Former UFC lightweight claims he was threatened with 'bad matchups' after asking for a better contract

Ramsey Nijem was one of a dozen or so mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters who parted ways with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) last month.

But not because he dropped a split decision at UFC on FOX 16.

Instead, Nijem (9-6) claims he was turned away because he asked for more money when the promotion offered up a new deal. Not only did reps balk at his request for additional dough, they flat-out threatened him with "bad match ups" if he didn't play ball.

From MMA Junkie Radio:

"They made an offer to me and - man, I'm losing money fighting there. I said no and that I need more money to fight because it's not possible. If you don't have sponsorships it's not profitable. It's a really hard way to make a minimum wage salary. I asked for more money and they said, ‘No, this is what you're going to get.' That was that. The next thing you know, I got pulled out and told I was going to get bad matchups. I was given a bad matchup. After that was the whole WADA thing. I just don't think I get paid enough to tell someone where I'm at every single day. I'd have to move up a weight class without IVs. It was a lot of things, man. It was a month later after my fight. If it was because of the fight, I'd have gotten cut right after the fight. But it really wasn't because of that. It's because I refused to sign the WADA and I didn't want to keep losing money."

Ask Donald Cerrone what it's like trying to stay on the USADA schedule.

Nijem finished in second place as part of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 13, falling to Tony Ferguson in the live finale. Since then, the former collegiate wrestling standout went 5-4 with two performance bonuses (Fight of the Night, Performance of the Night).

No doubt he would be a fine addition to competing promotions, or at the very least, a welcome fit with this crew.