Chael Sonnen defended the UFC following the latest wave of backlash regarding fighter pay.
Earlier this year, a class action lawsuit against the UFC took a significant step toward securing a trial in court after nearly a decade of work. The legal action has been pushed by former fighters (Cung Le, Jon Fitch, Brandon Vera, and more) who believe Dana White and the UFC utilized illegal business practices to dominate the market.
Court documents from the lawsuit have recently provided detailed information on how much money various current and former UFC fighters made. As a result, plenty of fans have been vocal on social media about their ongoing issues with fighter pay.
During a recent podcast with Michael Bisping, Chael Sonnen addressed several frequent arguments to defend the UFC about fight pay. Sonnen began by saying this about fighters being unable to pursue outside sponsors without permission:
“You wanna know one of Dana’s biggest mistakes he ever made? He allowed fighters to get sponsors on their own. There is no executive producer of television that would ever allow one of their principles to bring a sponsor on their camera. They’re the ones that get the money. The entire distribution entertainment business is based around getting sponsorship money.”
Chael Sonnen continued by saying Dana White and the UFC have been fair by “paying fair market value”:
“I’m trying to show people that their is a difference within these arguments. You don’t just get to come and say somebody’s wrong when they’re paying fair market value. You don’t get to say this is what boxing does so you should do that…When Dana White starts bouncing checks, or he starts renegotiating after the fact, or he starts sending them later, feel free to yell and tell me what a scumbag he is. When he does everything that he said he would do in a market that create the price in an industry that’s only going up.”
It's official, the Plaintiff’s motion to certify class in the Le v Zuffa (UFC) antitrust case is granted for the bout class and denied for the identity class. The case finally moved forward. pic.twitter.com/5hpKhusvzX
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) August 9, 2023
Chael Sonnen raves about growth of UFC fighter pay over last eighteen years
Another frequent complaint about UFC fighter pay is that some newer roster members will receive as low as $12,000 per fight. Yet, Chael Sonnen is impressed by that number compared to what he got paid to fight Renato Sobral in his UFC debut.
Sonnen had this to say during the previously mentioned podcast with Michael Bisping:
“My first fight was in 2005, fought Babalu Sobral, and I fought Babalu because nobody else would. Everybody was scared of this guy. I lost the fight, I got $2,000, and I was thrilled to have it. That was the minimum pay in 2005. We’re not even twenty years later and minimum pay is $12,000. Six times what it used to be… There’s not an industry out there that you can show me in eighteen years is paying six times what it used to pay.”
At the end of the day, most complaints about UFC fighter pay reference the drastically low revenue split between fighters and the promotion compared to other top sports leagues.
Therefore, it’ll be intriguing to see if Cung Le and company can prove their point in court and satisfy those who believe the UFC underpays their fighters.
Watch the entire podcast with Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping below:
