White: No decision on eliminating UFC fight-night bonuses, will talk to fighters

LAS VEGAS – Earlier this week, in response to some recent complaints about fighter pay, UFC President Dana White floated the idea of eliminating fight-night bonuses and channeling that money to bigger base paydays for fighters.

However, White today said at the pre-UFC 162 press conference that the organization isn’t currently close to implementing such a plan.

Currently, the UFC gives out $50,000 bonuses for each event’s best knockout and best submission, as well as the best fight (which goes to both the winner and loser). The fight-night awards have gone as high as $129,000 in the past, and a handful of dual-award winners have banked some serious cash due to the bonus system.

However, some fighters, both current and past, have recently complained about the difficulty in living on the salaries given to typical lower-level fighters, where base paydays can be $6,000 to show and an additional $6,000 to victorious. And on Monday, White offered a potentially significant adjustment.

“You don’t like the structure? All right, we’ll pay the lower-level guys more money – no more f—ing bonuses,” he said. “You guys come in, you negotiate your contracts, and we do away with all bonuses. That’s what I’m thinking about doing.”

White said most of the complaints are coming from fighters who don’t really impact the bottom line, anyway.

“The guys who are complaining about money are the guys who don’t matter,” he today said.

White’s initial comments about canceling bonuses – not just the fight-night bonuses, but the undisclosed discretionary bonuses that many fighters receive – were met with disappointment, not just by some fighters, but also some fans. Perhaps that why White today softened his stance.

“I said, ‘This is what we’re thinking about doing,’” he said. “But I agree. I love giving the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses. They’re awesome, and they change people’s lives.

“Before a decision like that is made, we’re going to talk to the fighters too. This isn’t something (UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta) and I are just going to say, ‘Yeah, this is what we’re going to do.’ We’re going to talk to a lot of fighters about it before we make those decisions.”

So at least for now, expect $200,000 in fight-night bonuses to be up for grabs at Saturday’s UFC 162 event in Las Vegas.

For the latest on UFC 162, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Dana White)