UFC Icon Bruce Buffer Has Contrasting Opinion on Dana White’s Treatment of Fighters Amid Pay Controversy (Exclusive)

For the last several years, discussions about notably what is the biggest promotion in Combat Sports have one notable theme- Fighter Pay Disparity. Compared to boxing or wrestling, Dana White has often been criticized for paying his fighters only a fraction of the humongous revenues they earn. The matter had ultimately transpired into a legal ordeal that was later settled by the promotion and the plaintiffs outside court. Nevertheless, one of the core members of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, more specifically, the ‘Voice of UFC,’ in a recent EssentiallySports Fancast Exclusive interview, showed completely different emotions. 

Bruce Buffer has been with the UFC since the very beginning, and with that experience came a better understanding of working alongside the UFC CEO. Even though White is often commended for uplifting the MMA fight promotion to the level that it is today, accusations and rageful comments about low fighter pay closely follow. And seems like Buffer disagrees!

As the interview went on, the ES host, Andrew Whitelaw made a comment that the mixed martial arts promotion witnessed exponential growth ever since Buffer entered the MMA realm. Without a doubt, he claimed that White had a massive role in the promotion’s success. Thereafter, he asked Buffer about his thoughts about working together with the UFC head honcho. However, Buffer didn’t fail to slip in a crucial piece of information, that Dana White takes care of his fighters.

Buffer: Dana is a maverick. Dana is incredible to work with. He is, we would not be where we are today without Dana, and of course, the Fertitta brothers’ guidance and everything they’ve done for us. But the beautiful thing about Dana is, is that he cares about the fighters, he loves what he does. He’s 24/7 working for it, developing all these, you know, the contender series, the slap fights. All the other stuff that he does. But like he said, he wakes up every morning and he loves going to work. And it shows. His passion is there. And to have that passion after you’ve made so much money and accomplished so much, and to still have it to do on a daily basis what he does, he’s to be commended. So, it’s a great thing to work, it is, it’s great working with Dana.

The respect Buffer has for the UFC head is truly commendable. He further thanked White for his guidance to the team and for molding the UFC into the figure it is today. Finally, he claimed that White was indeed a “figurehead”.

UFC fighters should be paid more by Dana White!

The UFC has recently broken a record by earning about $1.3 billion in revenue in 2023. Without a doubt, the fighters at the top of the pay scale, Conor McGregor for example, earn quite a bit of cash. However, mixed martial artists who have just begun their careers or want to rise higher in the sport end up earning a mere $10,000 to $30,000 per fight. 

In another instance, people have compared the payscale of professional boxers to that of the mixed martial artists, competing in the UFC. Tyson Fury after fighting Oleksander Usyk, pocketed approximately $150 million dollars. However, when one compares the pay of heavyweights in the UFC, it’s a different story altogether. Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, despite being the title fight, will add only $15 million to Jones’ wallet. 

Undeniably, fight fans have attacked the UFC CEO for the low pay scale for the athletes and compared the salaries of players in other sports. But the beloved UFC announcer stood in support of Dana White. 

Needless to say, Buffer had a boatload of stories to tell the EssentiallySports Fancast Exclusive interview viewers. Do check out those stories and let us know your thoughts about them.