Roger Huerta and UFC “Far Apart” On Contract Renewal
Following his UFC 87 bout against Kenny Florian on Saturday, UFC lightweight contender Roger Huerta will have just one fight remaining on his current contract with the UFC. While a win over Florian would essentially guarantee Huerta a shot at the 155-pound title, he’s unlikely to challenge for the belt unless he agrees to terms with the UFC on a new deal.
According to Dave Meltzer at The Wrestling Observer, Huerta and the UFC remain “far apart” in negotiations with Huerta seeking a deal better than current lightweight champion BJ Penn:
“Huerta, who has one fight left on his contact after the Florian fight, is far apart with UFC on terms for a renewal. Huerta, who has gotten a new agent, was asking for six-figures guaranteed per fight as well as points on the PPV, in negotiations that haven’t gone well for some time. That’s a better deal then Penn, so he wasn’t going to get it. The UFC position is that they groomed Huerta and pushed him hard and were careful of his opponents, with the exception of Clay Guida.”
Huerta recently made headlines for expressing his displeasure with the UFC in an interview with Fight! Magazine.
“The truth is, I don’t really care if I fight in the UFC or somewhere else,” Huerta said. “[I want to work] for a company that is as loyal to me as I am to them.”
[HT: MMAMania.com]
AH AH NO…. THIS SUCKS….HUERTA JUST STAY TO FIGHT PENN PLEASE…
Huerta needs to win this fight or his stock will drop. This fight wasn’t groomed for him flo is the real deal.
I dont blame the fighters for wanting more $$$ but lets not get ahead of ourselves, huerta. You are an excellent fighter but everybody knows the 1st contract signed with the ufc usally sucks unless you are coming with a name.
YEAH THATS TRUE. HIS CONTRACT WILL BE BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND CUZ HOW BIG HE IS…. BUT HES ASKING FOR TO MUCH… EVERYONE HAS WORKED THERE WAY UP… JUST STICK WITH IT HUERTA…
come one roger, please don’t become another tito!
Roger, stomp Kenny and I mean STOMP HIM and then maybe they will pay you what you deserve!!!!
But then again, no, I doubt they will.
But maybe you do need to tone it down a bit on what you are asking for.
Maybe Affliction will nab him, as they might be the only promotion that can afford to pay him whatever he wants.
BUT DOES AFFLICTION EVEN HAVE A WW YET…
For starters, KenFlo is going to smoke this guy.
Where is he possibly going to go to make the kind of money he’s asking for? He’s working for the #1 MMA organization that has the most money. He claims “[I want to work] for a company that is as loyal to me as I am to them.” Let’s not mince words; you want money.
Let Affliction have him. Tag-team match: Roger and Tito vs. Fedor.
Best of luck Roger…
ERIZZLE I THING YOU MEANT TO SAY ROGER IS GOING TO SMOKE THIS GUY…. LOL
huerta deserves a good purse, however he doesnt deserve to be paid more than the current champ…
if he were to go up against BJ right now, he’d loose…
if he is smart he will take the pay cut, and fight with the best… rather than try to get more money elsewhere… hes a good fighter but in a sport like this you dont get paid for your potential, you get paid for results… and sure he is prooving himself and does produce good results, but again you dont get more money because you can do good… you get it because you did do good… and he needs more time to show that hes worth what hes asking for
Roger makes some good points but he is asking for too much. Instead of paying more per fight, I wish the UFC would just let these guys fight up to 4 times a year if they are healthy and want to fight. Just like any job, if over-time is an option it’s a way to make the extra money you need.
WELL SAID JIUJITSUMAN… WELLS SAID…
Now I’m all for the fighters getting more than they are, but come on Roger you’re getting a little greedy now. 6 figures and a piece of the PPV?! I could see him demanding that if he was a three time defending champ but he has never even owned the belt.
My god, I used to really like Roger. But that boys head has gotten to big for his own good. Yes your undefeated in the UFC, big deal you’ve been spoon fed opponents. You haven’t done anything to deserve a contract like BJ Penn’s, he’s been fighting since UFC 31 for christs sake and he a 2 time world champ. What’s funny is lets see how high those demands are after saturday when he has no answer for Kenflo’s elbows and BJJ.
are you kidding me? Brandon Vera gets $250,000 per fight and they won’t give Huerta a 6 figure contract? Christ, Amir Sadollah makes 6 figures to fight in the ufc (which, lets mention, he HASNT done yet).
The UFC is ridiculous. He SHOULD get paid more than Bj Penn. His contract is up for renewal, that’s the way it works. When Bj’s contract is up, he could likely become the highest paid UFC fighter. Again, asking for 4 fights a year, at approx $150,000 a fight is only $600,000. $600,000 is pennies compared to every other professional sport. I’m not sayin Elite XC fighters should get paid this much, but this is the UFC. Come on….
THE ROB:
WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY IT ONLY MAKES SENSE…. GOOD POINT
Ahhhhh yes. I hope Huerta wins against Florian, doesn’t get his title shot because of a contract dispute, Dana delays his next fight making him look like an a$$ yet again and then Huerta wins that fight (Sherk maybe?) and heads over to Affliction or EliteXC.
