Paul Felder Reveals UFC Fighters Get an Extra $25,000 For Five Round Bouts
UFC color commentator Paul Felder recently revealed on the Michael Bisping Podcast that UFC fighters get an extra $25,000 for five-rounders.
Most fighters receive a guaranteed amount as show money, and the winners get a win bonus, which is almost equal to the show money. Athletes who put on stellar performances also get the Performance of the Night Bonus ($50,000) and Fight of the Night Bonuses ($50,000 to each fighter).
UFC fighters’ pay also depends on several factors, like experience, popularity, championship status, and more. They also earn money from brand deals and endorsements.
Felder, a former UFC lightweight fighter himself, revealed that the two times he headlined a UFC card, he earned at least an extra $25,000 for those five-round bouts. He said:
“Yeah, I mean, that’s interesting, cause I never thought of it like that. For five rounds, it’s usually the main event. So whenever the two times I fought the main event, it was 25,000 dollars at least extra just off the bat because you’re fighting two extra rounds. But those were main events.”
‘The Irish Dragon’ also added that he assumes that fighters will get the same extra amount as show money if they want to fight for five rounds, even though the fight may not always be a main event.
“But I assume even if it’s not the main event and you’re asking for five rounds, you’re probably going to also say, ‘Well hey, how about giving me that bump in pay?… So I would think that would be even for non-title fights and non-main events.”
Check out Paul Felder’s comments below (14:30):
Paul Felder wants UFC to show some love to fighters, especially after the Paramount+ Deal
The UFC’s new official home starting in 2026 is Paramount+. The promotion has signed a 7-year, $7.7 billion broadcasting deal with Paramount.
Paul Felder wants the promotion to take care of its fighters and has heard rumors about a significant increase in fighter pay, as the promotion moves away from the pay-per-view model. In the same video posted above, he said:
“This new big Paramount deal, there are all these rumors about the fighters getting big bumps in pay, especially guys that are champions, now that they won’t get the pay-per-view buys; the bonuses I think should be sweeter… Bump that up and show these guys some love, especially with the amount of money that the UFC just made over the Paramount deal.”
Click on this link to listen to Paul Felder’s comments.
Felder has also signed a new 5-year commentary deal with the UFC recently.
