sport news The secret lives of UFC fighters outside the octagon trends now
The UFC continues to establish itself as one of the biggest sporting organisations in the world.
Over the years, MMA's biggest promotion has attracted several mega-stars to compete under its banner.
There have been many debates as to whether or not the UFC pays fighters well. Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou recently left the promotion and signed an exclusive deal with PFL.
A number of stars have struggled to rake in hefty purses while competing in MMA's star-studded franchise and have had to work another job as well as competing inside the cage. Bigger names such as Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones are all financially set for life because of their name and marketability.
Mail Sport takes a look at some of the big names in the sport who have worked elsewhere while competing in the UFC.
Conor McGregor is one of few UFC fighters set for life due to his success inside the octagon
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DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON
'Mighty Mouse' made his professional debut against Frankie Mendez back in 2009, where he claimed victory via submission. Despite making a name for himself at flyweight in his early days, Johnson originally competed at bantamweight.
After being signed to the UFC in 2011, Johnson went on to win his first two fights before fighting Dominick Cruz for the 135-pound title. Prior to the bout with 'The Dominator', Johnson was still working full-time as a forklift driver. In the first five years of his professional career, 'Mighty Mouse' split time between fighting and his factory day job.
Speaking to Fox Sports in 2015, Johnson recalled his earlier days working in the factory.
'It was in a warehouse in Tacoma where we recycled paper to make boards to protect televisions during the shipping process,' Johnson said.
Back then, Johnson's days and nights were a lot longer, with little rest in between. 'I would get up at 6am, be at work by 7am, get two 15-minute breaks and get off work by 3pm.
'Even though I was fighting in the UFC, I didn't make enough money, in my eyes, to pay the bills, make car payments and all that.
'I always said that for me to quit my day job, I'd have to believe that I was in the right spot to walk away from full-time work. Deciding to leave my job was very hard. It was one of the hardest decisions I made in my whole life. With the factory, there was a guarantee. You went in, punched the time clock, punched out afterwards and then you were guaranteed a check. In fighting, there are no guarantees.'
Demetrious Johnson revealed he worked as a forklift driver before his fight with Dominick Cruz
After facing Cruz, Johnson won the UFC flyweight title before losing to Henry Cejudo in 2018
Despite losing to Cruz back in 2011, it was then when Johnson decided to quit his day job and focus solely on MMA full time. Since then, he has gone on to win the flyweight title and defend the belt 11 times before losing to Henry Cejudo in 2018.
Now, 'Mighty Mouse' competes under the One Championship banner. When he does decide to retire, he will unquestionably go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time.
STIPE MIOCIC
Miocic is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights to step into the UFC cage. The former heavyweight champion, who has not fought since losing to Francis Ngannou in 2020, also works as a firefighter in the American city of Westlake and has been working there since 2010.
While defending his heavyweight title for all these years, Miocic has been helping out his local community in a big way.
He told Bleacher Report back in 2018 that he loves the aspect of helping people in need.
'I like being there for a person that needs you. No matter if they're just a little bit sick or if they're in full [cardiac] arrest or something,' Miocic said.
'Doing the best you can to get them stable and get them to the hospital. The whole fireman aspect, helping people any time, day or night, I just love it. I love every second of it, just knowing there's a chance I could help someone.'
Miocic looks set to return later this year and is likely to face fellow heavyweight star Jon Jones.
Stipe Miocic has spent a lot of his time outside the cage helping out his local community
Miocic continues to serve his local community and says he loves helping those in need
The former heavyweight champion is widely considered one of the greatest of all time
RICH FRANKLIN
It took a long time before the UFC truly burst onto the scene as one of the world's top sporting organisations. With that being said, many hardcore fans will be familiar with Franklin.
Despite being known for his fight with Ken Shamrock and then going on to win the middleweight title, many may not know that he was actually a high school teacher before competing in MMA.
Franklin earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and later picked up a master's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati.
