Darren Till defends Dana White’s 250k gift to Kyle Forgeard

Adam Miller

As the debate over fighters’ underpayment rages on, UFC president Dana White came under fire for giving buddy and YouTuber Kyle Forgeard $250,000 in cash for his 28th birthday.

Forgeard is a member of the prankster group Nelk with a sizable subscriber following. He was left speechless when given the money, which was more substantial than flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo’s last UFC payday.

 

The action once again raised questions about fighter compensation. However, one mixed martial artist on the UFC roster that’s defending the decision has since emerged.

Darren Till said:

“I don’t know if it’s just me but seeing Dana (White) give his mate (Kyle Forgeard) a bag of readies (sic) for his birthday isn’t really a problem or any of our business is it?”

“Them Nelk guys he gave the money to always spend their money on Dana so he’s making sure they are okay as well. Friends look after friends.”

Of course Till has been sidelined for a long time now due to his reluctance to get knee surgery after shredding his ACL, and has recently pulled out of Jack Hermansson bout.

Till is also rumored to be behind the blockchain company Block asset which publishes content about the mixed martial athletes and has even had Dana White on their show.

Jake Paul has been lending his voice to UFC athletes as of late. While most MMA athletes aren’t mainstream, Paul has been introducing a whole new generation of UFC fans to the problems that come along with being an UFC contractor.

Paul talked about the incident on the Carton and Roberts program on WFAN Sports Radio. He said:

“It sucks and it’s embarrassing. It just shows how much of a s***bag Dana White is.”

“How could you do that to your fighters? You’re giving out birthday gifts to someone but your own flyweight champion you can’t pay him enough? And there’s no healthcare for his fighters?”

“People are really starting to see how greedy this guy is, people are really starting to see that these fighters are underpaid. There’s got to be some change made here. The more we talk about it, the more we raise awareness and the more we fight back, the more pressure they’re going to be under to pay their fighters more.

“But it sucks, man. I feel bad for the flyweight champion…and Dana White, if you’re listening to this, bro, you really need to re-evaluate yourself and take a hard look in the mirror.”.