has no complaints about how he's been treated in the UFC.

BJ Penn and Tony Ferguson are tied for the longest losing streak in promotion history at seven. But they can't match Albie's nine-fight stretch without a win to end his UFC tenure in 2022. Despite the optics of that period, “Smilin'” matches remained competitive for the most part. A split draw with Da Eun-jung, which included a split decision loss, separated her results after four matches.

Albee, 37, then returned to the win column with a third-round TKO over Cameron Graham at B2 Fighting Series 183 in May 2023. Later that year, Albee joined Karate Combat and won two matches to become heavyweight champion. . Looking back over his 24-fight career in the UFC (10-13-1 total, 34-18-1 total, 1 NC total), Albee has always been one of the biggest names in the never-ending debate over fighter pay. believe that they were treated appropriately.

“The UFC is paying us more than we deserve,” Albee told Ultimate Punching. “You have these superstars. [Justin] with gazi [Max] The Holloway family and the John Jones family, they're getting paid what they're entitled to. However, most of the cards pay us far more than they are worth. ”

Albie's sentiments come in the wake of last weekend's historic UFC 300 card, where fight bonuses were increased from the usual $50,000 to $300,000. Holloway earned Fight of the Night honors along with Performance of the Night honors for his legendary fifth-round KO of Gaethje in their BMF title bout, earning him double bonuses.

The UFC has grown a lot since Albie joined the roster. Ultimate Fighter 16 (TUF) Even 10 years ago, Alvey was embarrassed by the pay and treatment he received after winning the MFC title in Canada.

“My first win in the UFC ended in Australia,” Albie said. “They flew me and my corner there, and they flew my opponent there too. Once we got off the plane, they gave us $1,000. , they got off the plane and gave them $1,000.

“We did the math, and by the time our fight was over, the UFC probably spent $50,000 to $70,000 on our fight and we didn't get a dime. I didn't tune in to see Sam Alvey. No one tuned in to watch Dylan Andrews. They still paid me $70,000, or they paid “us” $70,000 to let us fight. It's an incredible amount. We hadn't done anything to deserve it. ”

Albie's UFC debut was actually a unanimous decision loss to Tom Watson at UFC Fight Night 47 in Bangor, Maine, but that was 10 years ago, so it's understandable that he may have misremembered. Andrews made his second appearance in the Octagon, winning by knockout in the first round.

As UFC CEO Dana White infamously said, fighting in the UFC “isn't a career. At the end of the day, it's an opportunity.” , I did my best to take advantage of it.

“They paid money in hopes of becoming Max Holloway or Conor McGregor or 'Smilin' Sam, like we ended up with,” Albee continued. “But they are betting big on it initially.

“As you move up the rankings, your paychecks go up and up. Nowadays, the number of people who watch the UFC is overrated. We have accomplished so much with our careers, our passion, and our love. But even though I'm surrounded by the UFC, it's still a very small sport in the grand scheme of things, and it was Conor vs. Khabib. [Nurmagomedov], it ended up at MGM, and there were about 15,000 to 17,000 people there. The NBA draws close to 50,000 spectators for a worthless midseason game. It's funny to compare sports. They pay us more than our fair share and take great risks with every fighter they have. ”

Just to clarify, UFC 229, headlined by Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor in October 2018, was held inside the 20,034-capacity T-Mobile Arena. On average, NBA team arenas can accommodate 20,000 people, and the UFC also frequently holds events. For example, last month's UFC 299 was held at the Caseya Center, where the Miami Heat play.

Albee has been keeping records since his karate combat debut, revealing that he made more money in his karate combat debut than in his UFC debut due to the pay structure. Albie, who defeated Adam Rosa by knockout in the bout, received “triple” the prize money he would have earned thanks to the promotion's finishing bonus.

Confidence. Ilya Topuria wants Max Holloway in The Sphere, but only if the “BMF” title is at stake: “I'll be the first to turn out his lights.”

Matchmaking. Mike Perry claims Darren Till turned down an offer of 'over $2 million' to fight him: 'What's he doing?'

no. Charles Oliveira thought Arman Tsarukyan was out due to Dulce's choke attack at UFC 300

triple. Manager Alex Pereira explains why he won't fight at UFC 301, talks about potential fight with Tom Aspinall

position. UFC heads to Louisville for June 8th fight night card

defense. Max Holloway calls rematch with Conor McGregor 'biggest fight' after winning BMF title

MMA Hour.

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free fight.

PFL Fight Week.

Usman's UFC 300 BTS.

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Fancy arm triangle.

Head on over to Twitter and use the #MorningReport hashtag or find my tweets containing it and send me the jams you're currently into. I'll cheer you on by picking the best of my daily picks! You can also share them in the comments below. Sometimes it can be difficult to sift through comments.

The trajectory of the comeback.

Classic.

It went well.

the boys.

Volk is the best.

To the rescue.

Poster.

randy brown (18-5) vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (24-7-1) UFC 302, June 1st

Nico Price (15-7, 2 NC) vs. Alex Morono (24-9, 1 NC); UFC 302, June 1st

Daniel Marcos (15-0) vs. John Castaneda (21-6); UFC Louisville, June 8th

Itsuki Hirata (6-3) vs. Victoria Souza (7-2) ONE 167, June 8

Jeka Saragi (14-3) vs. westin wilson (16-9); UFC Vegas 93, June 15th

Joe Pifer (12-3) vs. Marc-Andre Barriot (16-7) UFC 303, June 29th

Just when you thought you couldn't love Volkanovski anymore, he went and made that hilarious video. Perm champion.

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