UFC Fighter Colby Covington Says WWE Treats Its Wrestlers Better Than UFC Treats Its Fighters
John Oliver's scathing review of WWE couldn't have come at a worst time for the company with WrestleMania 35 just days away. Oliver called out WWE for its poor treatment of wrestlers such as not offering them the best healthcare considering their job and treating them as independent contractors instead of employees.
Yet, one athlete is envious of WWE's treatment for its contractors and that's UFC fighter Colby Covington. He appeared on Submission Radio where he said that WWE treats its wrestlers better than the UFC treats its fighters.
"You can't even compare the two," Covington said about WWE and UFC. "I mean, WWE, they're not making $10,000 pay checks, those guys are getting paid, man. They're all making at least $500k plus a year minimum. Most of them are making multi-millions a year, with their t-shirt deals they're making even more. And I'm pretty sure all those guys get health insurance and retirement benefits. We don't get none of that sh** in the UFC, we don't get no healthcare unless we're fighting.
"Last time I was in training camp and I broke my hand, I had to pay for that out of pocket. Like, that wouldn't happen in the WWE. So, they don't even compare. There's no parallel to it, man. The UFC, we get paid like dog sh**. It's pennies over here, and he has no idea, man. If he came and looked into the books and really did some research into the UFC man, there's no parallel, everyone's getting taken advantage of in the UFC."
Covington does know a little bit of how wrestling works as he appeared in Impact Wrestling a number of times in 2017. He and several other MMA fighters aligned themselves with Bobby Lashley and King Mo in their feud against Moose and Stephan Bonnar.
Oliver's rant was directed at WWE ahead of their biggest event of the year and it soon went viral. Covington offered to reveal the curtain about UFC's treatment of its fighters by speaking to Oliver.
"Yeah, for sure man. I'm the right guy for it," Covington said about talking to Oliver. "Like, obviously I speak my mind and I say how I feel, and I'm also not scared of losing my job, man. Some of these guys, they're so scared to lose their job. Obviously, I stood up to the UFC brass, I stood up to Dana White. I didn't give a f***, dude. I was willing to lose my job.
"So yeah, definitely I'll speak to the guy and speak truth. And if fans are starting to come around and start to like me more, they're starting to see all the truth I speak and how I speak stuff into existence and how I believe in the power of manifestation. You know, the people can get behind that because I'm real. I definitely would love to talk to him."