Established MMA Fighter Lee to Get Paid in Bitcoin

by 99Crypto

The world of mixed martial arts is becoming more competitive. Fight organizers know that they need to retain top MMA talent and celebrities in order to stay relevant, and this requires getting creative in terms of attracting star fighters. Eagle Fighting Championship, a rising MMA circuit based in Russia, recently added Kevin Lee to its roster of top-notch fighters, and it did so with an offer of paying Lee with Bitcoin.

Lee is an established MMA fighter who has previously earned as much as $280,000 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit. While the exact details of the contract have not been released, Eagle FC has issued a press release indicating that Lee will be paid more than what he has earned with UFC, which means that a single match could net him 5.86 Bitcoin if his opponent agrees to the terms of the purse.

Hailing from Detroit, Lee is a solid fighter who has previously invested in Bitcoin mostly through gradual accumulation and long-term holding. Lee has been able to pay for knee surgeries thanks to his Bitcoin investments; however, he has never gotten into active trading, which is something he might be able to explore now that he is being paid directly with BTC. This is another example of professional athletes choosing to receive their salaries in cryptocurrencies. In the National Football Association, at least five star players are getting paid in Bitcoin. It’s just a matter of time before other sports stars are in line for that privilege as well.

Lee is not the first professional athlete to sign with Eagle FC. Other fighters from various MMA and kickboxing circuits have signed to the circuit already, which makes sense considering that the Russian circuit has some of the best MMA talent in the world. For Lee, this could be an opportunity to start playing around with Bitcoin again; it was only a couple of months ago that he purchased a new Macbook Pro using Bitcoin, an investment that is now valued at more than $49,000. The move is also a great example of why Lee made the right choice when choosing Eagle FC for his first fight next year.