Dana says UFC Fighters do not want the media or fans to know how much money they make

Most of us on the UG with jobs prob make more than 75% of the roster

I have mixed feelings about fighter pay, some unpopular, but there is a case to be made for tweaking the current win/loss system. Iā€™ve proposed eliminating win bonuses (for the exact reasons and examples you gave) and instituting finishing bonuses, instead. That way, even if a fighter loses, especially in the case of a bullshit decision or ref blunder, they would at least walk with some degree of a decent payoff, having not lost basically half their money due to someone elseā€™s incompetence.

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Hear hear. Someone talking sense.

I think it would be good for fighters to get a higher percentage of fight generated money but comparing to nba, nfl or mlb doesnā€™t work.

Compared to those sports the UFC is still in its infancy and the structure is vastly different.

No legit free agency. No legit competition. No union. Etc

So we should get paid more than most fighters on the roster though right?

We work 8 hour days, 40 hour weeks, 2088 hour years.

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The main card of a PPV event. Thatā€™s 5 fights = 10 fighters. Obviously the headliners will be getting paid more, but the first fight of the night (PPV) should probably be getting paid $200k per fighter.

But then are you going to throw that kind of money to some low-level WMMA fighters?!?!?

And itā€™s another reason to stack a PPV with all your best fighters and biggest names. Not give the fans 4 filler fights and a main event.

Just throwing out ideas.

In my opinion this is the most important piece of the puzzle, and is what I would focus my argument on if Iā€™m a fighter/manager/lawyer. The criminal part of fighter pay particularly in the UFC isnā€™t the pay itself, itā€™s the show/win structure. I agree that winning should be rewarded and a finish should be as well. I like the structure you came up with or instead of doing 50/50 for show/win, do something like 80/20. So if a fighter has the potential to make 100k base salary in one fight instead of getting 50k to show and 50k to win, he would get 80k to show and 20k to win. Plus sponsor money and a performance bonus if warranted.

I agree with the guys saying the lower level UFC guys already make what they should. Iā€™m mostly okay with that, I think it could be a little more, but on principle I believe it should remain the same. I remember Bisping talking about this on his podcast basically saying that you just made the big show, itā€™s your first contract, thatā€™s to be expected. You have to perform, win, and prove your worth. As mentioned by others, itā€™s more the mid to lower top level guys. Guys that have either been around for years putting on great fights, or guys ranked in the top 15 with a solid UFC record.

Canā€™t really do that IMO. What about a guy like Kris Moutino who made his UFC debut fighting Oā€™Malley on a PPV main card? After losing in a fun fight that won him a bunch of fans, heā€™s going to be fighting on the prelims of an ESPN+ cardā€¦and the UFC has said in the past, they donā€™t write contracts that force guys to take a pay cut so they canā€™t really pay him 200K for his debut, then pay him 200K to fight another new UFC guyā€¦or pay him 200K, then drop it to 20K etc.

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If thatā€™s true, that goes directly to career choice

If you were to pay guys 200k min per fight than none of the up and comers would get a fight, UFC would shrink their cards and they would make fighters get more established in other orgs before coming over.

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Youā€™re full of shit, one NBA team does NOT make more than UFC. Avg NBA team makes under 300m. UFC is likely around or over a billion annually

The New York Knicks make $470,000,000

The UFC make 900,000,000

The New York Knicks have less than 1/20th the staff and less than 1/20th the athletes compared to the UFC.

The New York Knicks donā€™t hire stadiums, the NBA does.

The New York Knicks donā€™t hire announcers or television crews.

The New York Knicks make way more money than the UFC per year when you factor in costs.

So Iā€™m full of shit? Nah son you are shit at math and canā€™t think laterally.

And the UFC pays for all the commission workers in every country they are in.

The UFC owns property, rents property and has full time staff members in over 5 countries.

To think for a second that the New York Knicks make less than the UFC is ludicrous.

WAR Dave DeBusschere

Hear me out. What if - and this might seem crazy - the fighter actually does what it takes to be exciting, finish fights, get their name out there for the right reasons and then gets a larger slice? CRAZY RIGHT?!

This freakin forum is so liberal in their thinking. Always placing blame on the organization as if youā€™re sticking up for the little guy. Youā€™re not. Dana White, since the very. freakin. beginning. Has said, ā€œBe exciting, win, and youā€™ll get paid.ā€ He has stayed true to that since day one. This fighters who perform - AS IT SAYS IN THEIR CONTRACT WHICH THEY VOLUNTARILY SIGNED - will get whatever pay they all agree to. Oh

Thatā€™s why this discussion keeps sucking. Guys, galsā€¦at the end of the day these fighters sign contracts. They SIGN THEM. No one slams their fingers around a pen and forces them to push it across the paper.

Knock it off. Theyā€™re adults. They make their decisions. If the pay isnā€™t high enough, they can reject. However, they sign. Just stop already with this fighter pay crap.

This. sport. Isnā€™t. Like. Any. Other. Sport. How many times do we need to say it before you guys realize a traditional team-based sports organization does not work!!! It doesnā€™t translate directly.

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A mid-tier fighter with just a bit of business acumen should be able to leverage their name to make some $ in outside ventures.

They do get paid pretty shitty. Iā€™d be ok with 24k a fight for low level fighters if they had some type of small monthly stipend.

2k a month on top of a couple 24k fights would atleast keep them afloat until they either improve pay or get cut.

Iā€™m with you for the most part, but what about entry level fighters? That 12k+12k for a win is essentially fighting for free. They better hope they land a kick that inspires Kanye to write a song, because if not that shit is going to Uncle Sam and Coach Wilson. These guys are going into fights 3moā€™s behind on bills and shit.

If signed there should be a bit of salary going to them, even 1k for a signed fighter monthly would be huge for a young fighter.

Hell maybe 2k for 6months from the date of each fight. So you must fight twice a year to keep it rolling at min

Monthly salary of some sort to cover expenses is a good idea if fighters agreed to fight x number of times per year not withstanding injuries etc.

500 fighters, 2k a month = 1M per month or 12M per year. It is fuck all really.

Knicks are valued at 5 billion

If that rate is considered fighting for free, then it shouldnā€™t be a problem because every other organization pays less than the ufc. So they ā€œfight for freeā€ in every other organization but the ufc should pay them more becauseā€¦well just because. LOL.

Entry level pay is more than fine. These guys are making like $2K a fight at the local level, so jumping up to 12k/12k to kick off an ESPN+ care is more than enough. Some dudes go 0-3 and get cut. How much should those guys realistically be making?

Guys in other pro sports play for free in college, and playing a D1 college sport is much more impressive than being 5-1 in local MMA

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I agree.