Roger Huerta Not Happy With The UFC
In a recent interview with FIGHT! Magazine, lightweight contender Roger Huerta spoke out against the less than fair treatment he claims to receive from the UFC, and leaves few details to the imagination:
“Huerta’s disillusionment with the UFC began when he did press tours for his employer in Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, and London and received a $50 per diem for his troubles. It sounds like a a good deal until you factor in time away from training, friends, and family, days often stretch twelve hours or more, and an exchange rate of one UK pound for two American dollars. “Why do you think I don’t do PR for the UFC any more?†he asks.
He’s also unhappy with the terms of his current contract, but to Huerta, the press tours underscore a larger point: by and the large, Zuffa does not treat its contracted fighters with sufficient loyalty or respect. He argues that many UFC fighters barely make enough to cover their training expenses. He brings up teammate Keith Jardine repeatedly, incensed that a main event fighter is working for ten and ten- $10k to show and 10k to win - while his opponent regularly makes ten times as much.”
Huerta would go on to reprimand wealthy sponsors who have attempted to “low-ball†him in the past, and capped things off with some concerning words for UFC brass and fans alike:
“The truth is, I don’t really care if I fight in the UFC or somewhere else,†Huerta says. The fighter says he understands that Zuffa has to keep an eye on the bottom line, but he wants to work, “For a company that is as loyal to me as I am to them.â€
Huerta speaking out so publicly against the UFC is naturally a risky move (see Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz or Andrei Arlovski), but with only one fight remaining on his contract following his bout with Kenny Florian, its entirely possible that “El Matador†has already decided to seek greener pastures once his contractual obligations are fulfilled.
go to dream huerta fight alvarez
this would be a huge mistake if the UFC doesn’t keep him happy. he’s not the biggest name but he’s got alot going for him that the UFC can use.
1) good fighter, possible champ some day (if BJ gets shot)
2) Great back story showing someone striving thru adversity
3) Good looking young dude that can be used in marketing campaigns to draw female fans
4) Able to get UFC into hispanic markets which traditionally love combat sports
The UFC would lose alot more than just a good fighter if this guy walks.
No, Huerta can’t go !!
He is the UFC’s future, fighters like him
Agreed. Huerta is good. Very good and the UFC should not be willing to part with him over money. They make hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
When is the Hansen-Alvarez fight? Of course Alvarez will win that, and I agree, a fight with huerta would be awesome to see.
THAT WILL BE A HUGE LOSS. ROGER NEEDS TO STAY HERE. IT APPEARS UFC NEEDS HELP ON HOW TO PAY FIGHTERS. I HAVE NO IDEA WERE ALL THE MONEY GOES. I LOVE WATCHING HUERTA FIGHT AND HE NEEDS WHAT HE DESERVES. IF ROGER LEAVES I UNDERSTAND BUT HE IS SUCH A THREAT IN THE DIVISION. AND HE WOULD BE LEAVING EVERYTHING. HE IS A FEATURE CHAMP. WHEN HE GETS HIS SHOT WITH BJ. SHUT EVERYONE UP ABOUT BJ BEING THE BEST P4P. ROGER HAS A GOOD CAMP WORKING WITH JACKSON.I DON’T SEE UFC LETTING HIM GO… DANA IS SMARTER THEN THAT
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IT CANT BE TRUE ITS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!
All the money gets poketed by the Fertitas and Dana White. It’s time they step up and pay these guys. If they don’t Affliction cetainly will!
I think he may have an eye on affliction.
BJ v Heurta would be fireworks
Huerta is good but who was he before he came to the UFC. If I’m correct, a fighter has a chance to look over a contract before its agreed to and signed. If he thought he was worth more, he should have asked for it at that time. I guarantee u that if he would have kept his mouth shut, he would have been paid very well by the UFC in his next fight contract. Now he takes a chance of getting low-balled by the UFC. Granted, Keith Jardine is paid little but he has never complained because he knows he has an opportunity to get more just because of his wins against Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. When it comes contract time, he will get paid. By the way, Rogers probably making over 100k per fight with fight bonuses and endorsements.
