UFC 192's Tyron Woodley: Jon Jones will be highest-paid fighter when he returns

Tyron Woodley

UFC welterweight Tyron Woodley sees interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor on par with women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey when it comes to star power.

But Woodley, the No. 4 ranked fighter in the NOS Energy Drink MMA welterweight rankings, said they’re both in a different league than one person – deposed light heavyweight champ Jon Jones – when it comes to their bankability.

“I think when Jon comes back, he’ll take his spot as the highest-paid (fighter) in the UFC,” Woodley (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who next fights ex-champ and No. 2 ranked Johny Hendricks (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 192 pay-per-view co-headliner at Houston’s Toyota Center, told MMAjunkie.

In a recent interview, Rousey claimed she is the highest-paid UFC fighter just two years after she became the promotion’s first female champion. A recent Forbes list put her earnings over a one-year period at $6.5 million in fight pay and endorsements, though the promotion doesn’t officially disclose fighters’ total pay. She came in at No. 8 on a list of highest-paid female athletes.

Rousey’s claim, made during her appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” made headlines around the MMA world.

Jones, meanwhile, had some pretty stiff competition for bankability before an alleged hit-and-run cost him the UFC title. Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes didn’t include any MMA fighters.

But Woodley said Jones was cashing in as the long-reigning champion of the 205-pound division.

Just how much?

“He got paid what he was worth, and just so you know, I agree with it,” Woodley said. “I think Ronda should be making what she’s making. I think Jon should be making what he’s making.

“I don’t know what she gets paid, (but) I kind of know what Jon gets paid, and he was the highest paid while he was around. When he gets back, he’ll reclaim that, but I think right now, she’s probably making a good seven figures.”

For the record, Woodley thinks that’s a good thing. In the end, he said, better athlete compensation is going to trickle down to all fighters because of the sport’s growing popularity.

And while critics might take issue with the fighters’ share of the pie, Woodley trusts the UFC will share more of its success.

“All it does is raise the bar for us getting paid more money,” he said. “I think the sport is growing and more people are watching, and I think eventually we’ll start making more money. I have no doubt the UFC is going to spread some of the wealth.”

Those jealous of Rousey’s earning power, he said, “are focusing on what she’s getting paid; their attention is on the wrong thing.”

For more on UFC 192, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.