UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson loves the promotion that employs him. But he’s feeling short-changed in the wake of his ill-fated interim title bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov at this past Saturday’s UFC 209.

“I think they should take care of their fighters a little bit more, the ones that really put in their time and effort and really grind for them, because I’m one of those dudes, man,” he told MMAjunkie on Tuesday. “I’m one of those grinders, and I’ve never bashed my company.”

Ferguson (22-3 MMA, 12-1 UFC), 33, said he was incredulous when he received a wire transfer from the promotion for “less than half” the $250,000 show purse he was contracted to receive against Nurmagomedov (24-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who was scratched from the fight card after he was hospitalized with health complications from his weight cut.

“It was like a slap to the face,” Ferguson said. “My training expenses were a lot larger than any other fight I’ve ever done because this was supposed to be the biggest fight of my career. So now I’m sitting here, and it’s like, what is my worth to the UFC? Like, do I not fight enough? Do I not bleed enough for them? It’s going through my head right now, because I didn’t lose.

“I did everything in my power that I could to show up on that scale, and that’s what I thought we were going to do. That’s why you call it show money. And to every fan that’s out there in the world, (UFC President) Dana (White), he said they cut me out a check, and I didn’t get a check, and then this morning I got my wire, and I’m looking at it and I’m like, ‘What the frick, man?’ I’m like, ‘Seriously?'”

A UFC official, who requested anonymity because the issue deals with a contract that is not publicly released, said Ferguson was aware of what he would be paid after the bout was canceled. The official said during a four-hour meeting held this past Friday after Nurmagomedov’s scratch, Ferguson repeatedly was advised of his compensation, which was six figures and was close to double what he would have contractually received for a non-title bout. The official said the number was subsequently reaffirmed to his manager over phone and text.

The official stressed the fighter’s contracted compensation for Nurmagomedov was linked to the interim title fight, and the promotion still paid him despite having no obligation to do so under his bout agreement. A public records request for that agreement is pending with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which regulated UFC 209 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, per the commission’s statutes, a promotion isn’t required to compensate a fighter when a bout is canceled due to an opponent’s weight miss.

White and other UFC officials frequently have announced that fighters whose bouts have been canceled by such a scenario are paid their show money. However, White didn’t explicitly say Ferguson would receive that at a post-fight news conference. Asked by a reporter whether Ferguson’s situation warranted being paid his show money considering the canceled title fight, White initially responded, “We’ve never done that.” Asked to clarify whether that meant Ferguson wasn’t paid his show money, he said, “He got paid. He did get paid. Yeah, he did.”

Ferguson, however, believes he was promised $250,000, and said the amount he ended up with is not enough compared to his expenses. He claimed to have spent thousands for costs that included new equipment, plane fare, training fees for sparring partners, food and last-minute costs. Although he didn’t put a price tag on his total cost, he estimates he broke even or took a slight loss after his actual payout.

It’s not the first time Ferguson has been at odds with the UFC over pay. Prior to the promotion booking the interim lightweight title fight at UFC 209 – the third time the two top lightweights had been paired against each other – Ferguson said he wanted compensation equal to Nurmagomedov. The Dagestan-born fighter went so far as to offer Ferguson $200,000 out of his own pocket before the UFC struck a new deal with Ferguson.

At the beginning of his meeting with White at the UFC’s offices, Ferguson said he requested to be paid his show purse for the cancellation. But he also was offered the chance to earn another payout by fighting Michael Johnson, the only person who’s beaten him in the octagon. He initially agreed to fight, but declined after being told he would receive a lower purse.

More confusing, he said, was White’s claim that his contracted pay for the event had already been budgeted and the promotion was taking a loss on the replacement fight.

“I’m not taking a pay cut,” Ferguson said. “Why would I want to take a pay cut? If you give me what I originally showed up for, (expletive) yeah, I’ll give you a badass fight. We’ll save this card.

“He said, ‘We budget for these fights.’ Those are his exact words. So then you had it, but you don’t want to fork it over. That’s like, all right … How am I supposed to like the company I work for if I’m short-changing me? He was telling me he was taking a loss from this, and I’ll bet you he’s somewhere out on his boat, or doing something on his jet, laying $250,000 down on a craps table.”

After receiving his pay Tuesday, Ferguson said he texted White to talk things over, but hasn’t heard back. He said he’d like to fight in the next couple months and reiterated his desire to fight undisputed champ Conor McGregor, who’s currently on a leave of absence in anticipation of his first child.

If he’s rebooked against Nurmagomedov, Ferguson wants assurances that he won’t take a financial loss. He is willing to fight for a belt, interim or otherwise, but not willing to lose time and money with another cancellation.

“If Khabib’s like, ‘Oh, I can’t make weight, I have to go to 170 (pounds),’ let’s do a superfight,” he said. “Let’s make that money and do a catchweight. That’s fine with me if he really wants to do it, but we’re going to have to have assurances. We’ve got to have guaranteed money if I’m going to practice and take years off my life from cutting weight doing this thing, because it’s not easy.”

For complete coverage of UFC 209, check out the UFC Events section of the site.