UFC commentator Joe Rogan blasted the world’s leading MMA promotion’s pay structure, as he is not a fan of the show/win model.
The UFC, like many other MMA promotions, uses a show/win pay model where fighters get half their money for showing up to fight, and another half if they win. The pay structure is supposed to incentivize good fights as fighters feel more hunger to win, but given that many mixed martial artists are struggling financially, especially those at the bottom rung of the ladder, only getting one check instead of two hurts them.
Joe Rogan Doesn’t Like UFC Pay Structure
Speaking on “The Joe Rogan Experience” along with UFC featherweight Aljamain Sterling, Rogan went off about the UFC’s pay structure, venting about the show/win model.
“That is the most (expletive) part of the UFC, you get both your paychecks (only if you win). (Expletive) off. (Expletive) off with that. I hate it. That drives me nuts,” Rogan said (via MMAFighting.com).
It’s a bit surprising to hear Rogan take such a strong stance on fighter pay given that he works for the UFC, but at the same time, he’s not wrong about what he’s saying, as most fighters hate the show/win model, too, and many analysts covering the sport for years have suggested that the UFC and other MMA promotions do away with this antiquated way of paying the fighters.
Rogan’s Reasons for Hating the Show/Win Pay Model
Rogan further explained why he hates the show/win pay model, bringing up the fact that a bad judges’ decision means that a fighter only wins half of their pay.
“I’ve said this a hundred times already. It should be you get paid what you get paid. First of all, if judges were perfect every time, maybe you could make an argument for that, but I still don’t think you should make an argument for that because I think guys fight as hard as they can to win. There’s no one who’s fighting harder because he you think you’re going to get a win bonus. You’re fighting as hard as you possibly can. At the highest level, you’re not incentivizing people to fight harder, you’re just giving too much of their career, too much of their future, too much of their actual ‘How are they going to feed their family?’ to the whims of people that sometimes get it wrong,” Rogan said.
Will the UFC listen to Rogan and change the way that fighter pay is distributed? Probably not, because this is the way that UFC pay has always been, and with the company making money hand over fist, there is really no reason for the UFC to change the way they have been doing things.
At the same time, everything Rogan said makes a lot of sense, so while the UFC is unlikely to change their fighter pay structure anytime soon, at least the fighters can take solace in knowing that someone as high up in the UFC as Rogan has their backs.
Joe Rogan Blasts UFC Pay Structure