UFC fighters receive compensation via several streams:
•The often publicly reported show-win purses, typically of an even amount, but weighted more towards the show for top draws;
•Reebok pay, based on tenure, for wearing the distinctive apparel during fight week and in the Octagon;
•In special cases there can be an LOA (Letter of Agreement) on the contract for additional income;
•The most elite fighters get points on the pay per view for PPV events; and,
•Some fighters get discretionary locker room bonuses of varying amounts, which, despite their name, typically come in the mail now.
Locker room bonuses have received precious little mention, but during a recent interview with Scott Fontana for the New York Post, UFC president Dana White opened up about the process to an unprecedented extent. In 2020 the locker room bonuses came out to an average of $5,000 per fighter, per fight, for a total of $4.6 million. White told Fontana that the usual practice was for everybody who delivered on the card, I write a check. These discretionary bonuses trypically range from $4,000 to $25,000 each, depending on what I thought of their fight.
I’ll give you an example, White said. There will be a night where some crazy s*** happens throughout the whole card, and then we have to pick what we thought [were] the $50,000 [bonus recipients], but somebody else was right in the running. They could have got it too. And it depends, I’ll write them anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000.Obviously, there’s a lot of money involved and, believe me, many people, including people who work for me, said, ‘If you would just say publicly what you do,’ and I say, ‘but I don’t care.’ It’s nobody’s business what these guys make.
What do you think UG? Are the amounts more or less than you had guessed?
