‘That’s Where Fighters Pay Going’: UFC Fans Humiliate Dana White Despite His Generous Valet Tip

If there’s been one constant critique for the UFC president, Dana White, for years now, it’s the fact that the pay disparity between boxers and UFC fighters continues to be an abyss.

Despite putting their lives on the line every weekend for the company, the lower-ranked fighters, the ones fighting in the prelims, most often can’t even support their training and nutritional needs from what they earn from the UFC.

The fighters at the top of the ladder might be making millions, but since a majority of it is said to come from PPV bonuses and hidden contract stipulations, fans aren’t particularly keen on taking the promotion’s word for it.

Furthermore, reports of the UFC only paying 18.6% of its revenue to the fighters, compared to boxing’s 62.5%, don’t help the UFC’s goodwill. So, when fans see Dana White throwing money at the craps table or tipping a valet driver $900, they take the time to ask some questions.

“That’s where all the fighter pay is going,” suggested one, while another echoed the statement, joking, “Paying them more than the fighters.”

That’s where all the fighter pay is going

— Alebongo “Bris Bross” The Frog (@BrisFrog) May 8, 2025

This fan did some maths and worked out how far that $900 could have gone towards paying a UFC prelim fighter: “That’s almost 10% of what an undercard fighter makes in the UFC.”

Although the statement is not factually true for all fighters, there is some sense in what the fan is saying. And this fan saw things the same way, “Could’ve fed on of the early prelims family for months with that.”

 

Could’ve fed on of the early prelims family for months with that

— Alebongo “Bris Bross” The Frog (@BrisFrog) May 8, 2025

Another group of fans were sympathizing with the fighters saying, “I can’t wait for the fighters this weekend to beg for their bonuses!!!!” and, “He could do that with his fighters…” 

It’s not just the fans that feel this way, though; most of the fighters are said to have had issues with it as well. But while top-flight talents like Francis Ngannou can find another promotion to sell their skills, UFC being the biggest game in town does handicap relatively newer names.

Notably, even boxers like WBO Junior Middleweight champion Terence Crawford have criticized UFC’s pay structure, asserting that fighters on TV competing for the biggest promotions should be making a lot more.

However, there is one boxer who believes the UFC model is way better than what boxing does.

Romero praises White’s pay system

Rolly Romero, the man who beat Ryan Garcia at Ring Magazine’s Times Square event last week, is known for being very raw and having no filter. But his latest take has the internet divided.

According to the American boxer, the sport of boxing is overpaying its top athletes. And as a direct result of this, he believes the fighters are underperforming in their fights.

Rolly believes this system is killing the hunger and the drive that fighters have and ruining the sport.

In an interview with FightHubTV on YouTube, he spoke about the problem saying, “It’s really messing up the sport, you guys gotta do it like the UFC does. You do a sh*t performance, f*ck y’all, y’all ain’t getting no damn money. And that’s why it’s taking away the hunger.”

 

Rolly Romero called out promoters for paying boxers too much money

“It’s sad, it’s really messing up the sport. You gotta do it like the UFC does.”

(via @FightHubTV) pic.twitter.com/Lr8hFHi1LU

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) May 8, 2025

This is something the UFC boss has been saying for years as well, claiming that overpaying fighters is how one ruins the sport- not something he can be blamed for in a million years.