Just a day before UFC 269, Dana White, the President of Ultimate Fighting Championship gave an interview to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. The interview discussed fighters, new matches, COVID restrictions, and more.
However, one such question really resonated with Dana White and it was about UFC fighters’ pay. Iole touched on a controversial topic that the UFC boss couldn’t take lightly.
Dana White is a business-minded individual who commands UFC with an iron fist. He is the final decision maker at the UFC and regulates most of the operations there.
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So, a question about his fighters’ pay struck him personally. He discussed how his fighters make more than other combat sports professionals and advised the reporter to not believe everything he hears.
“Listen, when you talk about the elite, I’m putting on 44 fights in a year, right? And people are buying these pay-per-views, you know. 13 or 14 a year, watching all the other ones building, whatever. Then, when you look at what most of these guys make, most UFC fighters make more than boxers, okay? Most UFC fighters make more than boxers, especially at a lower level.” He said.
Furthermore, he gave yahoo Sports an insight into the big players. “Then, the guys, you know, the Khabibs, the Conors, the Rondas, you know, even the Jon Jones’, these guys make more than most of these guys that are fighting for big title fights. Don’t believe the bull***t. Don’t believe all the stuff you hear, you know. These guys make a lot of money.”
Pay is a sensitive issue that is often pickled by professionals in the combat sports industry. Many fighters believe they are being underpaid for what they do inside the Octagon or the ring.
Contrastingly, the President of UFC believes that the remuneration that his organization provides is up to the mark and fair.
Dana White tested COVID positive
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Just a couple of weeks ago White revealed that he along with his family tested positive for COVID-19. He caught it when he was holidaying with his family at Thanksgiving, White revealed in a podcast.
“We just went up to my place in Maine and for Thanksgiving it’s tradition we go up there, and somebody had it, and we get back, and we all tested positive for COVID,” White said. “Literally the whole family and my family up in Maine, too.”
Fortunately, he recovered last week and thanked famous UFC commentator and legendary podcaster Joe Rogan for his remedies and suggestions.
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