George Roop defended the UFC's pay scale. | Photo: Sherdog.com
George Roop, on “Beatdown,” discussing his compensation as a UFC fighter:
“If you ask the UFC for anything, they’ll give it to you. If you need money up front, I’ve heard about … the UFC kind of fronting [fighters] their paychecks basically. I think the UFC takes really good care of you on top of the sponsors we get, even fighting on the undercards. You’re making pretty good money fighting in the UFC. I provide a good life for my family and everything. If you’re smart with your money and you save it and you live within your means, then you’re not going to be a brokedown fighter like Ken Shamrock … .
“In the UFC I would say I made about, with sponsors and everything last year, I made around $60,000 to $70,000 and I lost two of my fights even. My manager does a good job getting me sponsors. The UFC does a very good job about throwing out discretionary bonuses. … If [ESPN] would have come and talked to me, I would have told them straight up too. … I’m not scared to talk to anybody about how I’m treated or anything. If I have an issue with how much I make or if I’m not being treated fairly, I’m not scared to talk to anybody about it. That’s just the honest truth. If I felt that I was scared, then I’d have no problem telling [the media] either. I’d have no problem putting the UFC on blast if that’s what I had to do.”