UFC’s middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has urged Dana White, the President of the UFC, to increase the compensation and performance bonuses for fighters within the franchise.
Adesanya firmly believes that the fighters deserve greater rewards for their hard work and dedication.
Adesanya also holds the view that the UFC has the financial means to provide higher remuneration to its athletes, especially considering the recent merger with WWE facilitated by Endeavor.
In April, the merging of these two organizations resulted in the creation of a new publicly traded company, which currently holds a valuation exceeding $21 billion and is under the control of Endeavor Group.
Historically, the UFC’s performance bonuses, such as the “Knockout of the Night” or “Fight of the Night,” have remained at $50,000 since 2013. Adesanya expressed his belief that these bonuses should be adjusted to reflect the current economic climate and inflation.
During a recent episode of the “Impulsive” podcast, Adesanya stated, “The UFC and WWE merger, a $21.4 billion company. I’m like, ‘Yo, they can go up.’ It’s been a few years, inflation has been going up. The bonus [has] got to go up, that’s how I feel. I’ve told them this and I’ve said this publicly, it’s not crazy.”
Adesanya emphasized the value of his own knockouts, suggesting that each knockout alone should be worth $50,000. He mentioned that in certain instances, the UFC has raised the bonuses to $100,000 for specific events such as UFC 200 or UFC 100. Given his knockout prowess, Adesanya believes his knockouts should at least be worth $50,000.
