UFC fighter John Makdessi was not happy with his purse after fighting Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 293 last weekend.
The veteran lightweight, who lost a close decision to the Australian as judges scored 29-28, took to X to share his pay slip, which shows he walked away with just over half of what he earned from the bout.
Makdessi, who hails from Canada, made $58,000 from the preliminary round affair but was only allowed to take home $28,461.65 as he was made to pay a 45 percent foreign tax that amounted to $26,100 while he also had money deducted for “medical,” “airfare,” and “others.”
“I sacrificed my whole life for this sport and put everything on the line. Damn Australian government and the judges robbed me pretty badly,” he wrote on said social media platform.
He has since deleted the post.
Makdessi, 38, has been with UFC since 2010, making his debut against Pat Audinwood at UFC 124. The fight was his 20th for the MMA promotion and he’s now 11-9 after losing to Mullarkey.
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His fighting career has pitted him against some big names, including Donald Cerrone, Anthony Njokuani, and Yancy Medeiros, while he has gotten wins against the likes of Abel Trujillo, Ross Pearson, and Sam Stout.
The recent defeat was the second consecutive as he lost to Nasrat Haqparast in 2022. He will hope his next fight will not be in Australia after having to fork out such a sum in taxes.
