Dana White Beefing With UFC Stars Over Pay Is More Common Than You Think

Fighter pay has always been a flashpoint in the UFC, but the debate has intensified in recent years, especially following Ronda Rousey’s recent comments. The UFC veteran claimed the promotion fails to pay fighters minimum wage, and most have to work multiple jobs just to sustain themselves. While the debate feels more alive than ever, it is also true that Dana White has never shied away from clashing with stars over fighter pay. 

While Dana White has yet to directly address Rousey’s remarks, his track record with fighter pay disputes is long and well-documented. From the late 90s and early 2000s through to the present day, some of the promotion’s most legendary stars have clashed with him over money.

Dana White and early Zuffa pay disputes  

There are definitely some big pay-related disputes that happened during the Zuffa era. Yet, three marquee names stand out. 

Ken Shamrock  

Dana White’s beef with Ken Shamrock over pay was one of the oldest and most contentious disputes MMA ever witnessed. At that time, ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ had lost his trilogy bout against another popular fighter, Tito Ortiz. Following the third loss to Ortiz at UFC: The Final Chapter, Shamrock alleged that Zuffa, the UFC’s former parent company, unjustly released him from his contract while his two-fight deal was still active.

In April 2008, Shamrock filed a lawsuit against White and Zuffa, seeking compensation, the exact amount of which isn’t widely known. The former UFC fighter started taking shots at the promotion over its fighter pay system, and that’s when Dana White fired back, claiming that he paid the Georgia native $2.5 million for the two fights against Tito Ortiz.

Ultimately, Zuffa won the case against Shamrock in 2010, when Judge Susan Johnson ordered him to pay $175,000 in attorney fees and other expenses related to the lawsuit. For a man whom White paid millions to fight Ortiz, he shouldn’t have had a problem paying that amount. But it seems the UFC boss still had plenty to say, as he verbally tore into Shamrock with an iconic rant.

“Ken Shamrock owes me $175,000,” White said. “And I’m coming for it, Ken. I’m coming for it, you f— piece of sh—. You should have stayed where you were, hidden under the f— porch somewhere.’ The guy owes me $175,000 because him and his s—bag lawyer put together some phony lawsuit that he lost, and he owes me $175,000 in attorney fees.

“He’s out there talking about what he doesn’t have and what guys aren’t getting, but he’s trying to make himself relevant again. If anybody can’t see that, you’re just f— stupid.”

After Shamrock lost the suit, many predicted that the beef between them would cool down over time. However, last year, the ex-UFC fighter again expressed disdain toward the company for not making him a coach on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show. Well, that proves some wounds never heal with time, and the next fighter on the list is living proof of that.

Tito Ortiz   

 Tito Ortiz is known for having a fierce rivalry with Chuck Liddell, but outside that, the Huntington Beach native is also famous for his dispute with Dana White, which almost turned into a boxing match. Following Zuffa’s acquisition of the company in 2001, Ortiz climbed the ranks and became a well-known face of the UFC. Yet that wasn’t enough for Ortiz, who wanted higher pay.

As a result of Ortiz’s demands, another complex controversy around fighter pay emerged, one that would go on to define a big part of his career. After feeling that the UFC was underpaying him, Ortiz acted as his own manager for a while, which turned out to be a costly mistake. According to Dana White, Ortiz ended up demanding over $150,000 from the top brass after a deal had already been finalized. If those demands weren’t met, White claimed Ortiz would threaten last-minute pullouts.

Because of that, Ortiz’s relationship with the UFC deteriorated badly, eventually leading to his departure following a loss to Forrest Griffin, which marked his third straight defeat at the time. Later, reflecting on their troubled dealings, Dana White didn’t hold back, calling Tito Ortiz “the dumbest human being.”

“We’d be coming up to a big fight on Saturday, right. Deals have been done for months,” Dana White said on Big Boy TV in 2023. “Tito would call and say, ‘I’m not going to show up unless you pay me another $150,000,’ or whatever the number was. He would do this on the regular, and I would go crazy. Tito was the kind of guy who would step over dollars to pick up dimes because he thought he was smart, but he was the complete opposite. He’s not a smart guy. 

“He destroyed what could have been an incredible relationship because we loved Tito at the time. Tito was our guy. Tito was my guy. Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta loved Tito. And he absolutely destroyed a relationship that he could have had for the rest of his life.” 

Following his feud with Tito Ortiz, Dana White also had a bitter fallout with one of the greatest UFC fighters, B.J. Penn, which turned especially ugly.

BJ Penn 

What speaks more legendary than B.J. Penn’s indomitable run in the UFC? Alongside Max Holloway, ‘The Prodigy’ is one of the best champions to come out of Hawaii. As fans appreciate Penn for his contributions in the UFC, his chances of achieving that status once came under threat because of how bad his situation turned out with Dana White and Co. over payouts.

Back in 2004, when the promotion was still in its struggling period, Penn tried to pull off a trick to increase his payment. At that time, White reportedly paid the 47-year-old $37,500 per fight when he was the 170 lbs champ. However, Penn received a much more lucrative offer from the Japanese K-1 league worth $187,500. His brother JD Penn was associated with K-1, and that’s probably how he received the offer.

At that point, BJ Penn didn’t have an exclusive deal with the UFC. In that case, he was free to fight elsewhere while also potentially defending his belt in Dana White’s promotion. However, according to a Bleacher Report article, ‘The Prodigy’ reached out to the UFC brass asking whether they would bump his pay up to $62,500 so he could only fight in the UFC. The result of Penn’s plea? Dana White and Co said no, and their welterweight champ went to K-1.

