Dana White Refuses to Give Fighters Raise
Dana White joined GQ Sports for an episode of “Actually Me” in one of its most recent videos. If you haven’t seen an episode, celebrities go undercover on social media to respond to people who talk shit on a certain business, person, etc. During the video, a Twitter user begged the question, “Why do you think people seem to talk about UFC fighter pay?”
“If you look at what we’ve done with the business the last 22 years, it’s incredible,” White replied. “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.”
White continued his defense of UFC’s payment structure, even referencing what has happened in the world of boxing. “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,” White asserted regarding fighter pay. “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.”
Quote sourced from ESPN, via GQ Sports
White ended the segment with a hit at other professional MMA organizations, even challenging the viewer to create their own.
“If you don’t like it, there’s a simple solution to this problem: go start your own MMA organization, no barrier to entry,” White retorted. “Knock yourself out. Pay ’em whatever you want to pay ’em. It’s been done before, how did it work out for the other guys? Not well, mind your business.”
Quote via GQ Sports
A few fighters have spoken out about feeling underpaid by UFC and White. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is one of them after he was traded to ONE FC for Ben Askren. In an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto he said, “There is not another sport in the world where you can be the best at it but not get paid the best. I never wanted to say this before, but I don’t care anymore, and it’s just facts.”
Jon “Bones” Jones is another fighter who dislikes the current fighter pay structure under White, even going as far as to give up his light heavyweight championship belt over the matter. He also tweeted, “For all of us fighters to start getting a higher percentage [per pay-per-view]. No one’s asking to break the bank, just show your athletes you don’t think we are all idiots.”
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