Openly Criticizing UFC Fighter Pay, Joe Rogan Joins Stance Against Dana White With Honest Confession

One of the biggest causes for concern for most UFC fighters is the pay structure in the promotion. It is believed that the UFC CEO Dana White doesn’t pay his fighters well. Many former fighters have openly criticized the UFC head honcho for the way he handles his fighters. Some have even left the promotion in order to earn what they felt they deserved. It now seems that White has found himself a new critic in Joe Rogan.

The 56-year-old recently sat down for a chat with UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr. on his JRE MMA Show #161. While speaking to the 34-year-old, he pointed out some of the changes he wants to see in the UFC. Let us find out what he had to say this time round.

Joe Rogan wants the pay structure to change in the UFC

Compared to boxing or wrestling, the UFC fighters earn only a fraction of the humongous amount the promotion makes. Such was the seriousness of the matter that it later transpired into a legal matter. White and his team went on to settle the plaintiffs outside the court (which has now been overturned by the court) but had to pay a heavy price. To avoid such consequences in the future Joe Rogan feels there should be some changes in the pay structure. While speaking to the light heavyweight fighter the JRE host shared his honest opinion on the whole.

He pointed out that the first change the UFC should make is the way their fighters make weight. Most of them are dehydrated and take extreme steps which may affect their health. However, the next big change he wants is the pay structure. Rogan, while speaking to Rountree Jr., said, “I think if the UFC was going to do anything differently that would be the first one I would say. The second one that I would say pay structure for sure.” Rogan then agreed to the fact that they fighters indeed earn a lot less and said, “They should be getting more money. Also I don’t like the win bonus.”

Rountree Jr. also seemed to agree to the facts laid out by Rogan and agreed that win bonuses don’t quite make sense. Rogan backed his claim by mentioning that there are a lot of factors that go into deciding a winner. Sometimes the judges score the card a bit differently which affects the result and this forced the JRE host to say, “I hate it.” 

Former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou also faced a lot of problems with the pay structure. While speaking to Rogan on a recent JRE appearance he pointed out the difference in the payment structure of boxing and the UFC.

Francis Ngannou opens up on the problems he faced in the UFC

Before his move to boxing, Francis Ngannou was dropping opponents left, right and center inside the Octagon. The former champion had everything before switching to a new sport altogether. One of his biggest reasons to move was the stringent contracts and the pay structure in the promotion. He appeared for a candid chat with Joe Rogan on his JRE MMA Show #160 and discussed a variety of things including the difference in pay structure in boxing and UFC. ‘The Predator’ made it clear that boxing contracts are much better that the UFC.

He said,  “I like boxing’s setup better, where you have a contract. You’re going to get paid $10 million, whatever it is, that’s what you get.” The former UFC champion then shifted his focus towards win bonuses and how it affected the fighters. Ngannou seemed highly frustrated with it and said, “You don’t get $10 million, but you only get five million if a s..ty judge gives it to the other guy, which we’ve seen so many times in the UFC.” ‘ The Predator’ then asked the JRE host about who benefited from the whole if a fighter lost half of his pay. Even a guy like Joe Rogan had no answer to the question.

What do you feel about the claims made by Joe Rogan about the pay structure? Let us know in the comments below.