Former Champ Calls for Million-Dollar UFC Bonuses as $50,000 Bonuses Are Out of Touch
A former UFC light heavyweight champion reckons the UFC should jack up its performance bonuses from the current $50,000 to a cool $1 million, particularly given the recent $7.7 billion media rights deal with Paramount. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson explained why he feels this way on a recent podcast.
Rampage Jackson Wants Million-Dollar UFC Bonuses
The veteran fighter made his case clear, arguing that fighters deserve better compensation for putting their bodies on the line.
“I feel like UFC bonuses should go up to a million dollars. Think about it, these guys are risking their lives, putting their health on the line every time they get in there. You gotta reward that kind of courage and skill. The current bonuses are just not cutting it anymore, especially for the top performers. If you’re gonna push the sport forward and motivate fighters to bring their best, that kind of incentive could change everything.”
Jackson went further, pointing to the UFC’s growing financial success as justification for the increase.
“You see all these big pay-per-view numbers and growing audiences, so why not share that success with the fighters who bring it every single time? One million dollars for performance or fight of the night would be a game-changer. It shows how serious the UFC is about valuing fighters and the entertainment they provide.”
The Bonus Problem
The UFC’s $50,000 performance bonuses have been largely frozen since 2013. When the promotion standardized the amount that year, bonuses had previously fluctuated between $40,000 and $70,000, and occasionally exceeded $100,000. By capping them at $50,000, the UFC essentially set bonuses at the lower end of what fighters were already earning.
The bigger issue? That $50,000 hasn’t budged for over a decade while everything else has gotten more expensive. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, $50,000 in 2013 has the same purchasing power as roughly $37,000 today when adjusted for inflation. For the same value, today’s bonuses should be $70,000. Put another way, today’s bonuses buy about 35% less than they did in 2007.
Fighter Renato Moicano summed up the frustration recently, telling UFC on TNT Sports, “To be honest, with this inflation, this bonus kind of needs to be updated, you know? $50k is not the same as like ten years ago.”
The Paramount Deal Changes Everything
UFC President Dana White announced in August 2025 that bonuses would increase following the Paramount deal, which begins in January 2026. The seven-year agreement is valued at $1.1 billion annually, double the $550 million per year the UFC received from ESPN.
White told reporters, “Bonuses are obviously going up. So that will be big. Forget about the tide rising with all the other fighters, just the number that the bonuses bring to a fighter is millions of dollars.” However, he refused to specify exact amounts.
The UFC has occasionally increased bonuses for special events. At UFC 300 in April 2024, White agreed to $300,000 bonuses after fighters requested them at the press conference. Max Holloway took home $600,000 that night, earning both Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. UFC 129 in 2011 saw bonuses of $129,000; this would be nearly $200,000 today, looking at inflation.
The Fighter Pay Context
Court documents from antitrust lawsuits revealed that UFC fighters receive approximately 17-20% of event revenue, compared to boxers who earn about two-thirds of revenue from their events. Major sports leagues like the NBA, NFL, and NHL guarantee players roughly 50% of league revenue through collective bargaining.
TKO Group, the UFC’s parent company, generated $1.406 billion in UFC revenue for 2024. The promotion held 43 events that year, meaning if every event awarded $1.2 million in bonuses ($300,000 each to four fighters), the annual cost would be approximately $51.6 million, or roughly 3.7% of UFC revenue.
Whether the UFC takes Jackson’s suggestion seriously remains uncertain. White previously increased bonuses from $50,000 to $100,000 for UFC 304 but quickly reversed course, saying “never again” after he felt fighters didn’t deliver exciting enough performances. Given that track record, million-dollar bonuses might remain wishful thinking for now.
