The UFC currently does not have a long-term health benefit plan in place for fighters who sustain injuries after their careers end, but company president Dana White has hinted that this would change in the near future.
White was recently asked the following question by a fan in an impromptu Q&A prompted by UFC analyst Karyn Bryant on Instagram:
“Will the UFC ever provide full-time health benefits to their fighters so that they can continue to receive them after their careers are done and potentially deal with life-altering issues as a result of fighting (?)”
While the statement is brief and without any details, it is the first time since 2011 that White has publicly stated that the promotion is working on a benefits package. At the moment, the UFC only formally provides medical benefits to athletes on the active roster who sustain injuries during fights or training camps.
For years, the UFC’s insurance policy exclusively covered competition-related injuries. Athletic commissions that sanctioned events were in charge of enforcing the rules. In May 2011, training injury coverage was added to the policy.
: Fighter pension ‘something we’d love to do’
“We’d love to do something for a fighter pension if we can figure something out. But that goes hand in hand with the question, ‘How do you feel about a fighter’s union?’ It’s up to the fighters to decide. That isn’t something I can control. I (couldn’t) give a damn. It makes no difference to us.
“… Listen, you fight for a million dollars. ‘Holy sh*t, I have a million dollars,’ you say. You don’t have it. These people pay a certain amount to this person and a certain percentage to that person. The government shows up and takes half of your earnings.
“Then comes the end of the year, and you discover that you owe $1.5 million in taxes. However, you went out and bought a house, several cars, and took some vacations. You’re broke the next thing you know.
“… We’re attempting to avoid a situation in which men retire with nothing.”
Some barriers would remain if the UFC implemented a pension plan, according to White. Fighters, according to White, would be unhappy if the corporation took a percentage of their purses to retain until they needed it later.
“Let me tell you something: fighters don’t want to share their money with anyone, and they don’t want us to take a cut. ‘We’re going to put it over here and invest it for you,’ he says as he takes it out. ‘I need all that money, and I need it now,’ said the guys.
“So it sounds like a fantastic idea and something to do, but it’s a lot more difficult than most people imagine.”
: White combative toward Cerrone remarks
When asked about Donald Cerrone’s comments in 2016, when the former UFC and WEC competitor indicated he’d want to see the promotion invest in fighter retirement accounts, White was less optimistic (transcript via The Mac Life).
“We now have health insurance,” White explained. “They’re totally covered for everything that happens to them in the octagon. We cover everything that happens to them, but outside of that, we now have a deal in place for when they’re training – since a lot of players are harmed while training. Is this the best policy ever enacted? No.
“But let me tell you something: insurance firms aren’t in business for the wrong reasons. They’re in business to make money, and you can’t make money insuring 500 elite warriors because they’re always hurting.
“…And when we talk about post-fight, you’re making a million-something (dollars) this year, ‘Cowboy’ and all the other fighters,” White remarked. “That is the end of your career. You can’t survive on sponsorship money while putting $1.3 million in the bank? And keep doing that for the next few years? Then, hopefully, you’ll invest your money well – that’s our scenario, too; we’re all in the same boat.
“When you look at these individuals, it’s easy to believe that a man who has never won the title and has only headlined three UFC events is making millions of dollars.”
: White dismissive about Fisher’s struggles
Spencer Fisher, who has been suffering a number of long-term health concerns he claims occurred as a result of his fighting career, including memory loss and mental health issues, was the subject of the most recent public discussion about fighter perks to which White contributed.
“Listen, we’re all learning about brain injuries every day,” White added. “We’ve been putting money into the Lou Ruvo Center to see what we can learn.” We’re now intrigued in this psychedelics stuff that just aired on ‘Real Sports,’ and we’ve actually reached out to the Johns Hopkins guys about it, and we’re looking into it.
“But, listen, (Fisher) isn’t the first, and he certainly won’t be the last. This is a contact sport, and everyone who has ever done it (while) younger, including myself, has had to deal with mental health difficulties. It’s all part of the package.”
California does its part for MMA fighters
Andy Foster, the president of the California State Athletic Commission, told MMA Fighting in early May that the governing body hopes to expand an existing boxer pension system to include MMA competitors, a process that might take two to three years.
“CSAC chair John Carvelli added, “Hopefully, we’ll get a lot of good support from the athletes themselves.” “This is the proper course of action.”
Do UFC fighters get free medical care?
There was a rumor circulating not long ago that Bruce Willis, who has made so much money from smirking that he probably uses it as attic insulation, runs a raffle for the blue-collar crew members on his movie sets. Each week, a $10,000 prize is awarded to the winning ticket.
