Dana White is talking about fighter raises again, and it is sure to upset his roster of athletes yet again.
The UFC president says fighter pay in the organization won’t change dramatically while he is in his current position, telling GQ in a video published Thursday that he believes fighters “get paid what they’re supposed to get paid.”
“Boxing has absolutely been destroyed, because of money and all the things that go on,” White said. “It’s never gonna happen while I’m here. Believe me, these guys get paid what they’re supposed to get paid. They eat what they kill. They get a percentage of the pay-per-view buys. And the money is spread out amongst all the fighters.”
UFC fighters currently receive 20 percent of its revenue. Top professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB pay their players around 50 percent of league revenue.
The pay disparity has been a topic of debate for years and even Jake Paul called out White for underpaying his fighters.
“No major sports organization pays its athletes as poorly as Dana White & UFC,” Paul wrote. “If u don’t see that then you are one of Dana’s sheeps. They keep talking about selling out 21 events in a row but never talking about raising fighter pay, giving them healthcare & fair revenue split.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral MMA stories via Google! Follow Us
UFC fighters are classified as independent contractors, which could make collective bargaining difficult legally.
“There aren’t too many things you can talk s— about the UFC about,” White told GQ. “If you look at what we’ve done with the business the last 22 years, it’s incredible. Never been done, ever, the things we’ve done in the fight business. You always have to have something to bitch about, I guess. And fighters always want to make more money.”
