UFC color commentator Joe Rogan went on record to say he has a problem with the huge gap in pay when comparing 135-pound titleholder Ronda Rousey's earnings to those of top bantamweight contender Miesha Tate.
After all, "Cupcake" is a great fighter, ranked No. 1 and has a "great ass," according to Joe.
It's a sentiment Tate agrees with, as she says her paychecks are nowhere near Ronda's, despite feeling as though she's fighting tougher and higher-ranked opponents than "Rowdy."
When you add that pickle to the fact that "Cupcake" got burned on a recent promised title shot, it's no wonder the former Strikeforce champion recently contemplated her retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA).
As she recently stated on The MMA Hour, while retiring is not something she wants to do, she won't be forced into taking fights just for the heck of it, especially if they don't mean much to her championship dreams.
He words:
"Well, it's not what I want. I guess there are different definitions of being okay with it. It's not what I want, but I also know that I there's a point where it's not okay and I'm not willing to bend and I'm not going to break and I'm a very stubborn person. I am a very strong-willed person. I think I'm a fair person, I don't think I'm asking for too much. But again, I feel like Joe Rogan said it best. He has an article written on him that I read some things he said on his podcast. I really think he was very spot on. He was like, 'I get it, I completely sympathize with Miesha and I don't understand why there is such a big discrepancy between number one and number two.' He said Ronda made over six million according to Forbes just on her fighting last year. I tell you, I made nowhere near, not even close to that, and yet they want me to fight higher-ranked and much better-skilled opponents than Ronda's fighting and she gets paid millions and I get paid pennies on the dollar. Yeah, I understand they have a job to do, they want to promote and make fights that sell, I get it. But, this is also my life and I am not a robot and I am not a puppet and I am not going to stand for something that I don't feel right about. I will not take fights if my heart is not into it, period. It doesn't matter who it is. If I don't feel good about it, I am not going to do it. The whole reason I do this sport is because I love it. And when politics get in the way and mess shit up, excuse my language, I am not just going to stand for it. It's not why I got into fighting and do what I do. I am not going to go out there and put on a crap performance in front of all of my fans because I didn't feel right about it."
We can go over why Ronda is getting paid what she's getting paid, or you can just click here for a quick overview.
Tate did reveal she and UFC president Dana White are going to have a "long overdue" sitdown later this month in Las Vegas, Nevada, to discuss her fighting future. Fair warning to White, if he doesn't come correct, he might lose one of his biggest female stars because she has a list of "demands" waiting for him.
For now, Tate says she has other avenues she's exploring thanks to her management team. Among her ongoing projects? Taking more movie roles and expanding her side gig as an analyst for FOX Sports.
At the end of the day, however, Tate is a fighter at heart. But she won't step back into the cage unless it makes dollars and cents sense.
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