Isn’t that generous? The trouble is that it’s also a huge letdown for the losers, who make up 99 percent of the group.
Joe Stevenson may not draw as many fans to the UFC as Brock Lesnar, but does that make him any less deserving of injury insurance?
Zuffa does not offer fighters financial aid, but I’m not certain that discretionary bonuses are much better. We all know that a fighter’s basic wage is frequently a poor indicator of his true earnings: The promotion gives out checks in the locker rooms based on an athlete’s performance, often for large sums of money that can change an athlete’s life. It’s a technique of keeping track of strategies that have the potential to be tedious. Be exciting, win money, and have fun. Dana White will not arrive bringing presents if you bore the crowd.
It becomes a more contentious problem when the cherry-picking extends to a fighter’s health care.
Fighters in the UFC are not covered by health insurance. Although this may appear to be sinister, the reality is that hardly no firm covers independent freelancers; athletes are usually insured by unions rather than leagues. Instead, the promotion frequently covers the medical expenses of contestants who are injured during a match.
The UFC, on the other hand, can and does help athletes who are injured outside of the ring. When Brock Lesnar was diagnosed with diverticulitis, Zuffa moved into emergency mode and was prepared to fire him, according to Dana White “Send him to the Mayo Clinic or Scripps Research Institute. To take care of this individual, we’ll have to do some things.” Lesnar, the UFC’s main draw, was not about to be forgotten.
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Stevenson’s knee problems aren’t nearly as serious as a hole in Lesnar’s bowel, and Zuffa reacted not only to Lesnar’s status as a seat-filler but also to the possibility of a fighter’s death. It’s not exactly unjust, but when travelling to Mexico, Stevenson may have had other thoughts.
Do UFC fighters pay for flights?
Cholish reveals that the UFC will pay for his ticket and accommodation for a fight (in this case, his journey to Brazil), as well as one coach or corner guy, as part of his contract. “It normally lasts four or five nights,” Cholish explained.
Do UFC fighters have to pay hospital bills?
Nakamoto’s situation is representative of how many combat sports competitors struggle to make a living from their discipline. Fighters in larger organizations, such as the UFC or One FC, have it easier than others because their medical expenditures are usually covered by the organizations.
Finances are significantly less reliable for athletes in smaller or more regional organizations, such as Miriam’s (her last bout was for Invicta FC, a women’s feeder league to the UFC).
Indeed, things became so terrible for Nakamoto that she was homeless for a week in 2016. This is regrettably not uncommon, as Cris Cyborg, the former UFC women’s featherweight champion, was homeless for a period while still competing.
Ray Borg, a title challenger in the UFC’s flyweight division, too had to deal with a lot of troubles with his son’s health and the bills that came with it. Because the UFC does not cover non-fight-related medical bills, Borg had to foot the bill himself.
What do UFC fighters do after a fight?
Hightower, of Jackson-Winkeljohn, believes that healing can take numerous forms. It entails soft-tissue therapy, like as massage and manipulation, to alleviate pain and allow fighters to sleep. Stretching, cold laser therapy, and cryotherapy assist heal discomfort and mild injuries, while compression recovery boots help reduce swelling.
Hightower also scans for serious illnesses like rhabdomyolysis, which occurs when the kidneys are overworked processing excess waste from the circulation in the weeks following a fight.
Individual combatants, of course, approach their recovery in different ways. Some people are hesitant to return to training, while others are eager to get back into the gym and work out with others who understand the ups and downs of fighting.
Dan Henderson, a former Pride champion and UFC tournament winner, says that each fight’s recovery is unique.
Are UFC fighters employees or contractors?
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) combatants are recognized as independent contractors at the moment. This designation, however, appears to contradict the UFC’s level of control over its fighters. The fighters’ benefits, workplace rights, and ability to unionize are severely hampered by their status as independent contractors. Furthermore, the closeness between UFC president Dana White and President Donald Trump, who appoints members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), has thrown a new wrinkle to the situation. An attorney for a former UFC fighter alleged that the NLRB’s decision in their case was skewed because of their connection. The link between the UFC and its fighters, the applicability of worker classifications, and case law affecting workers in related sectors are all examined in depth in this article. The Twenty-Factor Test of the International Revenue Service (IRS) is also used to assess the proper classification of UFC fighters.
What is the average UFC fighter salary?
