‘Just keep digging’ – UFC 323 star says athletes must stop moaning about fighter pay

Having worked as a shepherd before falling in love with MMA, Chris Duncan understands what it takes to reach the top.

That’s why the UFC lightweight from Scotland gets frustrated at fighters who complain about how much they are paid.

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Duncan, 32, features on a stacked UFC 323 card this weekend at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

He faces veteran Terrance McKinney high up the card, having embarked on an impressive three-fight winning streak in the past 15 months.

Earning his UFC contract at the second time of asking on Dana White‘s Contender Series, ‘The Problem’ knows what it means to fail, get up, and chase his dream again and again.

So when asked about one of MMA’s most controversial subjects, Duncan offered a viewpoint you rarely hear from fighters: they need to stop ‘moaning’ about pay.

Everyone has to start at the bottom, says UFC lightweight Chris Duncan

“There’s a lot of words to be said about fighter pay,” Duncan, who has been awarded $100,000 in bonuses in his last three fights, told talkSPORT.com.

“I’m a big believer. You know, what was your first job? It could be a barista. You could have worked at McDonald’s. You could have done this. You could have done that.

“You have to start at the bottom somewhere. So all these guys moaning about their money…

“I know for a fact that being an apprentice electrician is not going to pay the same amount of money as it is being in the UFC.

“[Yet] you still need to do your kind of apprentice role. And that’s where we are now. I know there’s a lot of s*** getting said there. 

“There’s Dylan Tuke—the Irish fighter from PFL—had made a statement about fighter pay. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is.”

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Fighter pay a never-ending debate

Tuke, once one of Ireland’s most exciting prospects when the sport was booming in the country due to the rise of Conor McGregor, retired at the age of 29 last month.

The Irishman has been very open about pay in MMA ‘not being all as it seems’ and the dangers of young fighters thinking they will enter the sport to make ‘McGregor money.’

“The fault lies solely on the UFC,” Tuke told SevereMMA, speaking on fighter pay after announcing his retirement.

Tuke said that when he fought for the PFL, he was paid $5,000 to show, plus an additional $5,000 to win.

But he argues that figure would never get higher, because of what the UFC—the biggest MMA promotion in the world—pay their fighters.

“The UFC has monopolised this where they are the best organisation in the world,” Tuke added.

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“If they set the standard of, ‘We are going to give you $10K and $10K.’ Why would any other show do it? [Because] they can’t afford it… They’ll end up being bankrupt.”

Tuke argues that fighters should keep MMA as a second option until they know they can make it and push as hard as possible to reach the UFC.

The polarising Jake Paul has also been a consistent campaigner of fighter pay.

Paul has often criticised UFC CEO White, saying the reported lowest minimum fighter pay of $12,500 in his promotion should be changed to $50,000.

The UFC boss has also come under heat since signing a $7.7billion broadcast deal with CBS and Paramount+, as fans believe that should naturally increase pay for fighters.

White has said that UFC fighter pay will increase when the deal starts in January 2026.

Duncan, who has opened up about his mental health struggles in the past, comes from the view that lower pay when earning your stripes is just part and parcel of the game.

Duncan: If you’re fighting for money, you’re in the wrong sport

“[All] you need to [do is] sign the contract,” Duncan continued.

“If you don’t want to sign the contract, you don’t get the opportunity to fight. And that’s just the nature of the sport. 

“You don’t just get to jump in at the very top. It’s just not the way it works — you need to serve your apprentice, you need to win fights. 

“With the White House card and stuff like that, the UFC is elevating, and it’s going to be on par with the NFL and soccer and all that stuff very, very soon.

“It’s such a young sport. It started in 1993. So like there’s so much like room to grow.

“I know they’re making a lot of money, but they’re a corporate business. They make the PI [UFC Performance Institute]. They give us meals. They give us supplements for free.

“We’ve got so many different areas that we gain from the UFC with the PI. 

“We can go live there and train there and get all the facilities for free – there’s so many pros and cons to it. 

“But sometimes you just have to get your head in the sand and just keep digging and not worry about all the money.

“And if you’re in it for money as well, you’re in the wrong f***ing sport. For sure. You would have been better off just going to work as a manager at Tesco.”

The Las Vegas event is headlined by a bantamweight title bout between dominant champion Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan as the pair come to blows for the second time.

It also sees Alexandre Pantoja defend his flyweight title for the fifth time against Joshua Van.

Van is the first athlete born in the 2000s to fight for a UFC title.