When Penn’s first K-1 fight against Duane Ludwig became official, the Hawaiian thought the UFC could not strip him of the title without looking bad. But he got the biggest shock of his life when the promotion announced via a press release on May 17, 2004, that he was being stripped of the title.

The UFC was pretty clear with their words, “Due to BJ Penn’s reported signing with the K-1 organization, Penn will no longer compete in UFC events. Additionally, Penn’s actions have resulted in him being stripped of his title.”

Somewhere during that timeline, Penn also revealed that Dana White contacted him and threatened him with an X-rated rant.

“When it was finally official I was going to fight in Japan, White called me up and told me his true feelings. ‘You m—! You’re f— done! You’ll never fight in the UFC again! You’re finished. You’re scorched earth, m—. Scorched earth. Don’t call me crying saying you want to come back because you’re f— done!’,” Penn revealed in his book Why I Fight: The Belt Is Just an Accessory.

Now, what could be Penn’s next step after the UFC stripped him of the welterweight title? Hit them with a lawsuit, of course. He filed a lawsuit stating that the promotion unlawfully stripped him of his title, which lasted for two years until Dana White and Co. settled with him in 2006, allowing Penn to return at UFC 58.

That said, with three of the most popular disputes cleared, let’s take a look at what the modern era has in store for us.  

Dana White’s pay dispute with modern-era fighters  

Just like the early Zuffa era, Dana White had some unpleasant disagreements with more recent fighters as well. But three fighters among them stand out.

Demetrious Johnson  

Demetrious Johnson left behind a legacy of 11 title defenses in the UFC. Yet, he had his share of complaints with Dana White when it came to fair treatment. While ‘DJ’ dominated the flyweight division with sheer brilliance, the UFC CEO remained unimpressed with the numbers his events drew.

White went on to admit that Johnson is definitely a highly skilled fighter, but felt he didn’t bring much value to the 125 lbs division, and believed Henry Cejudo would be the one people would actually care about.

“I had a guy who was completely dominant, every time he fought he was exciting and always went for the finish, but people didn’t care,” White told ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto. “Nobody cared whatsoever about Demetrious Johnson. Henry Cejudo might be the guy that people actually care about.”

For the ‘Mighty Mouse’ fans, the UFC boss’s statement stabbed them like a knife. However, the knife ended up piercing even deeper after the UFC traded one of the greatest fighters of all time to ONE Championship. In exchange, they got Ben Askren. Not that ‘Funky’ was a nobody at that time, he was the ONE welterweight champion. Still, was he worth someone like ‘DJ’, who was literally 11 defenses in? Most fans would say no to that!

But, as Dana White probably felt okay letting go of ‘Mighty Mouse’ at that time, Demetrious Johnson revealed that ONE paid him fairly, so it was equally satisfying for both sides. That said, the ex-125 lbs GOAT explained that the UFC paid him about $30K to show and win by the time he rematched Joseph Benavidez, which was terribly low for a champion. Furthermore, ‘DJ’ also revealed that the UFC didn’t share PPV points with him, as they weren’t selling much. He also mentioned earning $125K in show money even after defending the belt multiple times.

Though Demetrious Johnson’s relationship with the UFC turned sour at the end, White later had to accept that he was one of their best champions and should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. At UFC Seattle, the promotion kept its promise as it honored ‘Mighty Mouse’ as the 18th inductee under the modern wing.

Following their dispute with Demetrious Johnson, Dana White had to deal with Francis Ngannou in what many consider the most popular fallout in modern UFC history.

Francis Ngannou  

Jon Jones  

“Jon Jones is the greatest fighter of all time,” Dana White reiterates this statement whenever someone brings up the UFC GOAT debate. To him, there’s no second to ‘Bones’ when it comes to achieving greatness inside the Octagon. But when the question revolves around striking a deal with Jones, the UFC boss’s mood changes like the extreme weather in South Dakota.

For most of his career, the UFC seemingly provided Jon Jones pretty good pay, especially when he was dominating 205 lbs fighters like it was nobody’s business. However, when the former light heavyweight champ was plotting a move to the heavyweight division, with a potential superfight against Francis Ngannou in 2020, Jones raised some questions around fighter pay.

Jones took to X and called Dana White “greedy” over a series of posts for not treating him fairly. Later, Dana White replied to his posts, saying that the ex-champ demanded “Deontay Wilder money” to fight Ngannou. As a result, the negotiations failed, and Jones’ return against Ngannou fizzled out. Now, after almost six years of that pay dispute, the most significant one appeared in 2026.

At that point, Jones had already retired without fighting Tom Aspinall, which Dana White and Co reportedly offered $30 million for. So, when he wanted to return to the marquee White House event against Alex Pereira, the Albuquerque native revealed the promotion offered half that amount—$15 million.

Not happy with the offer, the former two-division champ claimed that the UFC tried to lowball him. Hence, the fight against ‘Poatan’ couldn’t happen. But if you ask White about Jones’ involvement in the UFC Freedom 250 card, he would say that the former champ wasn’t even in the plans.

“How many f—ing times do I gotta say this? He was never fighting on the White House card,” Dana White said during the UFC 326 post-fight presser. “I have literally done two press conferences talking about this. These guys went out, found everything they thought was available and possible, and then I picked the fights.

“There was no way in hell I was putting him on the card, no matter what the money was. Jon Jones was never going to fight on the White House card.”

Following the UFC CEO’s comments, Jones took to social media once again to clear his stance, which was essentially a rant towards the boss. Yet, it became clear that Jones’ chances of headlining the event were over for good.

From Ken Shamrock in 2008 to Jon Jones in 2026, the pattern has remained consistent: the bigger the name, the more contentious the negotiation. With Ronda Rousey’s latest comments reigniting the fighter pay debate, it’s unlikely to be the last time this conversation surfaces.