The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has grown to become the most valuable combat sports promotion, worth $11 billion. Despite record-breaking revenues and the promise of fame and fortune for UFC stars, many fighters are vastly underpaid, lack basic employment protections, and are tied down by exploitative contracts – a situation that desperately calls for a the establishment of a fighters’ union.
The aggressive expansion and market domination of the UFC has come at the expense of many of its fighters. While top names like Conor McGregor can command substantial paydays, they represent an exception rather than the rule. The vast majority of fighters struggle with low earnings that are not equitable with the revenue they generate for the organisation.
In the UFC, fighters are paid a meagre 15-16%, owing to their classification as independent contractors – a stark contrast to other sports where athletes receive closer to 50% of the revenue. A particularly striking example of this inequity is the case of Raffael Cerqueira at UFC 308. Despite the UFC receiving billions of dollars in revenue, Cerqueira earned a mere $19,000 after his loss.
The contractor status strips them of rights typically available to employees and locks them into restrictive contracts that curb their professional autonomy and financial potential.
All UFC contracts contain non-compete clauses, removing a typical benefit of being an independent contractor – the ability to work for multiple organisations. Along with other alleged monopolistic practices, this formed the basis of an ongoing lawsuit from previous fighters against the UFC, which, as of writing, has been settled for $375m.
In a lawsuit filed against the UFC, Wanderlei Silva revealed his experience managing a traumatic brain injury and CTE. With insufficient support from the UFC, Silva struggled to pay for treatment, highlighting the urgent need for adequate health protection and benefits.
Calls for fighters to unionise are not new. The MMA Athletes Association, spearheaded by former champion Georges St. Pierre, was an initial attempt to allow fighters to collectively bargain for better pay and conditions. While this effort did not yield the desired improvements, the discussions around fighter pay and conditions have continued to gain traction among MMA media and fans.
Achieving successful unionisation requires both the stars and lesser-known fighters. This is a challenge, however, as fighters likely fear the repercussions of upsetting figures like Dana White, who has not hesitated to cut ties with fighters over pay disputes, like former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Despite Dana White’s frontman ambitions, the real champions of the sport are the fighters themselves. As discussions around fighter pay and conditions persist, it’s clear that without significant change, the calls for unionisation will only grow louder.
Fourth Year Law Student, interested in sport and politics
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