In Dana‘s corner: Fighters are wrong to claim UFC boss exploits them over pay, says legend Sonnen as he slams McGregor injury talk

Chael Sonnen has become the highest profile name to back the UFC in its ongoing row over money. Rather than defending his successors, the ex-slugger has taken sides with boss Dana White by claiming fighter pay has been generous.

Alongside calf kicks and eye pokes, the topic of fighter reimbursement is one of the hottest in the elite MMA championship these days 

YouTube prankster-turned-boxer Jake Paul, of all people, appears to be the biggest thorn in White's side on the matter, goading the multi-millionaire by making a sizeable GoFundMe donation to flyweight Sarah Alpar this week after she came up short in being able to afford camp and travel to her next outing in the octagon.

While praising Paul, old-school pioneer Randy Couture blasted Conor McGregor recently by suggesting the Irishman could have taken a stance in his mid-2010s heyday when crossing over to boxing to fight Floyd Mayweather and raking in a colossal fee said to exceed $100 million. 

Now former middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Sonnen has given his two cents, describing White as "the person who believes fighters were exploited and fighters weren’t paid enough."

"And they’re now trying to use the same argument that he brought forward and act as though he is doing something wrong," 'The American Gangster' added on his YouTube show Bad Guy Inc.

"When I first fought in the UFC, the year was 2005. I was paid $2,000 to show and $2,000 to win. I could not believe how much money I had in my pocket when I got that check. $2,000 in 2005," he revealed.

"The minimum pay right now is $12,000. The minimum now is six times as much.

"I will give two tickets to anybody who shows me any company in the world that is paying six times [more] right now than what it paid 15 years ago.

"If you can prove to me that they pay a minimum of six times what they paid a mere 15 years ago, I would get you two spectacular tickets to any UFC [event] you would like to attend."

Sonnen also addressed rumors that McGregor could be suffering from a staph infection that has been known to weaken fighters come fight night.

A photo of 'Notorious' riding a bicycle topless in preparation for his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier next weekend at UFC 264 has shown him with a bruised elbow, sparking rumors among worried fans that he has picked up a problem.

"You don't start, in my experience, with a staph infection that progresses and all of a sudden you're hospitalized. It's right off the bat," suggested Sonnen.

"How do we realize that Conor has the [problen] that we're shrugging our shoulders [over]?

"The mere fact that he was out, that he was training, taking his shirt off to take the picture in the first place, tells at least me, with my experience with staph, that he's got... the one [where after a] couple days of antibiotics, you brush it off."