Ben Askren was one of the most highly regarded MMA fighters in the world. This was during his time outside the UFC in promotions like ONE Championship and Bellator. Bellator is known to be the place where former UFC stars go and collect easy paychecks. But Askren didn’t have the same experience.

Askren fought nine times in Bellator and won all of his bouts. He was their Welterweight Champion and one of their biggest draws. Despite that, the money he made across nine Bellator fights was dwarfed in one go by his pay-out from the Jake Paul fight.

‘I Fought MMA for a Decade’- Ben Askren Opens Up After Jake Paul Loss

“Yes. It’s so stupid. Honestly, I thought about this and it’s utterly depressing. I made more in the Jake Paul fight just on my base purse than all of my fight purses in Bellator combines. That’s 9 wins.”

“I made a 100k in the tournament for the three wins. In my last five fights, I made 200k. I made 360 thousand dollars in total purses in my run in Bellator. I thought I was making good money at the time and was truly happy with it, I wasn’t discouraged and I knew winning would lead to bigger things.”

Ben Askren: Proving why these fights may be around to stay?

Everyone has been talking about how the pay in MMA isn’t as good as boxing. What Ben Askren just revealed about his own experiences with making money in sports is quite shocking. While a fight like this will always have more commercial value, the fact that he could make a million dollars like this and not even crack half of that through 9 fights will be a weird piece of data.

Considering this sort of jump in money, many fighters around Askren’s stature may want to start looking into exhibition boxing as a side hustle. After all, if they get paid even half of that, it is probably more than what the UFC or other MMA organizations will pay them.

Trending

Ryan Garcia Leaks His DMs With Bobbi Althoff in Recent Social Media Rampage

April 14, 2024 01:20 PM EDT

Gervonta Davis Shuts Down Shakur Stevenson With the Ultimate Disrespect as Verbal Exchange Heats Up

April 18, 2024 06:45 AM EDT

Heavyweight Boxer Fighting for His Life, Falls Into Coma After First-Round Knockout Loss

April 10, 2024 03:12 AM EDT

“You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up”: Ryan Garcia Threatens to Expose Jailyne Ojeda in Ugly Back and Forth

April 17, 2024 11:00 PM EDT

Real Reason Why “Floyd Mayweather Found Dead” Was Trending Recently

December 18, 2023 11:15 AM EST

Get instantly notified of the hottest Boxing stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

The UFC gives a guaranteed $500k to only fighters at the top of the pyramid. While now fighters have started getting million-dollar payouts, it is reserved for the elite of the elite. This revelation may just be a sign of the changing times in both sports.