Sean O'Malley says UFC pay without title 'definitely sucks'

Sean O'Malley made it clear his UFC paychecks have dropped since losing the bantamweight title, and he is not happy about it.

The former champion, who knocked out Aimann Zahabi at the UFC White House event earlier this month, told Steiny from The Nelk Boys on a recent YouTube video that his purse for that fight was around $600,000. MMA Mania reports that figure came up when Steiny asked if O'Malley was only making six hundred grand per bout now. "It's close-ish," O'Malley confirmed, per the outlet.

How O'Malley's purses changed after losing the belt

The 31-year-old walked through his recent pay trajectory, noting that title fights brought significantly more money. His first shot at Aljamain Sterling paid decently, the Marlon Vera defense paid more, the first Merab Dvalishvili bout paid even more, but the rematch with Dvalishvili dropped. Then the Song Yadong fight was "way less," and the Zahabi purse landed in the same range. "It definitely sucks," he said.

O'Malley also mentioned missing out on a $450,000 performance bonus for the Zahabi knockout, which he thought deserved recognition given the setting. "That big of a moment, knocking out a Canadian in front of Trump, in front of the White House, hitting a salute before he even falls," he said, according to MMA Mania. "I'm like, that's just wild that wasn't a bonus moment."

Asked about reports that Alex Pereira made $10 million for his fight against Ciryl Gane, O'Malley said Pereira should be earning that kind of money but doubted the number was real. "Do I think he made ten million? No shot in hell," he said.

O'Malley next fights at a date to be determined, with matchmakers still working on his next opponent in the bantamweight division.

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• MMA Mania — Sean O’Malley dishes on UFC pay when you’re not a champion: ‘It definitely sucks’