Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Randy Couture has easily won the public relations battle with UFC President Dana White since Couture announced his retirement three weeks ago. Couture has said he doesn't get enough money and doesn't get enough respect, and White hasn't come across very well in his efforts to refute those charges.The respect part is open to interpretation, but as for the money, White is finally fighting back, and he seems to have a pretty good case. According to documents that UFC gave the Los Angeles Times, Couture has received about $2.9 million from UFC this year.
The breakdown: A $250,000 bonus when he signed his contract in January, another $250,000 bonus when he won the heavyweight championship from Tim Sylvia in March, a $250,000 purse for the fight with Sylvia, $936,000 in pay-per-view revenue for the Sylvia fight, a $250,000 purse for fighting Gabriel Gonzaga, a $35,000 bonus for winning the "fight of the night" against Gonzaga, $787,000 in pay-per-view money for the Gonzaga fight and $160,000 for working as a UFC commentator.
That works out to $2,918,000. Is that "fair"? I don't know. But I am starting to think Couture has overstated the extent to which UFC underpaid him.
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