UFC legend Randy Couture thinks Conor McGregor missed a trick in the aftermath of his fight with Floyd Mayweather.
‘Notorious’ famously made $100million [£80m] when he crossed over to boxing and suffered a tenth-round TKO defeat against Mayweather in August 2017.
Mayweather vs McGregor is one of the most successful fights of all timeCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Despite losing, McGregor was a bigger star than ever after the fight and Couture believes he was in the perfect position to change the sport of MMA forever.
The former two-weight UFC champion thinks there’s a big issue with fighter pay in MMA and is disappointed McGregor didn’t highlight it when he had the chance.
“Conor stepped up and crossed over into boxing against Floyd,” Couture said during an interview with talkSPORT’s MMA YouTube channel.
“He had the opportunity, in taking that fight and getting a boxing license, to shine a light on the disparaging difference in pay and all those things in our contracts that are different than boxing.
“And why boxers are able to make so much more money off a single boxing match than a mixed martial artist.
“Conor could have effectively changed our sport with the leverage he had at that time with the Mayweather fight.
“He chose to not burn the bridge with the UFC, bring them him, allow them to make some money off that fight and do that crossover match.
“In doing so, he allowed them to continue to do business the way they have been doing business for a long time. He had the opportunity to change the sport for the better for fighters and he chose not to do that.”
Couture thinks McGregor should’ve used his platform to help MMA fighters make more moneyCredit: talkSPORT MMA
‘The Natural’ was impressed by McGregor’s in-ring performanceCredit: Getty
Even though Couture was disheartened by McGregor’s lack of post-fight action, he thinks the Irishman did well against Mayweather – before he he gassed out.
He added: “It was a fun fight, a lot funner than I thought it was going to be.
“Mayweather is not a knockout guy. I didn’t expect Mayweather to knock Conor out. I thought Conor accounted for himself very well in that fight, it was a lot more entertaining than I thought it might be.
“Interesting to me that they had a full camp and he still managed to get that tired in that fight. Why? How? How does that happen? You had a full camp, I don’t understand.”
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has been publicly campaigning for MMA fighters to get better pay and conditions during his feud with Dana White.
The UFC boss insists his pay model won’t be changing anytime soon.
“Fighters always want to make more money. Boxing has been absolutely destroyed because of money and all the things that go on,” White told GQ in 2022.
“It’s never going to happen while I’m here. Believe me, these guys get paid what they’re supposed to get paid, they eat what they kill.”
White recently celebrated another major landmark by upping the bonuses from $50,000 [£40k] to $300,000 [£240k] for UFC 300 earlier this month.
Fighters in the promotion are making more than ever before, but Couture believes something needs to be done to close the gap between the purses in boxing and MMA.
