Dana White: Nobody wants to be paying ‘boxing money’ more than I do

At the UFC 138 post fight press conference, UFC President Dana White responded to journalist’s concerns that UFC fighters are not making the tens of millions of dollars that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr are enjoying in boxing.

“Believe me, there’s guys that make money in this sport, The stuff that Nick Diaz says is crazy, okay?”

“Nick Diaz has made a lot of money this year. Believe me when I tell you, Nick Diaz can buy a house this year, whatever kind of house he wants.

“There’s guys that made a lot of money this year. There’s guys that make good money. There’s guys that are working their way up.

“Believe me, nobody wants to be paying boxing money to these guys more than I do.

“Realize this, the UFC only started making money on 2006. From 2001 to 2006 we were almost 50 million dollars in the hole.

“And in that time, no fighter ever got paid late or check bounced … the Fertitta brothers funded this thing, for that long.

“In 2006 we started turning a profit. From 2006-2011, I can’t remember what the number is, but it’s like 40-something millionaires … 20-something multi, multimillionaires and the list goes on and on. From 2006-2011.”

“Boxing’s been around for 100 years. It was a mainstream sport before television. NFL has been around for 50 or 60 yuears …”

“What we’ve been able to do, in that much time, and the money thats been made by guys that would have been wrestling coaches or would have had MMA studios or martial arts studios, is pretty phenomenal …”

“We’re in a half a bilion homes worldwide. The sport’s only getting bigger, its not getting smaller, and guys are going to make a lot more money.”