Main problem? He will have a very difficult time getting past Florian.
but vera, unlike huerta has fought well known fighters, lost some and won others… the only person huerta has fought that has any kind of notoriety was guida, and if that guy got a hair cut hed be a different fighter…
i dont think huerta has had real tough fight yet… and thats something he needs, the fight with kenflo is just that, if he comes out on top then he deserves a higher rate of pay, but if he looses then he deserves what ever he gets…
i still dont think he should be paid more than BJ at huerta’s current lvl of competition… i say offer him a small pay increase 100k per fight NO POINTS… offer it for a 2 year 6 fight deal(300k is alot of money to live off of per year) with possible bonus depending on fight outcome… as well as a chance at a title shot provided he continues winning…
what i love about the UFC is it is a pay for performance pay structure, the better you perform the more money you can make…
huerta does deserve a pay increase, but he doesnt yet deserve to paid more than the champ…
if i was BJ and i found out some new comer was making more money than me id be pissed and demand a fight with the guy just to proove he wasnt worth the money and then id demand more pay… and id deserve it
I’ve been a huge fan of Huerta but F his “entitled” attitude. I love the way the guy never says die and how he has no quit in him. However, he is not the right fighter to carry the UFC with the way his wishful thinking contract is trying to make him like a God of MMA. Zuffa and UFC make the rules not the fighters. I’ve totally switched my opinion on this match up. Now I want KenFlo to kick the f-ing life out of Huerta. Huerta has an ungreatful attitude when it comes to the UFC. I find it rather f-d up that the UFC gave him fame and helped his career just for him to turn around and ask for more than the champ.(Penn) My hopes are that all the fighters like Huerta, Ortiz and other money hungry penis’ go to other sturggling promotions and fail. The UFC still has the vast majority of talent therefore making it very hard for other fighters in different promotions to prove they are the best.(unless their name is Fedor)Zuffa has billions of dollars and I truly believe UFC fighters will start getting their bigger pay days. All these fighters screaming “now now now me me me” are greedy f-ing idiots. The big pay days will come.
1st Vera got $100,000 base and another $100,000 for the win. So no he doesn’t make $250,000 a fight. Amir gets a 6 figure contract, not 6 figures a fight. He doesn’t deserve more than the champ, this isn’t how it works. He’s done a good job, so I would say 75K to 100K make it a 3 fight deal, so if he ever becomes champ (which basicly means if BJ beats GSP and vacates the LW title) then you can get a bigger pay day. But in all honesty Huerta hasent even headlined a PPV yet.hell He’s 3rd this saturday and that’s the highest I’ve ever seen him on a card. YOU DON’T GET THE SAME PAY AS THE CHAMP FOR BEING THE 1st FIGHT OF THE TELECAST YOUR WHOLE CAREER!
I agree, pay him more, but what he is asking for is crazy! Does he back down from his demands if he loses against KenFlo…If KenFlo beats him, then does he deserve Penn type money? All you have to do is win big fights and you will get paid. Huerta wins this fight, then he will get paid. I think fighters are looking for excuses to jump because they know they have no shot against guys like BJ, GSP, or Anderson Silva. I like Huerta, but he cannot beat Penn. He barely beat Leonard Garcie and Guida and they are not KenFlo or Penn. This is ashame that the UFC could be losing great fighters like Huerta because of money.
HE WAS THE MAIN EVENT FOR THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINALE…
KOuch
I agree 100% with you. I liked Huerta’s heart in fights. But after all this I can’t respect him. He really thinks he’s better than he really is. Well reality is gonna knock on his door come saturday. Tick…tock.
YZFOX-
Yes I know he headlined the finale, but that’s not the same as headlining a PPV thus 75K to 100K is reasonable (not counting fight bonuses)
KOuch I just KNEW you would change your mind on him. Nazi FlipFlopper!!!
Huerta did not BARELY beat Garcia…you need to watch that fight again.
Thanks to Affliction, UFC will begin having these problems with ALL of their fighters…
I still feel a “I told you so” moment coming soon…and probably not Huerta.
We have to remember Huerta and his agent are going to play the bargaining game. Huerta and his agent are probably hoping Affliction will throw a ****load of money his way to use his “UFC” past as a promo tool like they do with every other former UFC vet. I told you guys money would f this all up and we have Affliction to thank. Investors who don’t give two flying midget f–ks about the future good of the sport.
AFFLICTION IS F***ING EVERYTHING UP… DOES AFFLICTION EVEN HAVE A WW DIVISION YET
Dannyboy,
That fight with Garcia was a war. By the way, I looked it up, not all midgets have SARs…..LIAR! I TOLD YOU SO!
I really don’t see this as a affliction problem. Its just 1 guy thinking he’s bigger than he is. Affliction doesn’t have a LW division and at this rate doesn’t have the capital to get one, since LW don’t traditionally do well as headliners (another reason he doesn’t get the big pay day he wants). I bang on affliciton for being a poorly run, soon to be bankrupt org. But one thing they did get right is people traditionally like watching the Light heavy weight and heavy weight classes, that’s why currently they only have those 2 weights under contract.