Guys, calm down. Everyone! The UFC is not the ONLY MMA promotion out there, much to Dana White’s chagrin. Ok, right now it is the best MMA promotion there is. For the most part has the best fighters. If you look at the UFC’s roster from top to bottom there isn’t anything in the world that compares. If these new promotions keep coming out and trying to draw away fighters maybe Dana and Frank and Lorenzo will start putting on better shows. Stop putting out 4 PPVs in a 60 day span, with a bunch of clowns where the have to pay them something. There has to be a way to make the WEC the UFC Jr. and keep them as the juniors leagues. Make it so the small time fighters and big times fighters don’t share the same card. Make the UFC something to strive to like before not something to climb the ladder of then run to something else for $greener$ pastures.
I’m sure he’ll still be complaining after losing to Florian. Good fighter, but no surprise if he leaves for the $ and because he can’t keep up.
Man, what is the biggest mma company doing!!! this past year they have lost some big names.. do they not care like what i know they can find and make new stars but will they be worth as much when the other orrgs get the name that are hot now and when they start making new names out side the ufc it will really start to suck for them. they need a MMA FIGHTER UNION over in the ufc it would probably help out alot
I gotta say, I don’t think Roger has done enough for MMA yet that he can complain about his pay. His fight with Guidda is probably his most memerable to date, but he hasn’t captured a title, he hasn’t become a huge name, he hasn’t headlined a ppv. And until he draws the crowd to bring the money he can’t complain about not getting the money. Randy/Tito/AA/Sylvia (believe the last one or not) have ALL been people to draw and headline events. They are who ppl paid to watch win or lose and Huerta is not that guy….yet.
At the end of his last fight, Huerta said on national tv that he wanted to bring the UFC to Mexico. Dana white, many times in 2007, said he was going to bring the UFC to Mexico in 2008. The year is almost out, and I do not think they are anywhere near that possibility. So if the UFC loses Huerta to another MMA organization, I believe he could be a headliner for another MMA organization to be the first. The latino market has a lot of disposeable income, and they always take care of their own. Dana, just keep making the wrong decisions, and all the good you have done for the Fertittas, may fade. Losing 90 million potential customers in Mexico to (”a t-shirt company,” as Dana said) Affliction, would not look good. Not to mention Mexicans are hardcore boxing fans. If they could change to MMA, that’s a lot of dollars fo a long time to come.
$50 Is this the UFC or the NCAA?
Dana was right when he said that MMA is going to be the biggest, most popular, most watched sport in the world. But, they are taking a huge risk by not taking care of their fighters. What is the difference between the UFC and Affliction? The production quality was missing from the Affliction show. But Affliction had, and it looks like they may have the quality and talent to match the UFC. All Affliction has to do to be an equal to the UFC or even take the majority of the market from the UFC is keep paying the fighters well, and hope the UFC does not start paying fighters well so that they can keep stealing good fighters, improve the production quality (easily done & a matter of time), and get rid of the gimmicks (megedeath & oversized ring). Something Affliction has over the UFC is the underdog effect and lack of an ego-maniac corporate spokes person. Sure they have Trump but he is just the money man. he doesnt speak for the company necessarily. Where as Dana is full blown ego-maniac he has made himself the most important man in MMA. No one cares about Dana, We just want to see good fights. He needs to get out of the picture and stop pissing off fighters or the UFC is going to fade out as the standard in MMA.
This sucks. He’s one of my favorite fighters and me being the UFC nazi I am……well, Huerta leaving would just kill me. I could seriously go through with the cowardly act of kicking a midget in the nuts with my anger should he leave. I see KenFlo defeating Huerta but didn’t want Huerta to go anywhere other than onto his next opponent.(Tyson Griffin, Stevenson, Edgar, Lauzon…..nearly anyone in the LW division.)Zuffa needs to raise fighter slaries or at the least make some sort of public statement making sense of what seems to be “unfair” fighters salary. I understand the obvious rule of “fame/big name”= drawing power. I don’t understand what Zuffa is doing at this point not rewarding fighters a little more through salary. Affliction like them or not just made an impact on the world of MMA. Tim ****head Sylvia just got $800,000! His big name gave Affliction drawing power along with opther fighters and let it show in the popular fighters salaries. The UFC is left with no choice but to start upping salaries or the talent will leave elsewhere.
The one thing I will still give Dana is this: Dana once said, “No one knows the business of MMA the way I do.” Up to this point that has proven very true. He has his critics but that has nothing to do with his and the UFC’s success.
He has been great for the sport.
