UFC Translator Salary: How Much Money Does UFC Interpreters Like Fabiano Buskei Earn?

Star UFC fighters make millions for entertaining fans with their skills in the octagon. So do several analysts and personalities in and around the sport like Joe Rogan and Fabiano Buskei.

Buskei, the promotion’s translator, who is a regular fixture at the events, especially those held outside the US, pockets a sizeable pay-check too.

Residing in Las Vegas, Buskei has around 10,700 followers on Instagram and regularly updates UFC fans with happenings in the promotions, his own experiences in it as well as the interviews and podcasts he features in.

US News reports that the average annual salary of interpreters is between $50k and $75k. It is safe to assume that the pay of Buskei, who often shares the stage with Rogan, will be in this range. Of course, it won’t be as high as Rogan’s, who reportedly gets paid a minimum of $50,000 for each gig.

Buskei works for one of the top entities in the sports business with a big stake in the non-English speaking world. His role in increasing the reach of the UFC across the globe is invaluable.

Like Rogan, Buskei has also been on stage for UFC’s ceremonial weigh-ins multiple times, which could earn him additional income. In the absence of detailed reports, it is hard to estimate an exact figure though.

In the work sphere, Buskei has been through several many memorable, and awkward moments too.

Buskei once detailed an awkward in-octagon moment with Rogan

The task of an interpreter is not easy. They need to juggle multiple languages with ease. Buskei is a natural in his role, but he got into trouble once by messing up the audio controls in his earphones.

Buskei revealed that he completely missed out on what the fighter had said. He also got a bit nervous after Rogan asked him to translate the speech.

His pay package may not be clear, but his value to the promotion is. The UFC, in an article on him, states that he officially speaks 3.75 languages — Brazilian Portuguese, English, and Spanish fully, and a little less than perfect mastery over Italian. The man can reach the masses, and shatter language barriers. And that has made him a celebrity in his own right.