UFC Legend Reveals to Joe Rogan Bonus he Negotiated Most Fighters Don't Get
UFC legend Mark Kerr has opened up on a bonus he negotiated for himself that most fighters don't receive in their contracts.
Kerr enjoyed a legendary MMA career and competed in the early days of the UFC - before Dana White purchased the company.
He is a two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner, having won the heavyweight tournaments at UFC 14 and UFC 15. On both occasions, he beat two opponents on the same night.
Kerr's storied career has since been turned into a movie, with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson playing him in The Smashing Machine as the Hollywood star underwent a remarkable transformation.
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After his UFC 15 triumph, he signed for Japanese MMA promotion Pride, who, at the time, boasted several star names, including Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.
Kerr made his promotional debut at Pride 2 back in 1998 when he beat Branko Cikatic by disqualification.
In total, he had 11 bouts under the Pride banner, competing against the likes of Igor Vovchanchyn, Kazuyuki Fujita and Heath Herring.
He was paid handsomely for each bout and struck a deal with the organisers to receive a bonus on top of his fight purse.
Speaking to Joe Rogan on the latest episode of his podcast, Kerr explained why he didn't re-join the UFC after being tabled an offer, revealing he was being paid much more in Japan with Pride.
The 56-year-old said: "So, you know what's crazy with Japan? Here's what I ended up doing. I said: 'Listen...'
"They said: 'What do you need?' And I said: 'I need consistency'. And they go: 'Okay what does that look like?'
"I said: 'Pay me X dollars per month and then every time I fight, pay me a bonus on top of that'.
"And they go: 'Okay, how much do you need?'
"'Okay, I need this amount per month'," he added. "That was just another stabilising thing where I knew that every month I had X amount of dollars coming in that I could pay my bills, I could do my stuff and not worry."
After his spell in Japan, Kerr fought for a series of different MMA promotions, including Cage Rage and M-1 Global.
He never got another offer from the UFC after turning down their first contract.
Nasir Jabbar