Sean O'Malley weighs in on UFC pay controversy with 'if you're going to complain' claim
UFC star Sean O’Malley has weighed in on the ongoing UFC pay controversy, and warned fighters ‘not to complain,’ amid the Dana White-led fighting competition being regularly accused of underpaying its athletes.
Pay controversy in the UFC has raged on throughout 2026, with White’s competition being accused of undervaluing its fighters after landing a $7.7 billion media rights deal with Paramount.
Former bantamweight champion O’Malley has taken a more measured approach, but warned rising UFC stars: “If your goal is to be in the UFC and become the richest person, it’s not gonna happen.”
READ MORE: Every UFC fighter offered $120,000-a-year sponsorship deal in extraordinary proposal
Sean O’Malley hits out at rising UFC talents in ‘if you’re going to complain’ claim
‘Suga’ has arrived to examine both sides of the coin in the UFC’s ongoing pay controversy, while appearing on The MMA Guru’s podcast to explain why he should get a title shot versus Petr Yan.
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The American is gunning to reclaim the UFC spotlight and, if his comments about pay in the competition are anything to go by, the paycheque that arrives with it.
“These young fighters coming up, we know, or supposedly, you’re not going to make that much money,” began O’Malley, as relayed by MMA Mania. “So don’t f*cking go and try to be in the UFC.
“If your goal is to be in the UFC and become the richest person, it’s not going to happen. So don’t even try to become a professional fighter if you’re going to end up complaining about money, is one way to look at it.”
“All these guys coming up know that fighter pay isn’t that great. Whatever. So, if you’re still going to pursue it, and you still want to get there, don’t f*cking complain too much.”
O’Malley then accepted that being in a position as a fighter where you feel you’re competing for less than what your skills and image are worth “sucks… but that’s just what it is.”
READ MORE: Tyron Woodley reveals the truth behind UFC pay controversy in candid interview
Sean O’Malley describes his financial experience amid UFC pay controversy
SPORTbible sat down with Tyron Woodley in October to discuss the competition’s pay controversy; elsewhere, Bobby ‘King’ Green - whose recent car crash was captured live on stream - claimed he was homeless in September.
Green’s woes were self-inflicted, having allowed his friends to stay in each of his nine residences, displacing him; however, his ex-girlfriend, allegedly, inflicted financial damage upon him.
For O’Malley, he claimed the UFC “completely changed my life,” accepting that he would have been unable to earn anywhere near as much “doing something else.”
“I would not be where I’m at, I would never have made this much money doing something else,” said the American. “I’m forever grateful for the UFC. I’ll always be grateful, in that sense.
“But there comes a point where it’s like, God, do I want to fight? I do want to fight, and this is the guy, but I don’t want to fight for that amount of money,” O’Malley continued, describing his issues.
“It’s like, f*ck it. There comes a time where that’s an issue. But, again, we still have to be grateful that the UFC gave us this platform, because where else are we going to fight?”
Earlier in October, online crypto casino Gamdom offered every UFC fighter a $120,000 annual sponsorship deal, amid claims that fighters are underpaid.
Around the same time, UFC CEO White claimed that he was looking ahead to a possible $10 billion deal, having previously negotiated a $7.7 billion media rights agreement with Paramount.
Topics: UFC, Dana White, MMA
Kedar Bayley