UFC octagon girl Luciana Andrade has insisted she is not paid more than the top fighters on the roster.
Fighter pay in has become a highly contentious issue in recent years with the likes of UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou and YouTube star Jake Paul leading a campaign against the promotion's president Dana White. Ngannou recently departed the UFC after failing to agree a new deal, which also saw the heavyweight express concerns over healthcare and other competitor's pay.
And reports claimed the octagon girls, who parade the cards around the cage between rounds fights, were being paid more than the fighters who drew the crowds and clashed in the cage. This further threatens to scrutinise the payment system the UFC use, given Paddy Pimblett's debut base salary was just around £10,000.
However Andrade has moved to shut down any fears this could be true, and even admitted she isn't sure why others still believe the claims. She said on the MMA Hour: "We have 14 girls across the globe and some girls work a few times a year because we don’t have international fights with the same frequency we have in the US.
"Let’s talk about the US girls. You work once, twice a month if you’re lucky. Do you really think we would be making more money than the fighters, than the broadcasters, than the commentators? It’s just crazy to me that people still think that’s true. We get so much hate whenever a fighter says something like that.
"It’s kind of irresponsible sometimes when you do know it’s not true but you do use us as a scapegoat to create hype or clicks. I have the most respect for fighters, it’s so entertaining for us to watch but it comes with a sacrifice for then. We never said we were more important than fighters but of all the people you could use you use us to complain about fighter pay!"
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The likes of new heavyweight champion Jon Jones do not feel the pressure of lower salaries given they have climbed to the top of the promotion. It was expected 'Bones' earned a guaranteed $2million without bonuses for his victory at the weekend over Cyril Gane.
But he has suggested the top earners have worked their way to the position they are in. He said: “I went the majority of my career not happy with my pay, but I stayed at it. I stayed vigilant I stayed faithful to the project and to the goals and now I am happy. So it’s possible, look at Francis Ngannou's situation.
"He just, you know, he’s boxing, he’s finding a way for himself. You know, Jake Paul came out of nowhere and Conor McGregor came from rags to riches and the list goes on and on. The UFC has changed a lot of people’s lives for the better.”
