Dana White and Jake Paul have had a long history of trading barbs over UFC pay, particularly on Twitter. Dana White recently made some evocative comments regarding UFC fighter pay, and Jake Paul did not shy away about declaring how he felt. Paul has been continuously vocal speaking out in the past on fighter pay in the UFC and has been especially critical of White.
Jake Paul Condemns Dana White’s Fighter Pay Comments
While speaking in an interview with GQ, UFC President Dana White was asked about fighter pay raises. He said, “It’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 pay-per-view buys. And the money is spread out amongst all the fighters … You always have something to b*tch about, I guess.”
Jake Paul on Twitter criticized White’s comments and said, “If my boss told me I am never getting a raise I would quit and go somewhere that actually values me. Right? But what if ur boss, who has made hundreds of millions from ur hard work told u he’s not increasing ur minimum pay and you’re not able to quit? … No major sports organization pays its athletes as poorly as Dana White & UFC. If u don’t see that then you are one of Dana’s sheeps. They keep talking about selling out 21 events in a row but never talking about raising fighter pay, giving them healthcare & fair revenue split.”
Fighters on UFC Pay
Top middleweight contender Jared Cannonier discussed fighter pay last year in an interview. “I should have six figures in my account that I don’t even need to touch,” Cannonier explained to Ariel Helwani, “I shouldn’t have to worry about ‘if I get injured and I can’t fight anymore, what the hell am I going to do?’ Unfortunately, that is a situation that a lot of us fighters are in —that I’m in myself … I am an elite-level athlete. I would like to get paid like an elite-level athlete. Like the ones in the NFL and NBA and the ones playing baseball and soccer and doing all that stuff. They get sponsors but they don’t need sponsors. All they need is that check through the organization. That’s what we need here in the UFC. That’s what we would all like.”
Luke Rockhold, a former UFC World Champion, recently commented on the bonus structure of the UFC while speaking to MMA Fighting. He said, “What the f*ck are we doing here? F*cking $50,000 bonuses that are getting paid out for like two decades? What the f*ck? The valuation of the company’s going up f*cking billions of dollars, and we’re still stuck on $50,000 bonus checks? What the f*ck is this?”
“We need leverage.” Urijah Faber, former WEC Champions and UFC contender, recently made comments regarding UFC fighter pay, MMA Unions, and the Muhammad Ali Act. He explained that fighters as a whole need more leverage. If a fighter is broke, they have no ability to negotiate as they need to fight. He also added, On the Muhammad Ali Act, “That would be a huge key, but it only becomes a big key once the UFC has done their job … If we can get the Muhammad Ali Act that would be the best thing. Those that don’t know, Muhammad Ali Act basically puts every matchup for bid. In turn, to get the fighters to come with them they would have to give more to the fighters and less to them,” Faber continues, “It would change the dynamic.”
Lawsuits and the UFC
Last year, this publication wrote:
“UFC fighter pay combined is typically less than 20% of the UFC revenue. UFC fighter pay averages approximately $148,000, according to one source … These numbers are known publicly now due to the ongoing multiple class-action antitrust lawsuits being levied against the UFC. These lawsuits state that “Zuffa violated antitrust laws by paying UFC fighters far less than they were entitled to receive” … UFC parent company, publicly traded, Endeavor recently, “increased its 2021 revenue target to $4.8 billion to $4.85 billion after forecasting $4.76 billion to $4.83 billion in June.” And the UFC saw a very strong second quarter in 2021; revenue of $258.9 million.”
“Zuffa wants the UFC to be the NFL of MMA, a quote which is thrown back at them multiple times in the lawsuit. They can achieve this status and enjoy the benefits that come from market dominance but not without embracing athlete collective bargaining rights that also come at this elite level. This lawsuit is a powerful accelerant in this direction.”
Jake Paul was a YouTube celebrity and now is a professional boxer with a 5-0 record. From his fights in boxing, Paul has reportedly made over $38,000,000 in just his five-fight career. Forbes reported:
“Hate him a lot or hate him a little, it’s working: Paul, who lives in Puerto Rico, is the world’s 46th-highest-paid athlete, according to Forbes, having earned $38 million before taxes over the last 12 months. His two fights over that span fetched him around $30 million, even though he has still never fought a professional boxer … It’s already paying dividends. Paul teamed up with Hearn to organize what would become the most successful women’s fight ever, a sold-out event between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor at the Garden in April that paid the two fighters more than $1 million each.”
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