Zuffa Boxing made waves last week by signing British welterweight Conor Benn to a reported one-fight, $15 million deal — a staggering number that immediately caught the attention of the combat sports world. The former Matchroom standout’s jump reportedly left promoter Eddie Hearn “devastated,” but it was the eight-figure payday that truly turned heads.
To put it in perspective, no UFC fighter has ever publicly disclosed earning a flat $15 million purse. While Conor McGregor banked massive money for his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Brock Lesnar scored big at UFC 200, the final numbers were heavily supplemented by pay-per-view points.
So when news of Benn’s deal surfaced, many wondered how UFC fighters would respond.
Enter UFC superstar Sean O’Malley — and he didn’t hold back.
“I don’t even know who Conor Benn is. He’s supposedly a pretty big name in boxing, but I’ve never f—king heard of him,” O’Malley said. “It’s crazy, bro. If they really paid this guy $15 million, I don’t know. It’s crazy how you put in so much work in the UFC. Build this name, create this character, be a star. I’m not making f—king $15 million to fight.”
“It’s also a business, and if they think it’s a good move and that guy is going to bring in money, I get it,” he added. “Business is business. He hates Oscar De La Hoya, hates Eddie Hearn, so it’s like let’s take their biggest star and pay them — I can see it being an ego thing. Again, I’ve never really heard of him.”
With Zuffa Boxing backed by Saudi powerbroker Turki Al-Sheikh, deep pockets clearly aren’t an issue.
In the end, Saudi Arabia is backing boxing, not MMA, unfortunately.