UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland [Getty Images]
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland [Getty Images]

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has sharply criticized the promotion's fighter compensation, particularly the poor pay structure facing rookie fighters.

Strickland, who holds a career record of 31 wins and 7 losses, recently appeared on the Shawn Ryan Show and spoke about fighter pay. He acknowledged that UFC pays him well but said most fighters struggle to make ends meet.

"Being a fighter is really poor. UFC fighters are the same way. Rookies usually start on a $10,000 show/$10,000 win contract. If you win, that's $20,000 — but after manager fees and taxes, there's almost nothing left. If you lose, you're walking away with maybe $7,000 to $8,000," he said.

This is a well-known reality in the sport, and injuries or time away from competition make the situation even worse. He said, "If you get hurt or can't fight, it gets really tough — you're not getting paid. Ten thousand dollars can change your life in a Brazilian favela or Dagestan, but in America it doesn't even cover a few months' rent."

"The UFC pay structure is really exploitative," he added. "I'm satisfied — I'm making good money. But the ones really making money are only the top fighters."

The difficult conditions facing lower-tier fighters are not unique to UFC; mixed martial arts, kickboxing and professional sports more broadly face similar dynamics. Salary gaps between athletes within a single sport can run into the hundreds or even thousands of times over. Raising minimum guarantees tends to push up top-end pay as well, making it a problem that promoters and organizers cannot easily solve.

However, expectations for improved rookie pay ran high this year given that UFC has come into significant money. The promotion is currently in the first year of a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+. Yet fans and fighters alike have questioned why the only meaningful change has been a $25,000 increase to finish bonuses.

An antitrust lawsuit filed in 2019 by UFC fighter Kung Li and others revealed that UFC pays fighters roughly 20 percent of total revenue — compared with approximately 50 percent in major North American professional leagues such as the NBA, NHL and MLB.

It remains to be seen how UFC CEO Dana White will respond to the comments from Strickland, who is known for his blunt and often provocative remarks. However, White has consistently defended UFC's pay structure whenever fighters have raised similar complaints in the past.


yjc@heraldcorp.com