Unless you’re particularly stoic, it would have been nearly impossible to remain unmoved by the sight of an elated, tearful Jesse Taylor getting his hand raised following a bona fide barnburner with Dhiego Lima at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale.
The welterweight co-main event might well go down as the feel-good moment of 2017 UFC International Fight Week. Taylor received a check for $290,000 – a lofty sum in almost anyone’s eyes – for his work, though that might well have been best kept behind closed doors.
Why? Because it fans the flames of the dying myth that proclaims a fighter to be free of financial burden the moment he or she is under the UFC’s banner.
As tall tales go, that one is patently untrue, but Scottish UFC lightweight Steven Ray (21-16 MMA, 5-1 UFC) believed it wholeheartedly when he signed with the company back in 2015.
At the time, Ray was the Cage Warriors lightweight champion, but the promotion was on an enforced hiatus, so he had taken a job as a personal trainer to support his partner and young family. On two weeks’ notice, the UFC offered him a bout with Marcin Handel at UFC Fight Night 64 in Poland.
Even with the better part of 30 pounds to shed, Ray took the fight and went on to record a second-round TKO win over Handel. Had that opportunity not arrived when it did, it’s unlikely the 27-year-old would still be fighting.
“Back then it was purely financial,” Ray told MMAjunkie. “My third child had just been born, and I had started a new job, so if I hadn’t gotten the UFC offer, I really think I would have just stopped training. So who knows what would have happened?
“It obviously all worked out, but sometimes I still think about if I really want to keep doing this. I’m getting punched in the face for a living without really seeing my life changing. I always thought that once you’re in the UFC, everything is going to be so good, it’ll be cushy, and I’d get rich – it doesn’t work like that.”
Ray has won five of his six promotional bouts, the most recent of which was against hardened veteran Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 108. In the early going of his U.S. debut, Ray was dragged to the mat by Lauzon and subjected to a barrage of elbows and punches, as the American took his back and mounted him almost at will.
Ray regrouped and uncorked his own offense through a series of body shots and step-in elbows and, had the third round gone even 10 seconds longer, it is not a leap to say he may well have finished Lauzon.
It was the penultimate bout on his current contract with the UFC and, subsequently, Ray and his management declined the offer that came from UFC VP of Talent Relations Sean Shelby. As such, Ray, who faces fellow lightweight Paul Felder (16-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) on the main card of UFC Fight Night 113 at SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow this coming weekend, has waded into some choppy waters.
He’ll face a formidable foe as a packed house of his compatriots and loved ones look on, all the while in the knowledge that, without a convincing victory, his financial future is in jeopardy.
No pressure then.
“Sean Shelby said what to do was to go win this fight, come back, and we can talk,” Ray said. “The plan is to go beat Felder, then see what the negotiations are like, and then I also have the option of free agency. That puts a bit more pressure on the UFC, as well, because maybe they might want to match another offer.
“It’s a bit of a risk, going into free agency, because if I lose this fight the UFC can turn around and tell me, ‘Look, we’re offering you this now,’ and that not might be as good as the first offer. But if I beat Felder, I can say that I beat him, (Ross) Pearson, Lauzon, twice played a big part in UFC Scotland, and taken short-notice fights, so it’s time for me to get paid the big bucks”
The UFC did offer Ray an improved deal on what would be his third contract with the company, but he believed it not to be commensurate with his record or the type of life he wishes to give his family.
There may be slight variations from fighter to fighter, but this is now an increasingly common theme. Those men and women who compete in the world’s most pervasive, profitable promotion wish to be compensated appropriately, and they’re no longer afraid to say so in public.
Ray is not pitting himself as some hapless martyr and admits to being paid reasonably well to date. However, for all the sacrifices he’s made clawing his way to this juncture, the man from Kirkcaldy, Scotland, has yet to glean any tangible security.
“I had 11 months off last year, and I almost lost my house and cars,” he said. “I have been sensible with my money and not acted like I’m rich, and I’ve just invested in a better life, because I had never been fortunate enough to do that.
“I had put a deposit on a new house that was really the taxman’s money, but I’ve got three kids, and I didn’t want to keep paying extortionate amounts of money on rent. I’ve got a 15-year mortgage, so the payments are pretty high, and all this money is going out, but nothing is coming in.”
A combination of injury and visa issues kept Ray out of the octagon for that extended period and, upon his return to action, he suffered his first promotional loss at the hands of Alan Patrick. His contract dictates he gets a certain amount of show money, which is doubled should he win. When considering the fine margins for error in any given fight and the very real prospect of suspect calls from referees or judges, financial planning is next to impossible, while luxury spending is not an option.
There’s also the reality of foregoing time with loved ones in favor of honing skills and pushing your body to its very limit.
“Sometimes it’s not just about the money but the lifestyle,” Ray said. “You miss out on so much stuff when you’re training and fighting. I’ve missed my kids’ birthdays and sports days, and you’re just not getting that chance to have a normal life. Things like sitting down to have pizza and watch a movie with the kids or going away with my partner for the weekend – just the small stuff.”
Then why take this gamble? Why not sign on the dotted line, instead of betting his future on the outcome of the clash with Felder?
“I have been playing catch-up since taking that time off, even after two pretty good paydays from beating Pearson and Lauzon. I just want to get paid to where I do feel like I’ve kind of made it and, obviously, that all depends on me beating Felder, so that’s what makes it that bit more important.
“It gives you that bit more motivation, because if I win I know I’m going to get a much better contract. Money is a great motivation, but I’m also going to be fighting in front of 13,000 Scottish fans again.”
Ray is acutely aware of what will be at stake when he stares across the cage at Felder and just how much of his future hinges on the subsequent 15 minutes. He’s also wondered, more than once, if it was wise to ask the UFC for the fee he did. Even now, just days from the biggest bout of his career, “Braveheart” is mired in uncertainty.
“Maybe I asked for too much money, because it’s hard to know what you’re worth,” he said. “If I lose, it could work out on their part, even though I’ve just beaten two big names. If I got injured now, and that could easily happen, I don’t know if I’d even get paid, because the UFC wouldn’t be making any money out of me. If I broke my leg I don’t think I’d tell them. I’d just turn up to the fight so I could get paid.”
The list of UFC exiles now earning a crust in Bellator continues to grow and, while Ray hopes such a scenario will not transpire, the thought has crossed his mind.
“To be honest, I’m not even looking elsewhere. But that being said, if an offer came up somewhere, and it was too good to resist, then I’ve obviously got to go where the money is,” Ray said. “Win or lose, I believe I’m going to get a new contract. Even if I lose, I probably get a similar contract to one I’ve been offered, maybe a little bit less.”
What comes after the contest with Felder is far from clear, but Ray is sure of his goals and what matters most to him.
“I’d like to fight twice a year, be comfortable and have a good life,” he said, “because getting punched in the face hundreds of times a week in camps catches up on you. If there’s not time to enjoy yourself, what’s the point?
“If I got told in the morning that I couldn’t fight again, I’d be devastated, but I’d still have my family, my life, and be able to go out and make money. So I’m not going to feel that all-or-nothing pressure on Saturday.”
For more on UFC Fight Night 113, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.