Number 8 ranked UFC flyweight, Matheus Nicolau, signed a deal with the UFC which means he will receive his fight purse in Bitcoin for all of his future fights with the promotion. The payment will go through the payroll service, Bitwage.
Matheus said that inflation in South America, where he is from, has become so bad that he feels his hard work goes to waste when he receives his paycheck in cash.
As an athlete, I work hard to earn a living for myself, but with rising inflation I worry that this hard work goes to waste. By using Bitwage to earn bitcoin, I know that I am securing the value of my work.
Matheus Nicolau
Through Bitwage, which is the world’s largest payroll service in the Bitcoin niche, fighters can get paid in cryptocurrency without having to get the UFC onboard with the program themself.
Bitwage’s CEO, Jonathan Chester, had this to say:
Matheus represents our exponential growth trend in Latin America, with people opting to get paid in bitcoin in order to preserve their hard-earned money…
Jonathan Chester
MMA & cryptocurrency have formed an unusual bond over the last few years, with several stars in the sport, besides Matheus, forming partnerships with crypto companies, or choosing crypto as a form of earnings payments.
Current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Francis Ngannou, opted to receive a part of his UFC 270 event fight purse in Bitcoin
Rising Welterweight star, Khamzat Chimaev & Middleweight contender, Darren Till, just finished filming a vlog training series “The Smesh Bros” with crypto company ‘Block Assets‘
Darren Till has even announced his first NFT collection with Block Assets:
Then of course, there is the rising token crypto $MRI (Marshall Rogan Inu – Which is the name os Joe Rogan’s dog. Joe is heavily affiliated with MMA & has been commentating on UFC fight cards for years. $MRI is currently working with a slew of UFC fighters and in turn, those MMA fighters are promoting the token heavily.
Other high-profile MMA athletes, such as Rory MacDonald & Ben Askren, have also made partnerships with crypto companies.
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