New UFC fighters sign for $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win — after taxes and management fees, a loss nets maybe $7,000–$8,000. Strickland slept in his coach's gym and rode a bike to training. He was making $1,000 per fight before getting UFC-signed, with no GED, no car, and no social skills. The UFC, he argues, is predatory — but for guys from Brazilian favelas or Dagestan, that money still changes lives.