https://www.mmanews.com/news/ufc/chris-weidman-not-paid-ufc-309-canceled/
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Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was left devastated and a sizable chunk of cash down when an illness to Eryk Anders scuppered his plans of competing at Madison Square Garden earlier this month.
At UFC 309, Weidman was set for his second assignment of 2024 and third since returning from a gruesome broken leg that had kept him out for two years. But his pursuit of a first win streak since 2015 will have to wait.
After completing his training camp, fight-week obligations, and successfully making weight, Weidman awoke on Saturday, Nov. 16, expecting to make the walk on MMA’s biggest stage for the 20th time.
But disaster struck just hours before his scheduled preliminary clash with Anders when a bout of food poisoning became too serious for the ex-American football linebacker to fight through.
That left a devastated Weidman off the card on late notice, with the New York State Athletic Commission rejecting the UFC’s attempts to book a same-day replacement opponent.
And worse still, it wasn’t just the chance to make it two wins on the bounce that the 40-year-old missed out on…
During a recent appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Weidman explained that while he is expecting to be ‘taken care of’ in some way financially, he won’t be getting his full purse.
The American admitted the situation is difficult to take, especially given his compensation would have already been set aside and is ultimately now being kept by the UFC.
“My show money is my win money, I have guaranteed money,” Weidman said. “So that was my point, ‘I showed up, you guys had that on the budget sheet to begin with, you guys made a great night, why do you guys keep that money and I don’t?’ That was my thought.
“Their thoughts were, ‘Listen, this happens on like 40 percent of the cards. If we pay people to not fight…’ They just want to be consistent on what they do in those situations,” Weidman continued. “That’s what I think they’ve decided to do consistently for their business.”
The situation is similar to that of Stephen Thompson last year. He made public his disappointment at not being paid for his canceled fight with Michel Pereira at UFC 291, which fell through when the Brazilian missed weight after “Wonderboy” had already successfully got under the welterweight limit.
Fortunately for Weidman, he won’t have to wait long to pick up a full check for sharing the cage with Anders. The pair’s clash has been rescheduled for UFC 310 in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, this time at a catchweight of 195 pounds.
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Good…fuck him
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I’m not a fan at all but I do think the UFC should give Weidman at least half of his win money or half if the opponents show money, like he said, the UFC already budgeted the card purse and Weidman did everything he was asked to do.
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Mo money for them Nelk Boys?
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I hate that guy. I was really looking forward to Eric Anders ko’ing his bitch ass. When his leg snapped I was giddy with joy.
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Hi Anderson.
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if the fight has been rescheduled for very soon, which it has, perhaps he should get a cheeky few grand to keep him sweetened.
full show money twice within 8 weeks? - no, fuck that.
As pointed out above, if he was ready to fight then he can take another in a month or two.
It makes no sense to give him full pay for not fighting. He’ll get some cash so his dad can buy a backyard pool and fight again on the next card or two.
If anything, it’s a windfall. Especially for a dude on the knife’s edge of retiring.
Fighters union/association, imo.
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does anyone like chris?
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Winston_Wolf does
Chris Weidman and Brendan Schaub are very similar in that we loved watching them get Ko’d. They are extreme level arrogant douchebags.
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I get the disappointment, but my understanding is they get some money, and then they get a quick replacement fight for a new set of show and potential win money, so they aren’t just kept whole, they are up.
If they just paid them their show money then didn’t reschedule them for a replacement fight, then they would be worse off.
Asking for part of their opponent’s show money, or ‘win’ money is silly.
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we trained at same place at Serras First day he walked in he was dominating most but was humble.I remember watching him wrestle when he was in hs He was awesome,.Similiar age and weight as Jon Jones who also was from NY.Jones took first his senior year.His junior year Matt Riddle won his weight,Jones took 3rd They didnt wrestle,Jones wrestled a kid from my hs who my mom used to babysit to win the states He lost to him his jr year and Riddle beat him in finals.I think Wiedman was 2x state champ maybe one but was dominant and did well at Hofstra taking 3rd his senior year.He lives in the the next town over Seems like a good guy
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No contractor in the world would get paid for not doing a job even if they showed up ready to go. I have never understood everyone thinking the ufc should pay guys that don’t fight, that’s just the risk you take when you sign the contract and it’s well known to all fighters. It sucks, but life often sucks.
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Its well known to the UFC