First Jon Jones, now Jorge Masvidal.
For a while now, the welterweight division has been on a standstill due to the uncertainty of the UFC Welterweight title match-up. Masvidal vs. Usman has been the clear target; however, money is the issue for the potential 170-pound contest as “Gamebred” has threaten to leave the promotion if White doesn’t give him what he feels he deserves:
Just like White has refused to give in to Jon Jones’ demand, the UFC President stated that he isn’t forcing Masvidal to fight, thus he can exercise his right not to do so if he pleases.
Following White’s comments, Masvidal conducted an interview with ESPN and detailed his issues about the company pay to UFC fighters, noting that the men and women of the UFC only make 18% of the company’s total revenue, unlike players in the NBA, MLB, and NFL, who make closer to 50%.
White addresses the Florida native’s comments and questions why he’s speaking up now about more money when he just signed a eight-fight contract deal (Transcript courtesy of Fightful):
"Being the financial wizard that he is, I'm sure his numbers are correct [laughs]. We just signed a new deal with Masvidal, he just signed a new eight-fight deal. He's got seven fights left on his deal. My people were working with him and trying to get a deal done when he already has a deal. Jon Jones has seven-fights left on his deal. We just did a deal with both guys. This isn't a three-year-old deal. This was months ago."
Masvidal responded by stating that he was given a “take it or leave it” deal before his last few fights and even questions why several top names are threatening to leave as well: