Dana White Says UFC Stars Are Extremely Well Paid
It is no secret that many people feel that UFC fighters are underpaid. However, Dana White says this is not the case.
White has long been vocal when it comes to criticisms of his business practices. The brunt of those critics have focused on the way fighters are treated, and how much they get paid. Nevertheless, Dana has been dismissive of these concerns, always explaining that the athletes are well compensated.
White continued this talk when recently speaking with ESPN. Here, he was asked for an estimate about the potential pay of top level fighters. His response was simple, but not direct.
“It’s crazy money,” White said. “I think a lot of people would be shocked if you heard what some of these big stars are making. But I don’t ever talk about that. You know, listen, these guys all, they know what they make. You don’t see them talking about it either.”
There is no doubt that people like Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Jon Jones make great money. However, what White does not address is the fact that as a whole, fighters make a very small percentage of the UFC’s overall income. Considering the fact that there would be no UFC without the fighters, that seems fishy.
Dana White is certainly correct about the fact that overall, these fighters make more money than in other organizations. On the other hand, when you factor in the removal of sponsorships, that makes things more complicated. Nevertheless, until fighters unionize, there is little that can be done to fix this balance.