UFC competitors are first signed to contracts that promise them a certain amount per fight for a certain number of fights over a certain period of time. The figures aren’t set in stone; some athletes earn four figures per bout, while others claim six figures or more, depending on their background, experience both inside and outside the UFC, projections, and investment. Consider it in the same way that a waiter’s base salary is calculated: Sure, it’s something, but it’s not much, and in many situations, it’s not enough to live comfortably on.
As a direct result of his actions in the cage, each fighter is also entitled to win certain performance bonuses. There were two types of awards in the past: Fight of the Night (FotN) and Performance of the Night (PotN) (PotN). Two of each were given ostensibly on the basis of merit, with recipients receiving an additional payment that, at the time of establishment, could range from five to six figures. Since 2014, a uniform sum of $50,000 has been added to whatever the awardees were earning before. This was a blessing in disguise, because even if a warrior lost but sacrificed their shield in the process, they would be able to earn far more than they had been promised. Most recently, at UFC 258 in February, four Performance of the Night bonuses were given out, but no Fight of the Night honors were given out, indicating a possible shift in awards but the same monetary amount.
UFC President Dana White has a murky category in which he literally writes fighters money for fights he enjoys but doesn’t think are worthy of the FotN and PotN awards. In an interview with the New York Post in February, White, who joined the company in 2001, stated that he wrote extra checks simply based on his impression of the performance: “There will be a night where some insane st happens during the whole deck… He stated, “I’ll write them anything from $10,000 to $25,000.” While this may appear to be an even longer shot, the sums are enormous. White stated in the same Post piece that the UFC paid $13 million in bonuses in 2020, with $4.6 million going to these rash demi-awards. If the money were distributed evenly throughout the year, it would amount to around $5,000 for each fighter in each fight (though it certainly was not).
Then there are the contract sweeteners, which, for the most part, represent the fighter’s marketability to the company in terms of Pay-Per-View sales. Are you a corn-fed former Division I wrestler who’s been putting up with neighborhood brawlers in little fights? You might get something, but it’s unlikely. Are you a former Olympic gold medallist who is currently training in a faraway land? You have some negotiating leverage. Eddie Alvarez, a lightweight who came to the UFC via Bellator, has enough cash to write in selling bonuses that could boost his earnings to seven figures from a base salary of $80,000. (Unusually, Alvarez’s contract was leaked, and the UFC discussed it extensively in an interview with Bleacher Report.)
Finally, UFC athletes have the option of signing contracts with particular sponsors, who can set their own bonus schemes and base salary. They are extremely diverse. Conor McGregor was well-known for this (pun intended), and his Instagram was once strewn with endorsements from Burger King and others (although these suffered after he assaulted a tour bus, was accused of rape, and sucker-punched an old man all within a two-year period). The higher the fighter’s profile, the higher these sums become, and McGregor, despite not having a championship belt and earning less than $4 million through the UFC in 2020, was ranked 16th on Forbes’ annual “Highest-Paid Athletes in the World” list with $48 million, with the publication claiming he made $30 million when he knocked out Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in 40 seconds. On the other hand, Dynamic Fastener, a company that manufactures screws for builders and contractors, has sponsored a slew of fighters, each of whom receives a stipend for emblazoning its brand on their shorts. Obviously, mileage will vary.
When bonuses and base money were tallied together in 2020, the average contracted UFC fighter earned around $148,000. UFC fighters are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world, with each round lasting five minutes, fights lasting three or five rounds, and three fights each year. However, this is a reductive approach. If you spend any time with these athletes, you’ll learn about the daily hard training sessions, the lethal weight cuts, and the months of self-sacrifice for an unclear outcome. Add in the fact that they walk into a cage that closes behind them, with the meanest m-r f-r they’ve ever seen on the opposite side every time. With that in mind, they should be paid every penny they receive, plus a bonus. Because I don’t want to do it, and neither do you, and the closest I’d like to get to it is hiding behind a TV and a basket of chicken wings. We don’t know how much a UFC fighter earns per bout, but I can tell you that it’s a lot.
Do you need insurance to be a boxer?
As a Boxer, having a decent insurance policy gives you the assurance that you will be able to complete your training without worry. If you own a gym, having enough coverage protects your teachers and affiliates in the event of an accident while training or competing.
Do professional boxers get a pension?
The Professional Boxer’s Pension Fund is the world’s only boxer-specific pension fund. It was established in 1982 by a California statute to assist boxers in their older years. Currently, the fund has a value of over $5.3 million.
By licensing all participants and supervising the events, the CSAC controls professional boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing, and professional mixed martial arts (MMA) in California. The pension money is only available to boxers.