UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley has a blunt message for aspiring athletes hoping to make a fortune in the sport: don’t enter the UFC expecting to get rich.
The former champion shared his perspective during a recent podcast episode, where he spoke with co-host MMA Guru about athlete pay and the controversy surrounding Sean Strickland’s contract dispute. While O’Malley understands why athletes want to earn more, he believes those entering the sport need to have realistic expectations about the money they can make.
To explain his point, O’Malley compared pursuing a career in MMA to becoming a doctor, arguing that people in traditional professions generally have a better idea of their earning potential before committing years to their careers.
“These young athletes coming up, us coming up… you’re not going to make that much money, so don’t go. Don’t try to be in the UFC,” O’Malley said. “If your goal is to be in the UFC and become the richest person in the world, it’s not going to happen.”
However, O’Malley’s criticism came with an important caveat. He credited the UFC with changing his life financially, acknowledging that competing has given him opportunities he might never have found elsewhere.
“The UFC completely changed my life. I would not be where I’m at. I would never have made this much money doing something else,” he admitted.
At the same time, he recognised the difficult position athletes can find themselves in when their passion for competing clashes with their expectations for compensation.
“There comes a point where it’s like, I want to compete and this is the next guy, but I don’t want to compete for that amount of money,” O’Malley explained.
The issue goes beyond the purse athletes receive for stepping into the Octagon. Preparation can involve weeks of gruelling training, weight cuts, press conferences and media obligations, all before the actual competition begins.
“Training camps are hard,” O’Malley noted, pointing out that the work athletes put in extends well beyond match night. “It’s not just the match we’re getting paid for.”
