Heath Herring reveals why he's no longer fighting
by Giada Esposito on February 15, 2010

Heath Herring's last MMA fight took place at UFC 87 in August of 2008, when he lost a unanimous decision to Brock Lesnar in a fight that set Lesnar up to challenge for the UFC heavyweight title.

Since then, fans have wondered when the "Texas Crazy Horse" plans to return to action. Herring addressed that issue, and spelled out his feelings for the UFC on ESPN's Fight Night Radio this week.

"I really don't care too much for them (The UFC)", Herring said. "I don't think they care too much for me. They've got their guys they want to push, guys they want to market. Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir are the guys they want to push and market. The problem is, if you're one of the guys who's not one of their favorites, they want to keep you out of the competition. I'm trying to make money for myself, feed my family, and these guys are trying to do everything they can to make it impossible for me. With the way the UFC's pay scale is, and as much as it costs me to get ready for a fight, at the end of the day I made like 40 grand."

Herring has been busy pursuing a career in acting since he last fought, appearing in the films Never Surrender and Hell's Chain, as well as working on no less than four new movies planned for release in 2010. Right now, that's a situation that Herring seems happy with.

"If I was getting a little more money and it was worth my while I'd get back into fighting," Herring stated. "But right now I'm making more in movies. I've got to look out for number one as far as that goes. These guys are literally making money off our blood, sweat, and tears. We don't get any health insurance. If you get hurt training for a fight, you're screwed. It's really kind of crazy. Dana White's got six Ferrari's. Hell, I just want one."

Herring has had a busy MMA career, with an impressive record of 32-10 with one no contest, though he has been less successful in the UFC, where his record stands at 2-3.

 |  (15) Comments Hizoka: cannot blame him for that... its true Dana care more about his wallet now then anything else. IMO the UFC is headed for dark times as long as they keep Dana as the shot caller. Within 5 years the UFC will of lost most of its best fighters to other organizations unless they can start treating people with the respect they deserve, instead of thinking what freak show will bring in the most money Wandering_Minstrel: Eh, I dunno how I feel about this. Herring, you were a journeyman in Pride, something tells me you weren't going to be a champ in the UFC. Don't bitch because you can't win fights. I do agree that the money issues kinda suck and he's right that they market the fighters they want to fight, but... the UFC often pays medical bills for fighters out of pocket. 40 grand is a lot of money, more than what most make in a year. If you made that per fight and fought twice a year, thats 80 grand. Not bad in my opinion. Hizoka: part of the reason so many of the best fighters were in Pride was becasue Pride payed better... also the Japanese crowd did not care about wins and losses they cared about seeing people try their best regardless of the outcome, the UFC is the opposite, they could care less if its exciting or not as lon as you win. Ryan "Master" Bader is the perfict example i want to see great fights... not see people like Brock Lesner come into the UFC making more money then pretty much everyone else on the card put together just becasue he preteded to fight in the WWE thebutterflybee: Lol, just re read my post, maybe not ALL exciting, but the rest of te post I stand by! EverlastingSpringtime: Ive been craping on about fighters pays for years now, the UFC want us to think they are the top of the chain organization, and yet most main card fighters are yet to reach the six figure mark???? Some fighters have made more money fighting for smaller organizations (kimbo) and i hope that Strikeforce will raise the bar somewhat enough to pressure the UFC to do the same. At the end of the day the fighters themselves will go where the best deal is. UFC offers a lot of exposure world wide, mostly to retarded fans but its still raising their profiles. I think this is a big lure to young fighters... Herring could still make good money fighting in Japan or maybe Strikeforce, but by now he would realise its so much easier, learning a few lines and making money in movies. Good luck to him thug4less: The fact of the matter, despite what they talk about what fighters are paid, "under the table" so to speak, is that unless you're a massive draw and are a title contender/champion, you are not going to be straight paid more than five figures a fight. Should every fighter be getting six figures, of course not, but the payscale right now is outrageous and blatantly disrespectful. You can just see DW saying to some poor schmuck, "If you don't like what we're paying you, go fight for someone else!" The Hitman: he is actually right. the ufc has its stars and uses the rest as stepping stones. heath has always been a gatekeeper. Hizoka: the biggest problem i see is their name is mor important then their ability... when mir beat brock he got payed less for beating him then Brock was payed for losing... IMO the loser of a fight should never be payed more then the winner
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