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Jon Fitch made waves over the weekend when he expressed doubtthat PFL Season 1 winners would receive their guaranteed $1 million purses.
“I don’t have any faith that those guys are going to get paid their full amount,” Fitch said backstage at Bellator 214.
Fitch didn’t have any specific information to back up his remarks, but that didn’t stop him from confidently claiming that the promotion’s massive prize money isn’t as advertised.
If that’s the case, it’s news to Sean O'Connell. He already got his money.
“Yes, I got every dime I was promised,” O’Connell, who won the PFL light heavyweight title, told MMAjunkie on Monday. “All throughout the season that was the case. I got paid according to the rules that we all signed off on and according to the schedule that was laid out before the fights ever even happened with the commission, the drug testing and all that stuff. It all went off without a hitch. The money is in my bank account and untouchable.”
O’Connell confirmed MMAjunkie’s previous reporting of how he received his $1 million. O’Connell said he was paid $100,000 after his semifinals victory, which he called “walk-around money.” On the night of his finals win over Vinny Magalhaes, O’Connell said he received another $100,000. Once the New York State Athletic Commission received drug test results, O’Connell said he was paid the remaining $800,000, for a total of $1 million.
O’Connell hasn’t heard about any of the winners not receiving their full purses.
“Not to my knowledge. I don’t get to speak for anybody, but I would imagine that if there was issues with pay, you would’ve heard about it,” O’Connell said. “A lot of these guys are represented by the same manager who’s very influential in the business. He’s a vocal individual. I don’t think that if fighters weren’t getting paid, he’d kept giving a lot of leeway there. I’m quite sure that I was taken care of very well. I understand the skepticism with an emerging promotion, but in this case any concern was unnecessary.”
The manager O’Connell alluded to is Ali Abdelaziz, who represents four of the PFL champions. Abdelaziz already has come out and publicly contradicted Fitch’s claim (via Twitter).
I love Jon but all my 4 @ProFightLeague champs got paid $1 million Each
“You think if his guys didn’t get paid he’d be silent about it?” O’Connell said of Abdelaziz.
One of Fitch’s primary criticisms of PFL stemmed from his perceived lack of promotion all year and how that relates to being able to afford $1 million payouts for several fighters.
“All the money comes from investors, and at a certain point in time, if you’re not turning a profit, they’re not going to come around anymore,” Fitch said.
O’Connell responded.
“He’s right. You do have to turn a profit to make money,” O’Connell said. “Every indication, every conversation, everything I’ve seen or heard from PFL is that this is a long play and that they’re in this for the long haul. … I don’t know what Jon Fitch or anyone else is looking for from the PFL, except that they’re doing what they promised they would do. And they’re paying fighters better than other organizations are paying fighters. They are giving opportunity to people maybe who don’t want to go through that whole circus of fight hate speech and Instagram promotion and all that stuff. They just want to be a professional athlete and be a master of your craft to get to the top. They’ve offered me opportunities in broadcasting, which nobody else was willing to do.”
He continued, “You can’t have overnight success. The UFC didn’t have overnight success. Bellator still hasn’t had overnight success. ONE FC and Rizin and all these healthy promotions around the world take some time to build an audience. … This is Season 1 of what I think is going to be a bright future and hopefully a little but of a game-changer in the sport.”https://mmajunkie.com/2019/01/sean-oconnell-responds-to-jon-fitch-pfl-1-million-dollars-claim
“I don’t have any faith that those guys are going to get paid their full amount,” Fitch said backstage at Bellator 214.
Fitch didn’t have any specific information to back up his remarks, but that didn’t stop him from confidently claiming that the promotion’s massive prize money isn’t as advertised.
If that’s the case, it’s news to Sean O'Connell. He already got his money.
“Yes, I got every dime I was promised,” O’Connell, who won the PFL light heavyweight title, told MMAjunkie on Monday. “All throughout the season that was the case. I got paid according to the rules that we all signed off on and according to the schedule that was laid out before the fights ever even happened with the commission, the drug testing and all that stuff. It all went off without a hitch. The money is in my bank account and untouchable.”
O’Connell confirmed MMAjunkie’s previous reporting of how he received his $1 million. O’Connell said he was paid $100,000 after his semifinals victory, which he called “walk-around money.” On the night of his finals win over Vinny Magalhaes, O’Connell said he received another $100,000. Once the New York State Athletic Commission received drug test results, O’Connell said he was paid the remaining $800,000, for a total of $1 million.
O’Connell hasn’t heard about any of the winners not receiving their full purses.
“Not to my knowledge. I don’t get to speak for anybody, but I would imagine that if there was issues with pay, you would’ve heard about it,” O’Connell said. “A lot of these guys are represented by the same manager who’s very influential in the business. He’s a vocal individual. I don’t think that if fighters weren’t getting paid, he’d kept giving a lot of leeway there. I’m quite sure that I was taken care of very well. I understand the skepticism with an emerging promotion, but in this case any concern was unnecessary.”
The manager O’Connell alluded to is Ali Abdelaziz, who represents four of the PFL champions. Abdelaziz already has come out and publicly contradicted Fitch’s claim (via Twitter).
I love Jon but all my 4 @ProFightLeague champs got paid $1 million Each
“You think if his guys didn’t get paid he’d be silent about it?” O’Connell said of Abdelaziz.
One of Fitch’s primary criticisms of PFL stemmed from his perceived lack of promotion all year and how that relates to being able to afford $1 million payouts for several fighters.
“All the money comes from investors, and at a certain point in time, if you’re not turning a profit, they’re not going to come around anymore,” Fitch said.
O’Connell responded.
“He’s right. You do have to turn a profit to make money,” O’Connell said. “Every indication, every conversation, everything I’ve seen or heard from PFL is that this is a long play and that they’re in this for the long haul. … I don’t know what Jon Fitch or anyone else is looking for from the PFL, except that they’re doing what they promised they would do. And they’re paying fighters better than other organizations are paying fighters. They are giving opportunity to people maybe who don’t want to go through that whole circus of fight hate speech and Instagram promotion and all that stuff. They just want to be a professional athlete and be a master of your craft to get to the top. They’ve offered me opportunities in broadcasting, which nobody else was willing to do.”
He continued, “You can’t have overnight success. The UFC didn’t have overnight success. Bellator still hasn’t had overnight success. ONE FC and Rizin and all these healthy promotions around the world take some time to build an audience. … This is Season 1 of what I think is going to be a bright future and hopefully a little but of a game-changer in the sport.”https://mmajunkie.com/2019/01/sean-oconnell-responds-to-jon-fitch-pfl-1-million-dollars-claim
