UFC PAY REPORT

By Julian Hernandez

Though some UFC athletes make Life changing amounts of money within the promotion, fighter

pay is still an issue for many athletes. The gap between pay among the different athletes

fluctuates inconsistently, Leaving many athletes living paycheck to paycheck. Especially to

ambassadors of the sport who aren’t famous like some of their peers.

Once formally known as Vale Tudo, Mixed martial arts is a physical combat sport requiring all

sorts of skills built from the foundations of techniques from other various combat sports

like ones of Boxing , Muay thai , and Jujitsu from around the world. The Ultimate

Fighting Championship (UFC) claims to be a key contributing factor to the commercial

success of MMA. The promotion outclasses other promotions as they are regarded as the

top mma promotion in the world.

From a GQ interview , Dana white claims. Because of the impact the UFC has on MMA and

combat sports, why should the promotion increase fighter pay? Further insinuating the

argument because of boxing practicing pay per view purchase money returning back to

athletes at an exponential rate. Dana white argues that their ideology in their promotion

has tarnished boxing reputation.

The company has athletes under contracts like independent contractors. Fighters in the UFC are

paid significantly less than other athletes in other sports. Athletes are worth their

performance, the structure in place is they are paid for their bouts , any bonuses , and
 double the pay for participating in the fight if they win. This structure doesn't not

guarantee annual income. Athletes are robbed of half their pay if they lose. The UFC

pays its fighters 10% of the total revenue generated from an event. Boxing promotions

like ones of top rank pay athletes 70% of total revenue made from individual events.

Athletes are only worth their performance, for instance if a bout is canceled, athletes are

not paid despite most going through the process of multi- week long camps , and cutting

weight. athletes in the promotions are judged based on every few bouts. So pay isn’t

changed every bout Unlike boxing.

The unsustainable income, apart from being an athlete in the UFC, is inevitable when first

signing with the promotion for most young hungry contenders. The company is in

control of how much a fighter can generate. in march of 2024. Trail for the class of

athletes seeking to end the ufc monopolistic practices consists of over 1,200 MMA

Fighters underneath the promotion in the United states . These athletes span across the

time of December 16 2010 to June 30, 2017. These athletes claim that the UFC used

monopolistic power , they did this through unlawful tactics like acquisitions , exclusive

contracts and coercion. Zuffa is being targeted for not paying their athletes enough , and

using loop holes in place that allow Zuffa to prolong the chances of fighters leaving are

structured in the contracts they sign. Like fighters can only negotiate with the company

Zuffa for 3 months after finishing a contract. Zuffa has the right to match any contract

within the span of a year a fighter was underneath a contract with the UFC. And the

company being able to extend contracts under the circumstances of fight declines ,
 injuries ,retiring or winning a championship and With many companies like Pride, WCF

, WEC , and strikeforce being bought out by Zuffa to inevitably disappear.

The argument that the ufc pays significantly less for their athletes than their competition is true.

The Muhammed Ali act in boxing , that allows boxers to be free agents after per bout is

not applied to mma fighters in the UFC.

Work Cited Page

UFC. “Homepage | UFC.” Ufc.com, 2018, www.ufc.com/. Website of promotion ufc.

leary , sean . UFC Reaches Settlement in Antitrust Lawsuits, Agrees to Pay out $335 Million. 20

Mar. 2024,

Entertainment , GQ. “Dana White Replies to Fans on the Internet | Actually Me | GQ Sports.”
Www.youtube.com, 11 Aug. 2022,

Brayne, Joe. “The “Conor McGregor Effect”: Navigating the Reality of MMA Stardom.”

Medium, 1 Sept. 2023,

Conway, Tyler. “Dana White Says Raising UFC Fighters’ Pay Is “Never Gonna Happen While

I’m Here.”” Bleacher Report, 12 Aug. 2022,

“The Fight for Unionization in the UFC.” Ublawsportsforum.com, 15 Apr. 2023,