Last to last night, Dana White starred on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay Podcast during media availability. It was his first major appearance after Conor McGregor’s woeful pullout from the UFC 303 PPV. White spoke about Tom Brady’s celebrity roast and also the debate of Fighter purse when it comes to UFC Fighters vs. Boxers.
In recent years, fighter pay has been a recurring issue for the head honcho. Flyweight G.O.A.T. Demetrious Johnson has had a long chip on his shoulder due to this. He recently stirred the pot, claiming boxing is more lucrative than MMA in the 2024 season. Moreover, others have accused the UFC of paying less. With what’s been put out so far, White snaps back:
Boxing got so fu*ked up that nobody could make a living out of it, that Saudi Arabia had to take it over…Every boxing event is a going out of business sale…Tell me a sport or any business ever in the history of the world that has probably made trillions of dollars in revenue and at the end of the day there’s nothing there. That’s boxing!
Dana White via the “Club Shay Shay” podcast with Shannon Sharpe (@ClubShayShay)
‘DJ’ based his claim that Tyson Fury banked £45 million more despite losing to Oleksandr Usyk with a ginormous 1.5 million PPV buyouts. But that is not where the buck ends on this topic. In 2022, in an animated interview with Anthony Pompliano, influencer boxer Jake Paul billed the upside-down pay system to be “slave contracts.” Later, he slammed the set-in-stone $50k bonus to fighters.
. @DanaWhite On @UFC Pay vs Boxing Pay:
“Every boxing event is a going out of business sale…Tell me a sport or any business ever in the history of the world that has probably made trillions of dollars in revenue and at the end of the day there’s nothing there. That’s boxing.” pic.twitter.com/I1m55zh2gu
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) June 20, 2024
It’s always boxers or the topic of boxing that has leveled Dana White claiming MMA could be equally if not more profitable. However, White reassured Sharpe that the UFC takes care of everyone. Hence, the differential between sporting giants like McGregor, who fought Floyd Mayweather, and some other chap down the order that nobody has heard of. Moreover, he advised some stern changes.
Is anybody a topper if everybody scores equally in top-bill levels? That is essentially what the UFC CEO says of boxing. This isn’t the first or last time Dana White has tackled the topic of boxing being allegedly better. Back in 2022, in an episode of “Actually Me” with GQ Sports (@GQsports), White postulated his famous MMA is “eat what you kill” business.
Dana White extends an open challenge (Source: X/cbsnews.com)He stated that fighters get a percentage of the pay-per-view buys and that the money is spread out judicially. Unlike boxing’s fractured system, where everyone holds multiple belts and makes a bank. Even ex-UFC notables like ‘DJ’ or Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson who beef with White over fighter compensations, agree that only a few elite make millions in boxing. Consequently, White now lambasts boxing for lacking any such ROI:
A group of people that have so much money, they don’t care whether they make or lose money…If you don’t like the way that it’s run here, there’s no barrier to entry, set up your own MMA business, and you pay the guys whatever you think you want to…
Dana White via the “Club Shay Shay” podcast (@ClubShayShay)
White has critiqued boxing’s pay model in the past. But now, he initiated an open invite to compete with him and prove him wrong. Concurrently, he also touts aptitude to step into boxing promotion roles.
White offered to pay $50 million and turned boxing promoter momentarily for The Money Fight: Mayweather Jr. vs. McGregor, 2017. Mayweather’s buyout of the fight alone had an ROI of $275 million in payday. It garnered 4.3 million PPV buys and a $55 million live gate.
While White dreams of expanding into boxing again, even Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn wants to emulate his business plan in the future. White knows he can deliver gold payouts and electric affairs on both turfs. It goes to show his open challenge is not a feint one.
