UFC Fighter Pay: The Myths of UFC Salaries & Locker Room Bonuses

Column: 'Estimated' UFC salaries are misleading fight fans.

Mathew Riddle | Oct 30, 2024

Cormier (Getty Image / Chris Unger) / Pereira (UFC.com)

MMA media outlets increasingly report 'estimated' fighter salaries from major PPVs. Websites often publish these figures for high-profile fighters without providing sources or citations.

Most media estimates of UFC fighter salaries are based on projections of past fight purses and PPV points, but they do not reflect actual figures.

UFC Salaries Rarely Disclosed

The truth behind most UFC salaries is that they are not disclosed. Most event payouts are only revealed at the discretion of the fighters or the athletic commission responsible for regulating the event. For example, UFC 298's fighter salaries were disclosed by the California State Athletic Commission, but UFC 300's salaries have not been officially revealed in any capacity.

I obtained the guaranteed minimum purses and bonuses for #UFC298, as filed with the CSAC.

Alexander Volkanovski: $750,000
Ilia Topuria: $350,000

Here's the earnings recap for the rest of the 11-fight card. pic.twitter.com/w9rOJQ52fY
— Manouk Akopyan (@ManoukAkopyan) February 17, 2024

Despite this, headlines surrounding UFC 300 salaries would have you believe the numbers are official:

The headline	The catch
UFC 300 Purses For Alex Pereira, Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje And More	"Here Is The List Of The UFC 300 Fighters' Estimated Salaries"
UFC 300 Salaries Revealed	"UFC 300 Expected Salaries in Full" ... "Figures taken as per MMA Salaries"
UFC 300 Salaries and Payouts	"Note that the official payouts have not been disclosed ... Other assumptions are made like expected contract changes..."
UFC 300 payouts revealed including four fighters who smashed the $2m mark	"BETMGM believe that Pereira earned..." "The estimated total pay outs are as followed"

Do not trust UFC salary information unless it is disclosed by UFC Brass, an Athletic Commission, or a UFC fighter.

Do UFC Fighters Really Get Locker Room Bonuses?

It is confirmed that locker room bonuses exist. Former champion Daniel Cormier has disclosed receiving up to $1 million in undisclosed payouts on multiple occasions. Still, this is not grounds for assuming that every fighter receives payouts under the table.

The existence of locker room bonuses is mostly uncontested. The contention comes from who they are distributed to since fighters like Cormier are some of the highest-profile athletes in the promotion. Locker room bonuses are also revealed at the discretion of the fighter or UFC Brass.

Former UFC matchmaker Joe Silva explained locker room bonuses under oath in 2019, as part of the UFC antitrust lawsuit.

“Now, there was other bonuses, too, that were not discussed that were not fight of the night..." Silva said (transcript via Forbes). "For a long period of time what would happen is after a show would end, the next day, for Monday, I would summarize the card to Dana, Lorenzo, Sean, and I'd say, here's what happened in every fight, and here's money that's not knockout of the night or fight of the night, here's extra bonuses that I think these guys are worth.

"And I would make suggestions, this guy lost, but it was a good fight, he did that, I think he should get 3,000 extra; I think that that guy should get 10,000 extra. And I'd go down the whole card."

It's important to note that Silva's statement only pertains to UFC practices until 2016 when the lawsuit was filed. Current bonus practices may differ, especially following Endeavor's acquisition of the UFC and its merger with WWE under the TKO banner.

UFC Salaries Rarely Disclosed

Do UFC Fighters Really Get Locker Room Bonuses?

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