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Fans have demanded an increase in fighter pay after seeing the UFC’s generated revenue for the first half of 2023.
Earlier this year, the parent company of the UFC, Zuffa, and the WWE merged with Endeavor to create TKO Group Holdings. As a result, the sports entertainment enterprise became a publicly traded company, leading to financial statistics, including revenue, being released.
The recent reports revealed the UFC generated $610 million in revenue during the first six months of 2023. Considering fighter pay has been a controversial topic for several years, fans weren’t happy to see how much money the UFC was bringing.
The financial numbers were shared on Twitter by a popular account called “Spinnin Backfist.” The social media post led to many fans voicing their frustration with the amount UFC fighters are paid, including the following people:
“Meanwhile fighters are working part time jobs while being a top 15 fighter.”
“While paying their fighters .60% of this”
“So they are under paying the fighter’s!”
“Increase fighter pay!”
“PAY FIGHTERS MORE WTF?!”
“whole roster combined probably only sees about 4% of their yearly revenue”
“Somethings really wrong when you read this and read about fighters getting a pitance”
“Just think someone in the UFC office is making more than the fighters they promote. Crazy.”
It should be noted that the $610 million was the UFC’s revenue and not their profit. Therefore, the worldwide leader in mixed martial arts could be investing a few hundred million back into their operation. With that said, fans who are unhappy with fighter pay still have a valid reason for wanting some things to change.
How many UFC events are left for 2023 despite calls for fighter pay increase?
There are six UFC events left in the calendar year, including two pay-per-views. The next fight card is scheduled for Saturday, November 4, as the UFC travels to Sao Paolo, Brazil, for a heavyweight main event featuring Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis.
Following UFC Sao Paulo, Dana White and company will travel to New York City for UFC 295, headlined by Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title.
The final five UFC events are as follows - UFC Vegas 82 on November 18, UFC Austin on December 2, UFC Shanghai on December 9, and UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington on December 16.
