“I’m sure some basketball players and baseball players still need second jobs, too, until they make it,” White said. “But what we do is we bring guys in and pay them, guys make like $10K and $10K or $15K and $15K to come in and fight. You might last one fight, you might not be great, but as you start to prove yourself…
“And listen, there’s always going to be talk about fighter pay. I’m in boxing now, and all these guys, all these boxers are signing with us now, too. So you’re always going to be criticized about something.”
Calling the fighter pay debate mere criticism completely understates the issue. The UFC reportedly pays fighters only around 20% of its revenue, while athletes in other major sports leagues typically receive between 50% and 60%. That disparity becomes even harder to ignore when you consider the UFC generated $1.502 billion in revenue and $851 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2025.
The promotion clearly has the financial ability to pay fighters more, but it simply chooses not to. Instead, much of that wealth flows to executives and corporate stakeholders. Over the years, the UFC has shown little interest in fairly rewarding the athletes who actually built the sport’s popularity. Even the company’s biggest stars, fighters capable of selling out arenas and generating massive pay-per-view numbers, earn only a fraction of what top athletes in other sports make.
During the discussion, Charlamagne also raised the idea of fighters forming a union, pointing out how the UFC has historically treated unionization efforts almost like a threat.
“We don’t act like that’s the enemy,” White responded. “I mean, if the fighters wanted to unionize, that’s up to them; it’s not up to me… Sure. Listen, we always have to deal with somebody. It could be a manager, an agent, everybody’s gotten into this. Some of the biggest lawyers in the world have gotten into this, agents, Hollywood agents, I mean, everybody. We always have to deal with somebody. We have to negotiate with somebody.”
Even if White is open to the idea, the problem is that fighters in the UFC are independent contractors and not employees. This means they can’t lawfully form a union in the traditional sense. That being said, the promotion has made some changes to fighter pay in 2026.
The $7.7 billion deal with Paramount led Dana White to double bonuses
After UFC’s $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount, debate sparked about fighter pay. Fans and fighters questioned whether the athletes would finally see a larger share of the company’s growing revenue. In response, Dana White moved quickly to announce changes. He doubled post-fight performance bonuses from $50,000 to $100,000.
The promotion also introduced a brand-new $25,000 finish bonus in 2026. TKO president Mark Shapiro defended the changes.
“Right out of the gate after our CBS/Paramount deal, Dana White doubled the performance bonuses for fighters,” he said. “We will have increases; they are inclusive of the margin guidance we have targeted.”
Still, not everyone is convinced. Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland criticized the situation, claiming no one is getting paid more.
It appears the UFC has little intention of increasing fighter pay, particularly for newcomers entering the promotion. Instead, the company seems focused on rewarding only the fighters who generate major value or attention for the brand. And even for those top stars, the compensation often falls short compared to other major sports organizations.
