In a recent conversation, UFC veteran Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone revealed that he did not receive a big payday or the so called “Red Panty Night” for his bout against Conor McGregor.
Cerrone explained that he signed an 8-fight contract with the UFC, wanting to compete frequently. The contract locked him into a set payment structure regardless of his opponents.
“It’s not like three fights in, I’m like ‘Tom [the UFC President] to renegotiate. Because I’m fighting Conor. I’m fighting Connor. No, you still have four more fights on your contract. This is what you’re getting paid,” Cerrone said.
He admitted he did not get any special financial incentive or bigger payout for fighting one of the UFC’s biggest stars in McGregor. “Did you get paid [more]? No, I didn’t get paid. What? I always got paid. Which is good. Yeah. Complaining, not making s**t up, saying ‘Dan [Cerrone’s manager], he [McGregor] owes me.’ I know, I made great money,” Cerrone stated.
Cerrone said when the UFC approached him about facing McGregor, he accepted without trying to renegotiate for more money. “That’s so bad a*s, right? Of course. And I didn’t call you. I’ll only fight Conor if…Right. Well, let’s go. That’s so bad. Do it,” he remarked.
So despite not receiving the lucrative payday associated with fighting a mega-star like McGregor, Cerrone remained content with the compensation from his existing UFC deal.
Donald Cowboy Cerrone was in the UFC from 2011 until his retirement in 2022. He’s 40 years old and recently offered to try and tame Dana White’s bull in order to vye for the $100,000 prize.
Cerrone’s revelation certainly checks quite a few boxes in terms of UFC being overly pleased with that deal. The promotion is currently locked in rennegotiating McGregor’s contract, which is said to be causing delays in his booking for Michael Chandler return.
Many stars have specific clauses in their contract, stipulating pay bumps if they’re matched against a particular star. Sadly Cerrone wasn’t one of them and missed out on a huge payday for a card he helped headline.