Yeah he should get some more money and a new contract, but I take issue with his first comments about press tours, most likely he was asked to attend the events and not forced. Secondly the UFC most likely paid for his hotel, travel, and at least the majority of his meals, so it’s not like they said “here’s $50 now get yourself to London.” The PR tours arent just for the UFC, they help him too. He gets his name and face out there which helps increase his sponsorships and his income.
So I did some research on Roger. He pulls in a good amount for fighting in the UFC. He won alot of ‘fight of the night’ earning 40k-25k in addition to his fight money. About the PR stuff, I don’t really know, but it seems to me if you do well in your fights, you will get treated well. (bounses)
As for Keith Jardine, yes he isn’t making the money he should be. But if you look at the over all picture, Keith got in contract with the UFC way over a year ago (maybe longer, correct me if I’m wrong). If Keith continues to build a fan base and represent the UFC well, when its time to redo his contract he will earn so much more. Its not all about losing or winning. Look at Diego Sanchez. In his last two fights of his contract he lost… Now with this new fight contract, he makes 60k per fight!!! Of course two year early UFC won’t have as much money as they do now, so if UFC slowly grows it will slowly help the fighters. But you can’t break what you have already sign earlier (contract). Stick it throught and if you do well, UFC shown to increase their pay.
Roger made a huge mistake by not looking at the overall picture. He can’t compare himself to other fighters(Not everyone can get paid like Tim Silva), everyone situation is different, treated badly? I don’t know… he didn’t say much about that beside talking about Keith.
I guess I will be cheering for Kenny to win this. I was a fan too.
Why hasn’t Huerta fought in 2008 yet? This guy won 5 fights in 2007 and then just stopped for what will be over 8 months come fight day… What’s the reasoning there?
Arnold,
Good point. The media/press do have a way of misquoting to stir **** up.
randys gotta get that fighters union underway!
He makes some very valid points, and I won’t argue them. I am not sure what he makes, but that it is not his only gripe. To his point about Jardine and his contract, if it was not for the ultimate fighter and the UFC almost all people would be Keith Who? He did not win the Ultimate Fighter, he lost but was till offered a contract he apparently he eagerly signed. His assention in the rankis from that point on is a mute a point because he signed a contract he was happy with at the time. If he had not been on the show and not been in the UFC and had their hype machine behind, how much do you think he could command as a fighter in other organizations, not so much would be my guess.
Good, I hope he leaves and stays gone. He’s a freaking traitor. Born, raised and lives in the United States of America and all he can do is wave and wear the mexican flag. Traitor and poster child for immigration reform.
i think fighters are stupid to go fight somewhere else when they feel cheated by the UFC. cause then they are never really watched ever again. UFC is where it is at. all though it is true they should do a bit more to keep their fighters happy.
i respectfully disagree. the dude put on fight of the year in addition to some other really good fights, had a SI cover and he’s a class act. not to mention the potential that he can offer to the sport and whoever he fights for.
and from the article it doesn’t sound like the same stuff that others are complaining about. it sounds more like he’s pissed about what he’s getting in return for his efforts outside the cage. I have a lame ass job and i still get $50 per diem when i go places. if he’s doing this to help grow the sport and take time out of his life, they can afford to let him enjoy that time. regardless of what you do for a living, little things like that go a long way with employees. i would imagine the issue of respect being the same if not more for fighters.
fyi, i was respectfully disagreeing with brandon. but i left the computer for a while to watcha lame movie and submitted the post later which is why it came up as no. 28. and another fyi, the movie doomsday is lame, i was hoping for some boobies from the main actress but was sadly dissapointed.
the rob,
my understanding is that huerta was exhausted after 2007 considering that he did 5 fights and took some time away to finish school and do some stuff outside the cage. not sure if he had any serious injuries to heal from, but i can imagine 5 fights in one year takes a toll and a break from the action isn’t completely unreasonable(just my opinion).
Huerta is an overrated hype machine that, aside from Guida, has been served cans his entire career so that the UFC could build up his image to help gain more Hispanic fans..
good riddance Roger! dont let the door slam you in the booty…
Roger needs to stay he’s that good…
the ufc needs to do something to keep huerta. he’s not just some bonehead like tito running his mouth, he’s worth them paying the extra few bucks. if affliction can have such high payouts for their first show, the ufc should step it up a notch. DO SOMETHING DANA!!!
