Gray Maynard spent just over a decade competing in the UFC, amassing a record of 11-7-1-1NC in the promotion.
A lot of fighters have recently spoken out against the UFC for how they pay their fighters and Maynard says the promotion likes to keep the athletes broke and starving.
“We have to have a union. We have to have people standing up for us. Dana is a great talker and is awesome. He always says boxing is broken and we create the best fights,” he said to BJPenn.com. “Like why do you have to create the best fights by forcing people to be broke and they need to fight? They force people into fights for your entertainment because they are starving. That doesn’t sound like a sport to me.”
Maynard has since left the UFC and has since stated that he has lost his passion to compete in professional MMA.
The former fighter also praises UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and BMF Champion Jorge Masvidal for speaking out against the UFC’s practices.
“I’ve been looking into it the last year or so. It is hard to do it while you are under contract with them. Hats off to Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal to do just that. A lot of other guys don’t have that name value so they need to keep fighting just to pay their bills,” Maynard said. “People think you need to keep your mouth shut, but Jones and Jorge, it is good they are speaking up. I’ve just been watching guys coming up and I know people are paying money to be in the UFC. Camps cost more than the $10-12,000 they make to fight.”
UFC Fight Night: Eye vs. Calvillo was the last UFC event and both headliners (Jessica Eye & Cynthia Calvillo) made less than $200,000 total (including bonuses) for headlining the card.
