Dana White comes out swinging when finally comparing UFC fighter pay to boxing fighter pay

Last night, the President of the UFC, Dana White, went on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast. White discussed gambling, Tom Brady’s roast, Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor, and lots, lots more.

During the conversation, Sharpe brought up the issue of fighter pay in the UFC, which led to an animated conversation in which White took aim at criticism he has faced over the last few years. In recent years, fighter pay has been an issue that the head honcho has been faced with time and time again, with comments being levelled at him from boxers, UFC fighters themselves, and even Jake Paul, who weighed in on the debate back in 2022. In a lengthy rant during an interview with Anthony Pompliano, Paul claimed the level of pay in the UFC is “backwards” and that UFC fighters are essentially in “slave contracts.”

UFC Pay vs Boxing Pay

UFC pay

In the UFC, fighters are separated into three tiers (low, medium, high) depending on their accomplishments. Fighters in the lowest category could earn anywhere between $10,000 to $30,000 per fight, while those in the highest category could take home something between $500,000 to $3 million per fight.

The tiered payment structure means that paychecks vary significantly among fighters. Athletes like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov would pocket millions of dollars every time they stepped into the Octagon. On the other hand, in the lead up to UFC 290, Alexandre Pantoja was working as an Uber Eats driver just to make ends meet.

Boxing pay

In boxing, paychecks depend on skill level and who is fighting. The mouth-watering paychecks that are often associated with the sport do not apply to most boxers, with lower names earning anywhere between $22,000 and $51,000 a year. Whereas for the big names, paychecks are well into the millions. Tyson Fury, for instance, recently earned over $100 million from his fight with Oleksandr Usyk.

However, this is precisely what Dana White took issue with on the Club Shay Shay podcast, as he claimed that, in contrast to the UFC, boxing is not a sustainable brand.

Dana White Compares UFC Pay & Boxing Pay

“Boxing got so f*****up that nobody could make a living out of it, that Saudi Arabia had to take it over. A group of people that have so much money, they don’t care whether they make or lose money.”

Comparing boxing to the UFC, White reassured Sharpe that in the UFC “everyone is taken care of from top to bottom.”

Finally, after a passionate conversation on the topic, White went on to invite anyone who disagreed with him to compete with him: “If you don’t like the way that it’s run here, there’s no barrier to entry, set up your own MMA business, and you pay the guys whatever you think you want to.”

The debate over UFC earnings continues to divide people, with fans even disagreeing in the comments. One user commented that White was speaking “facts,” while others pointed out that the fighters/promoters divide in boxing is very different to that in the UFC, suggesting that McGregor and Khabib are the only fighters who have really earned high-figure paychecks.

However, White doesn’t look like he will be wavering from his decisions anytime soon. He maintained that he has built a “sustainable business” and is one that will “continue to give opportunities to lots of different people from all over the world.”