LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 12: UFC President and CEO Dana White broadcasts the contract winners throughout Dana White’s Contender Sequence season 9, week one at UFC APEX on August 12, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLC
On the heels of the UFC asserting their upcoming $7.7 billion rights take care of Paramount, Dana White was sure to be hit with questions on what the brand new settlement will imply for the promotion’s future in addition to the fighters.
In the course of the post-event presser following the primary episode of the brand new season of Dana White’s Contender Sequence, White made one factor clear: “Bonuses are clearly going up. That’ll be huge.”
Right here is the clip.
White is referring to the fighter bonuses which have historically been set at $50,000 for every of the 2 Efficiency of the Evening winners and one other $50,000 apiece for the fighters who take residence Struggle of the Evening honors.
These bonuses have been a fixture of UFC occasions for years, serving as a serious incentive for fighters to placed on memorable performances and thrilling fights for followers.
White didn’t say precisely how excessive the bonuses can be raised, however contemplating the brand new rights deal is 5 instances the scale of the final one, it might make sense for bonuses to double — a minimum of.
A leap from $50,000 to $100,000 per bonus can be a game-changer for a lot of fighters, particularly these decrease on the cardboard whose base pay continues to be comparatively modest in comparison with prime stars.
Having a fighter earn $100,000 for a Efficiency of the Evening would make a considerably bigger affect on their lives and careers. It may assist them spend money on higher coaching camps, repay money owed, or just take the monetary strain off to allow them to focus extra on preparation.
Some may even argue the bonuses ought to go increased than that given the size of the brand new media rights settlement.
Because it stands, it’s refreshing to study there will likely be a rise. Even so, this growth raises a a lot greater query: how will the UFC’s new inflow of money affect baseline pay for fighters? And maybe simply as importantly, how open will the promotion be with that data?
White informed the media these issues are nonetheless being labored out and that the UFC doesn’t must have definitive solutions till January, when the historic take care of Paramount formally begins. That’s when the brand new distribution mannequin — which can make each UFC occasion out there to Paramount+ subscribers with out an extra pay-per-view price — kicks in.
If the general income share for fighters doesn’t improve, the UFC will nonetheless discover itself within the crosshairs of critics who consider the promotion must be shelling out greater than the 17–20% it at present pays its athletes.
That determine is dramatically decrease than the income share in different main skilled sports activities leagues, the place athletes typically take residence 48–50% of league revenues.
With this deal, the UFC has put itself ready to quiet a few of these criticisms.
Extra transparency and a noticeable increase in fighter pay may assist shift the narrative, particularly at a time when fighter unions and collective bargaining stay hot-button subjects within the sport.
Within the coming weeks and months, we’ll study extra about how the brand new rights deal will immediately have an effect on each fighters and followers. For now, the one certainty is that bonuses are going up — and for a lot of fighters, that’s already a win price preventing to earn.
