“You know how much I love Joe, but as someone who spent seven years in the UFC and left the organization while ranked #4 in the rankings, I want to say that I didn’t have enough money to pay the bills and start building my family’s future,” the 34-year-old American fighter wrote on social media. “Between fights, my wife and I had to go to full-time jobs until I got my fee for my first Bellator fight.”
“My fee for my last fight in the top 5 of the UFC didn’t even come close to the six-figure sum of $100,000, and that was for 7 years and 15 fights, 13 of which were against top opponents. I got 16 grand for my debut fight in the UFC. Hell, even to get on Joe Rogan’s podcast, I had a hard time finding someone to cover me at work”
“In my first fight for Bellator, I got five times as much and was able to free my wife from work for the first time and fully focus on my fighting career. What good is a fan base if you have to go to work every day? Obviously, I’m going to choose fewer fans, financial freedom, and the ability to provide for my family after my career is over
“Yes, I got that money in part because of my success in the UFC, but we have fighters like A.J. McKee and Patchy Meeks who have achieved financial freedom in Bellator and they have tons of fans! I can say the same thing about Michael Chandler and Michael Page.”
“So if you want fans and fame, yes – you’ll have a better chance in the UFC. But if you want to make money, study the market and go where the money is. Fame doesn’t pay the bills – money does!”
Corey Anderson had his last fight in June this year, defeating former division champion Phil Davis by split decision. Prior to that, the American fought Vadim Nemkov twice in the Bellator welterweight grand prix – the first was declared a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads, but in the second fight, the Russian won a confident victory by unanimous decision of the judges and became the winner of the contest.