Russian PFL lightweight fighter Alexandr Shabliy shared insights about his fight earnings during the early stages of his career in an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net.
In the beginning, up until my tenth fight, I didn’t know how much I would earn. I had no idea how much I would be paid, even though it was our local Rostov organization. I fought because they gave me fights, and I was happy with that. At that time, that was the system. Fights were scarce, but I always had matches. I didn’t worry about how much I would get paid. I had a small scholarship from the club of 10,000 rubles ($117), which later increased to 15,000 ($170). Back then, that was decent money. I also had some extra gigs too.
Alexandr Shabliy, exclusively for Telecom Asia Sport
"Back in 2011, 15,000 rubles were really pretty good earnings. I was receiving my first stipend then, which was enough for transportation, meals, and sports nutrition. At that time, I was living with my parents, and it felt like I had reached the peak of my dreams. Later, I began saving money from my fight earnings; that’s how I started saving for a tutor. My biggest paycheck came from participating in the Commonwealth Cup – it was 20,000 rubles, and I knocked out my opponent,” Shabliy recounted.
Recall that Alexandr Shabliy has achieved 24 victories and suffered four defeats in his career. He was a title contender in Bellator and a finalist in a Grand Prix event.
