After ever ruling as a UFC champion, Chris Weidman believes that hunters will benefit enormously from the stunning new UFC temporary employment deal.
After months of conversations and negotiations with various temporary workers, it was announced last Monday by UFC boss Dana White that the promotion signed a $ 7.7 billion deal with Paramount.
The stunning deal that starts in early 2026 will see the end of the PPV format in the United States, making the product much more accessible to everyone.
And because it is such a big problem, questions have been raised about whether fighters will see some of the $ 7.7 billion, and Jake Paul has concluded that hunters are re -negotiating their deals to receive a piece of the cake.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Chris Weidman believes that fighters are now being paid more
One thing that initially seems as if it can be a problem for hunters is the fact that there are no more PPV points for champions with headlining events.
And although the margins may have fallen in recent years with the decline of the PPV product, it was still a major negotiating force for some top hunters.
A hunter who had experienced PPV points at one of the highest was former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. 'The All-American' participated in five championship fights during his career in the UFC and won four of them.
Weidman's second fight against Anderson Silva was extremely lucrative, and he claimed it made a million PPV purchases, of which he would have earned a percentage.
However, he believes that the PPV model has been dying for some time, and with the change he has claimed that hunters will be much better off financially.
“When I was a champion, that is now 2013 when I won my belt, my second Anderson Silva fighting a million ppv purchases. I can't tell you the last time I have seen anything near a million ppv purchases and we are more than 12 years later,” Weidman told Mmajunkie.
“It is probably a good thing. It will give hunters the chance to earn more money. The PPV has fallen, probably with all illegal flows.
“The managers, the people responsible for the career of the MMA hunters will have to evolve and try to find the best ways to negotiate and find leverage … You will see a number of larger guaranteed payouts to the hunters,” Weidman continued.
Conor McGregor Waves saying goodbye to PPVs
The hunter who probably benefited the most from PPV points and brought in huge numbers, was former UFC -double champion Conor McGregor.
Not long after the news broke out, McGregor commented on the new deal with a message that praised itself as the PPV king.