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 only 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 health insurance?
The policy applies to all UFC and Strikeforce competitors, regardless of whether they live in the United States or abroad. Zuffa pays for all insurance premiums, so the fighters don’t have to. While under contract with Zuffa, athletes are able to use up to $50,000 per year for coverage, which covers them even if they are not slated to participate in the near future.
For as long as the boxers are under contract, the coverage also includes dental and life insurance at no cost to them. Doctor services, laboratory tests, emergency medical evacuation, and physical treatment are all covered by the coverage.
No one can disagree that this is a significant step forward for mixed martial arts. Not only for the athletes that compete within the cage, but also for the efforts to bring the sport into the public eye.
Do UFC fighters pay their medical 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.
Does the UFC have a pension plan?
The boxer’s pension fund was founded in 1982 and is controlled by the state and supported by a levy on promoters’ ticket sales. The fund receives 88 cents for every boxing ticket sold, up to a maximum of $4,600 per event.
Boxers over the age of 50 who have fought a specified number of rounds with no more than a three-year layoff are eligible to receive a portion of the $5.3 million fund.
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.
How much are UFC fighters paid?
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, an 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.
What is Conor McGregor’s net worth?
McGregor has a net worth of 170 million euros, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Forbes has named the Irishman the wealthiest sportsman in 2021, ahead of both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Is Miriam Nakamoto still fighting?
On April 5, 2013, Nakamoto made her Invicta FC debut at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson. In the opening round, Nakamoto defeated future The Ultimate Fighter 18 contestant Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke. IFC: Knockout of the Night was given to Nakamoto. Despite the fact that the result was originally a KO victory for Nakamoto, the Missouri Office of Athletics reversed it to a no contest due to an illegal knee more than a month later.
Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg was Nakamoto’s return to the organization. Duda Yankovich, a professional boxer, was Miriam’s opponent. Due to knee and punches, Nakamoto won by technical knockout in the first round. Nakamoto received the IFC: Knockout of the Night title once more.
On December 7, 2013, Nakamoto fought Lauren Murphy for the inaugural Invicta FC bantamweight title belt at Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith. Nakamoto was knocked out in the fourth round after injuring her knee.
On July 28, 2019, Nakamoto revealed that Joe Rogan has paid for her to receive stem-cell therapy to heal a grade 3 lesion in her meniscus that has kept her from fighting since 2013.
Do 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.