UFC CEO Dana White promised "bonuses are obviously going up" in the new era. On Saturday, ahead of the UFC 324, fighters finally got a sense of what that'll look like.
In the hours after the ink had dried on UFC's seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount, UFC CEO Dana White promised that "bonuses are obviously going up" in the new era. On Saturday, ahead of the promotion's first show on its new broadcast home, fighters finally got a sense of what that'll look like.
White told the Sports Business Journal that post-fight bonuses are set to double from $50,000 to $100,000, beginning with Saturday's UFC 324 numbered event in Las Vegas. There will continue to be four of those bonuses handed out after every event — two Performance of the Night bonuses and two Fight of the Night bonuses.
In addition, the promotion is instituting what effectively amounts to a $25,000 finish bonus for any fighter who wins their bout by knockout or submission but doesn't earn one of the other bonuses.
The declining value of UFC bonuses has been a point of contention for many within the sport in recent years as the MMA leader pulls in record profits seemingly yearly. The bonuses were standardized to $50,000 in 2014, however they varied on an event-to-event basis prior to that, with many being more than $50,000 and some reaching as high as $75,000.
On rare occasions, White has been convinced to raise the value of post-fight bonuses for a one-off event, such as the $300,000 bonuses awarded for the UFC's tricentennial event in 2024, UFC 300. Yet the UFC boss has also bristled over the years at the notion of permanently raising the baseline bonus compensation. In July 2024, after a UFC 304 pay-per-view heavy on decision outcomes, a furious White vowed never to be pressured into raising the bonuses for a one-off event again.
White has also strongly resisted the idea instituting finish bonuses in the past, however with the UFC set to embark on its next chapter under the Paramount umbrella, with a lucrative rights deal that rivals virtually any other major sporting entity in the world, the promotion appears to have come around on the idea, with Saturday's UFC 324 card set to be the first event under the new bonus structure.
Category: General Sports
