There’s always been a debate about equal pay between male and female athletes in sports. The women in sports claim that they are paid less for their work while on the other hand, the men counter this. Nonetheless, a classic example of this is happening in the world of MMA where FFion Davis and Gordon Ryan have come face to face against each other on this topic.

Fairly recently, Davis took the matter into her own hands when she noticed that women athletes are getting less payment for fighting, seminars, etc. The Welsh submission grappler took to her Instagram handle to address the issue and seems like her statement has irked the BJJ king, Gordon Ryan.

Gordon Ryan’s response to FFion Davis’s equal pay debate

Woman MMA fighters have been calling out institutions for a change in their pay structure for quite a long time now. It all started when a report from the Culinary Union highlighted the issue as the main cause of few woman fighters in promotions. As per the research, women MMA athletes earn 61 % of what men in sports get. The numbers are far worse in some cases numbers even go down to 41%.

Approximately, a decade after the reports, Ffion Davis has highlighted the issue once again. She called out all the promotions, seminars, and other professional bodies that pay women less and urged every woman athlete to ask for an equal price for their manual labor in the organization. Her bold words got the support and appreciation of the public but seems like the biggest name in her sport is against her sentiment.

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Gordon Ryan seems to have a bit of a problem with Davis’s demand for an increased payment. The BJJ specialist took to his Instagram handle to share the photos of her Instagram comment and added a long caption where he explained that more payment equals more revenue. He emphasized that the public seldom wants to witness any fight between women and everything comes down to revenue and women athletes do not generate the same revenue as men.

Ryan even went as far as to compare the WNBA with that of the NBA. He wrote, “Turning this into a men vs. woman thing is a joke. It’s like when the WNBA players talk about how they should be paid equally, but when they actually ran the math, the players were being overpaid and completely subsidized by the parent league.” 

He further emphasized his words, “Let’s pay her less because she’s a chick?” Really? You are paid contingent on the number of asses you put in seats. It’s not based on medals.” Ryan’s assessment might have some negative impact on him considering the fact that the MMA community didn’t take his words lightly. However, this is not the first time a MMA fighter took the route of falling out for a pay rise.

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Paige Vanzant’s call for the development of a payment structure

Back in 2019, when Paige Vanzant was still a fighter under the UFC promotion she raised the voice of equal pay for the women in the organization. Her contract was about to end after a few fights and she demanded that if UFC makes a new contract for her then it should be an equal pay contract like for the men.

In a conversation with renowned journalist, Ariel Helwani, Vanzant said, “I want a significant pay raise, to be completely honest, If I’m going to keep breaking my arm, if I’m going to keep bleeding and sacrificing for this sport…I think it’s all fighters, and all female fighters need to be recognized.”

After her comments, she became one of the fighters who has raised such voices for women athletes, however, the UFC never really extended the contract with Vanzant and she retired from the UFC back in 2020. Nonetheless, what’s your take on the new controversy between Gordon Ryan and FFion Davis. State your thoughts in the comments below.

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