UFC pays to little while Affiction pays to much , Some of the under card fighters get paid 2-3k, They really need to set a standard of 10k minimum
and as far as guys like Sylvia getting 800k thats sick or like the UFC with Tito 210k to lose yet they don’t have the money to pay fighters a minimum of 10k each???? yaaaaah. As for your Main event fighters they should make no less then 100k each and as for your main card they should make no less then 30k each minimum. As far as Tito 210k to lose, well Machida beat him and got 100k and Sean Sherk got 35k in the main event for a loss. Ya there is something wrong with that payout. Huerta has every right to say what he wants not like its called land of no freedom of speech??? Well I guess most sports is like this but it still doesn’t make it not B.S.
hmm this seems to be getting a little routine for the UFC..a number of fighters complain about them…if the UFC want to dominate the mixed martial arts world then they need to pay a bit more attention to their fighters..Huerta is the future of the UFC and i think it would be stupid for Dana to send him packing…Dana is so stubborn as soon as sumone upsets him they are on their way…wake up Dana!!
dont worry they will resolve the problem…they wont let there mexican poster boy go
if kenny and huerta go to a descion then huerta will win it
And, sadly, the storm clouds continue to build over UFC. Clearly this is a serious issue for Dana & Co as Huerta is their big draw for the hispanic community, which is a growing economic force.
you people are morons that complain about the fighters money! you will see the **** hit the fan when affliction is shut down because they cant pay the fighters any longer! it is coming soon! business is business.
I’m having a “I told you so” moment here. Let me enjoy.
Okay I’m done enjoying this moment. Wonder where aznstar is on this one?
It’s fun being right for once… with the wife I have it’s an extremely rare thing.
Oops I didn’t see what KOuch said so I Must comment.
KOuch…I’m glad you’re seeing things my way finally. But is Dana too stubborn to see it that way too? He is and has been for years…this is why he DOES NOT DESERVE THE GOVERNING POWER OF ALL MMA and also why we NEED more organizations that can ACTUALLY COMPETE with the UFC so the fighters can have some leverage.
This is a great day for me.
who cares, bye bye This division is so stacked we will never miss him. After the thumping ken flo gives him next weekend he will want to go some other organization.
brian, you’re out of your freakin mind!
with the exception of the leonard garcia fight, which is one the ufc’s greatest fights in history, huerta has finished every single fight in DOMINANT fashion. the division IS stacked, but you can’t lose a fighter like him. besides, you’ll be singing a different tune when he beats down ken flo (what a gay nickname).
Kelvin,
I wouldn’t say Huerta finished Guida in dominant fashion. Guida was kicking his ass badly until the 3rd round submission.
he finished guida, maybe not in a dominant fashion, but the bottom line is it was a hell of a fight as were alot of his other fights. he’s not the end all be all of the sport but it makes sense to keep him happy.
Huerta is on a roll. It makes sense to keep it going strong…
my point was that it wasn’t a decision. just when it seemed he was gonna lose, he hurt guida bad and made him tap. that’s what i meant.
who is happy with the UFC? LOL. just shut up and leave huerta. they are just feeding you opponents to appeal to latin american demographic. florian is going to roll you.
Huerta isnt that great. he is, however, entertaining. I would LOVE to see Matt Wiman vs Roger Huerta again… or Clay Guida vs Roger Huerta again. the guy can entertain the shell out of you.
Huertas a good young fighter but I think there is just too much hype about him.. i know the SI cover had to with it a little but all his opponents besides Clay Guida sucked horribly and are no longer in the UFC, and Clay was beating him until the last round. Hes a good fighter but i dont think you can put him up there with the top fighters unless he beats Florian or someone on that level…Does anyone else feel this way?
Huerta is young in his career yet so I don’t think he is ready for the title shot. I do believe that he can beat Ken Flo but maybe not this month. He reminds me of two other athletic fighters
GSP and Melvin Guillard. I think he is deciding which way he will go but right now I put him over to the GSP side of the scale. The man can do things you can’t train for as your sparring partners can’t mimic him…
sounds to me like hes gone after the kenny fight, which will be a shame, i think kenny will beat him tho
NO Roger is not leaving nor does he plan to. In this interview Roger was only explaining that from his point he just wants to fight and to be paid accordingly. UFC or what ever origination!