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Fighter pay has been a massive issue in the UFC in the recent past, with several fighters speaking out about their displeasure with the promotion's policies.
Former and current UFC champions like Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou, apart from top contenders like Paulo Costa, have voiced their opinions on the matter. However, only a few fighters have broken down exactly how much they're paid and how their expenses during fight week leave them with very little remaining.
UFC president Dana White has dismissed any concerns over fighter pay and health benefits, insisting that this is how he will run his promotion. Several fighters could be hesitant to speak their minds in fear of falling out of favor with the boss.
In this article, we take a look at five UFC fighters who explained clearly why their pay was inadequate.
#5 Former UFC fighter Myles Jury
One of the first fighters to give a detailed account of pay and expenses, former UFC fighter Myles Jury explained how profits are only a small portion of his net income. He illustrated the struggles upcoming fighters who aren't established names go through as part of the UFC.
At the time, Jury stated that a new fighter was paid $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win. From this total amount of $20,000, assuming a win of course, 'Fury' deducted expenses in the following manner:
- 2,000 (gym/team)
- 4,000 (management)
- 6,000 (taxes)
- 500 (medical)
- 1,000 (coaching)
- 1,000 (miscellaneous)
This amounts to a total of $14,500, resulting in a net profit of just $5,500 - in a win. Jury mentioned that sponsorship money and bonuses are imperative for a new fighter to sustain their career, and the UFC is known to be stingy in these two categories as well.
Jury fought in the UFC for almost seven years, but went 2-4 in a six-fight period before joining Bellator in 2019.
#4 UFC welterweight Mike Perry
At UFC Uruguay in August 2019, UFC welterweight Mike Perry suffered a decision loss to current top contender Vicente Luque. 'Platinum' also suffered a horrific broken nose after Luque connected with a flying knee.
Later, Perry took to Instagram to post a break-up of his earnings and expenses, with his injury adding to an already lengthy bill.
![Perry took to Instagram to speak about fighter pay [PC: Reddit]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/08/b1b3c-16299856958442-800.jpg)
Last year, Perry claimed that he has an issue with the tax system and not the size of the UFC's cheques.
#3 Former UFC women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate
Former UFC women's bantamweight champion and fan favorite Miesha Tate recently made a comeback to the octagon after five years away, finishing Marion Reneau in the third round.
Soon after the fight, she made headlines by claiming that she had spent 98% of her purse, which was $200,000.
“My whole fight purse was gone; show and win, for this fight. I spent, it had to be about 98 percent at least. So maybe I walked away with a little bit. But out of $200,000? Yeah, I’m just lucky I made a bonus, to be honest. That’s how much it costs. Because you take taxes off the top. 70 percent of my fight purse is gone immediately, right off the top. So I have 30 percent to work with. And that 30 percent I take to buy my organic foods, to get my training gear, heart rate monitors, whatever other things that I need to invest in to make the camp go well. And it’s expensive. You know, it’s very expensive to eat like that.”
Tate also won a Performance of the Night bonus, which she didn't appear to factor into her calculations. 'Cupcake' later elaborated on her comments by saying that not all the money went to her bank account and that she's okay with it.
#2 UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier
In the most recent example of a fighter talking openly about their financial situation, UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier made waves last weekend by claiming that he's broke.
'The Killa Gorilla', who beat Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision to move closer to a title shot, said he needs to stay active in order to make ends meet:
"I mean, it's not dire, it's just a natural occurrence if you will, you know. But, of course, coming off an injury and I'm not balling out of control or anything like that and a lot of people don't understand that when we have these fights, we owe people money after these fights. You know, so after this win, 60% of my money is already gone between the gym, between management, between taxes. On top of that I got bills, credit cards, I got kids. I have a house up in Alaska, I got a house here, I got car payments."
Cannonier went on to explain that fighting is his only source of revenue:
"That money goes, money don't last forever and right now, fighting is our only revenue. I don't have sponsors or anything like that. You know, fighting is my only focus, I'm not out here doing commercials or doing anything like that. Nobody is asking me to be in the next Marvel movie. So, you know, and not being able to fight for the last 10 months put a strain on our pockets, so I'm glad to have gotten back in there, I'm glad to have gotten two cheques, plus that main event bonus and I'm glad I'm not injured so I can do it again. I don't need like a super quick turnaround but you know, the division is moving on. We got a big fight coming up this weekend and I'm ready to go."
#1 UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira
Even UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, who has been on a tear in the division over the last few years, isn't exempt from issues with fighter pay. The Brazilian, who clinched the title with a win over Michael Chandler earlier this year at UFC 262, elucidated how he is perceived as "rich" but actually isn't.
"I have to pay for training, supplementation, it’s complicated. People think I’m rich, but I’m not. I’m still going to become rich, I’m going to make money with a percentage of pay-per-view, I’ve reached a level where I start to make serious money. Things will start to improve, more than they already are."
'Do Bronx' continued by breaking down his expenses for a fight, opening up about the post-fight bonuses he has earned and the misleading numbers on show.
"Do you know how much gets deducted? The team alone gets 30 percent, then you need to discount another 12 or 15 percent depending on which U.S. state you fought in. You have other deductions for I don’t know what or to where. When you see it at the end you got less than guys who didn’t do anything. I didn’t earn $50,000 bonuses 17 times. I actually earned $15,000, $12,000, $10,000."
Oliveira is expected to face Dustin Poirier next, and that fight promises to be an easy sell. As he says, he could soon move up the wealth rankings just like the UFC rankings. But spare a thought for all the other fighters who aren't at the very top.
