UFC saves over $30 million in fighter expenses despite record profits in 2022

According to a report, the UFC has managed to cut down fighter expenses by over $30 million in 2022, in spite of making more profits.

Fighter pay has been one of the biggest points of criticism the UFC has faced. It is an irony that one of the richest sports athletes in the world made his career in this organization while a vast majority of its roster seemingly struggle to make ends meet. It is common knowledge that most fighters make a disproportionately small amount for the kind of risk to which they are exposed. However, there is no solution in sight as of now.

MMA journalist John Nash came across some data regarding the UFC’s revenue and fighter pay. He shed light on the same during episode 16 of the Hey Not the Face! podcast.

Nash stated:

“Last year, they had an earnings call. In that earnings call, they detailed how much the fighters made and how much growth we’ve seen in fighter pay from 2005 to 2021. I calculated that and that came out to $178.8 million fighter pay in 2021. That might not be exact but based on the figures they gave, that’s the amount they should have paid the fighters, which is about 17.5 percent of revenue in 2021. Interestingly enough, they note in this filing that they were able to cut fighter expenses by $32.8 million in 2022 from 2021." [H/t MMA News]

As per Nash's calculations, the organization paid $146 million to the fighters in 2022, which comes down to approximately 13 percent of the $1 billion revenue. Even if expenses like drug testing, insurance policy and other such costs are added, it would add only 1.5 percent more to fighter pay. That’s still a big decrease, considering that the revenue went up $110 million from the year before and the profits went up almost $120 million.

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UFC’s perspective on fighter pay criticism

The UFC is not particularly fond of discussing the fighter pay issue. However, the organization has always maintained its stance that it believes in a profit-sharing model. Fighters get paid more when they bring in more pay-per-view numbers, ticket sales, and so on. Competitive achievements alone do not guarantee a handsome paycheck.

While speaking to GQ Sports back in 2022, UFC president Dana White clarified his stance on fighter pay and said:

“Fighters always want to make more money. Boxing has absolutely been destroyed because of money and all the things that go on. That’s never gonna happen while I'm here. Believe me, these guys get paid what they’re supposed to get paid. They eat what they kill. They get a percentage of the PPV buys and the money is spread out amongst all the fighters.” [H/t MMA Mania]

Watch Dana White reply to fans on the internet (fighter pay question at 2:19):