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John Cholish, the former Lightweight mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who recently retired from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) primarily because of poor pay (more here) today made good on his promise to donate his purse to tornado victims in Oklahoma.
His final MMA haul? $2,014.
Cholish, who followed the philanthropic lead of fellow fighters such as Daniel Cormier -- who is selling shirts with CF Athletic -- and James Head took to Twitter earlier this afternoon to announce that he had received his final check in the amount of $2,014, which he earned after a submission loss to Gleison Tibaun at UFC on FX 8 on May 18, 2013, in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
His announcement:
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It may not seem like much, but the residents of Moore, Okla., who were displaced and devastated by the F5-level natural disaster are more than likely grateful. In fact, Cholish estimated shortly after his final appearance inside the Octagon that he would actually be around $10,000 to 15,000 in the hole once all the final expenses were taken away from his $8,000 show money.
Indeed, when asked by one of his follower's on Twitter if the $2,014 paycheck was after he paid his trainers, Cholish revealed the sum was his net gain.
But, he's not complaining:
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<style type="text/css"> div.twitterditto338032704488624128 { background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/profile_background_images/833778221/04f6c8ec080020ad6b7255b07e36b5ff.jpeg) no-repeat; padding: 20px; } div.twitterditto338032704488624128 a { color: #0084B4; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 { background: #fff; padding: 10px 12px 10px 30px; margin: 0; min-height: 48px; color: #000; font-size: 22px !important; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 30px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.metadata { display: block; width: 100%; clear: both; margin-top: 8px; padding: 12px 0px; height: 55px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.follow-button { float: right; padding: 0 30px 0 0; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.metadata div.author { line-height: 20px; color: #333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 span.tweet { font-size: 22px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.metadata div.author img { float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 a:hover { text-decoration: underline; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; display: block; color: #999; margin: 10px 0 0 0; line-height: 25px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a { color: #999; text-decoration: none; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a > span { display: inline-block; width: 16px; height: 16px; background-image: url("http://images.ientrymail.com/socialditto/everything-spritev2.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a.twitreply > span { background-position: 0px 3px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a.twitreply:hover > span { background-position: -16px 3px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a.favorite > span { background-position: -32px 2px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a.favorite:hover > span { background-position: -48px 2px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a.retweet > span { background-position: -80px 3px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 div.timestamp a.retweet:hover > span { background-position: -96px 3px; } p.indent { margin-left: 20px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 span.name { font-weight: bold; } div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 span.at-name a,div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 span.at-name a:visited, div.twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128 span.at-name a:hover { color: #999; text-decoration: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; } </style> <div class="twitterditto338032704488624128"> <div class="twitter-inner-ditto338032704488624128"> <div class="metadata"> <div class="follow-button"> <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnCholish" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false"> Follow @JohnCholish </a> </div> <div class="author"> <a href="http://twitter.com/JohnCholish"><img src="http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/3565372017/6a6fbb74abe08b0a3cebdaa8e8ed3523_normal.jpeg" alt="" /></a> <span class="name"> John Cholish </span> <br /> <span class="at-name"> <a href="http://twitter.com/JohnCholish" class="at-name">@JohnCholish</a> </span> </div> </div> <span class="tweet"> <a href="http://twitter.com/fraz1001">@fraz1001</a> to be clear not complaining, I just want to illustrate an example and support current fighters. Trying to do my part to help </span> <br/> <div class="timestamp"> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=338032704488624128" class="twitreply"><span> </span>Reply</a> · <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=338032704488624128" class="retweet"><span> </span>Retweet</a> · <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/favorite?tweet_id=338032704488624128" class="favorite"><span> </span>Favorite</a> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/JohnCholish/status/338032704488624128" title="Fri May 24 20:44:11 +0000 2013">4 days ago</a> via <a href="http://twitter.com/download/iphone" rel="nofollow">Twitter for iPhone</a> · powered by <a href="http://www.socialditto.com/">@socialditto</a> </div> </div> </div> <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");</script>
His critical comments didn't sit too well with UFC President Dana White, who responded by labeling Cholish an unhappy "washout."
While the Renzo Gracie Academy-trained student lost his last two bouts inside the Octagon, his sincere and unselfish gesture will undoubtedly make him a winner in the court of public opinion.
Perhaps even White might change his tune, too.