UFC 300: Dana White Increases Fighter Bonuses From $50,000 To $300,000

April 12, 2024
10 months
UFC 300: Dana White Increases Fighter Bonuses From $50,000 To $300,000

Dana White has increased fighter bonuses from $50,000 to $300,000, an announcement he made at the UFC 300 presser.

Alex Pereira will headline against Jamahal Hill as the UFC holds the historic event on Saturday. Coming into their fight, Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway were very vocal about increasing the bonuses. Gaethje demanded that they be increased from $50,000 to $300,000, while Holloway went further. Max wanted the bonuses to go up to $500,000 for the event.

“Oh yeah, brother. When we do the fighter meeting – we always have fighter meetings [before the event] – I’m going to throw it out there. I’m gonna say $500k, so we can start going [back and forth], ‘Okay, $400k. Then $300k. Okay final offer, $150k.’ ‘Cause it’s UFC 300. It’s huge. The two guys that’s pushing the fight, that’s asking for it. Why not?” Holloway stated 

There have been bonus increases in the past. In 2009, at UFC 100, fighters received a $100,000 bonuse. That increased to $129,000 at UFC 129 in 2011, while at UFC 262 in 2021, the figure was $75,000. White responded emphatically, going further by agreeing to the demand of $300,000.

White Reacts

The news also follows the UFC’s recent class-action lawsuit. Former UFC fighters claimed the UFC broke anti-trust laws to monopolize how much fighters could earn, thus reducing their pay. The 2014 case ‘Le et al. vs Zuffa’ involved around 1,200 fighters. Another lawsuit was filed in 2021 on similar grounds. A trial was set for April 15 unless a settlement was made. The Securities and Exchange Commission then confirmed TKO Group Holdings Inc. had agreed to settle for $335 million.

“On March 13, 2024, TKO reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits ([Cung] Le and [Kajan] Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time. The terms will be memorialized in a long form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval. The Company anticipates that the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes,” TKO Group Holdings said

UFC 308

Elsewhere, UFC 308 will occur in Abu Dhabi on October 26, live from the Etihad Arena at Yas Island.
This is the second event to take place in Abu Dhabi this year, with UFC Fight Night 245 taking place on August 3. It will be the 20th time the UFC has held an event in the city.

While the main event was not announced, Islam Makhachev featured heavily in the promo video. Makhachev fought at the stadium last October in his rematch with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. The UFC Lightweight Champion stopped the Australian in the first round, taking his record against him to 2-0. Since Makhachev has not fought since then, he could be one of the leading names in the conversation to headline that event.

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