Whether or not UFC fighters are underpaid is still a hot topic, but promotion president Dana White insists that his athletes are compensated well.
When asked whether UFC fighters could one day make more money than boxers, White said the promotion’s top stars already earn more than those competing in boxing title fights.
“Yeah, definitely,” White told Yahoo Sports!. “Listen, when you talk about the elite – I’m putting on 44 fights in a year, right? And people are buying these pay-per-views, you know, 13 or 14 a year, watching all the other ones building, whatever. Then you look at what most of these guys make. Most UFC fighters make more than boxers. OK?
“Most UFC fighters make more than boxers, especially at a lower level. Then, the guys, you know, the Khabibs, the Conors, the Rondas, you know, even the Jon Joneses, these guys make more than most of these (boxers) that are fighting for big title fights. Don’t believe the bullsh*t. Don’t believe all the stuff you hear. These guys make a lot of money.”
One of the UFC’s biggest stars and a name White mentioned is former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who recently was engaged in a highly publicized contract dispute with the UFC.
According to White, 2021 is the promotion’s highest-selling year in terms of pay-per-views, which included two cards highlighted by the sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor.
“We’re breaking tons of records this year,” White said. “Ever since we went back to fans coming, we’ve sold out every event. We’re gonna break the pay-per-view record this year – most PPV’s (sold) ever in a year and a lot more. We charged right through COVID, we figured out how to do it, we did it, and I believe that the fanbase grew in 2020. Obviously our social media grew, and lots of other numbers showed that we did.”
