UFC flyweight fighter Mariya Agapova will compete despite having a "serious injury" - as she can't afford to get surgery on her current contract.
The Kazakh flyweight is on to her fifth fight in the promotion, meaning she should theoretically be over the initial $12,000 (£9,500) deal that fighters start with, where that payout is doubled if they win. But after losing her last outing back in March, it's likely that she hasn't yet made very deep into the five figures this year.
Agapova is currently working as a bouncer to make ends meet as she trains for her next outing in the octagon, and has picked up a knee injury in training camp. However, she must compete tomorrow night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas due to needing to pay medical bills for her injury, and is confident that she can win regardless.
"It's still bad and I still need surgery," she told Sportskeeda of the injury. "So after my fight, I will do the surgery, but my life situation is very bad right now, that's why I can't go to surgery before this fight. I work [as a] bouncer right now at the club and no one gives a s*** about me honestly.
"After I get hurt and my sponsor didn't want to sign with me, and I just get bouncer work and [I'm] working with [an] injury. I've got to go fight with an injury and I believe in myself, I believe I can win still with this injury. I want to do this and just not give people free stuff from myself any more.
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"I get to this point because I helped a couple of losers, I was thinking that I helped making them successful, but no, it doesn't work like this. I become a f***ing loser because I try to help f***ing losers. I just got broke and I had to work all of my camp like a bouncer, but this still helped me because I feel a regular person life doing a regular person job and earning regular person money."
Agapova won't outright blame the UFC for her issues and insists that she makes big money in the promotion, which is rare for many fighters she knows. Twice in her four UFC fights she has earned the $50,000 performance of the night bonus, meaning that she would have left those fights having made around $74,000 before tax.
"Of course I appreciate my money that I get from the UFC more this time because I realised that not a lot of people make money like I do, I'm making really big money in UFC. Next time I have to invest it and manage my money well - I shouldn't help people that I barely know who show up in my life when I'm good and have money with some pity story and I feel bad for them."
