"Every single fighter on the roster makes more than they are contracted to make" - Dana White talks fighter pay and why he doesn't reveal details about it to the media

Dana White at UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie [Image via Getty]

Dana White is constantly questioned about UFC fighter pay. While he deservingly takes credit for making the sport what it is today, the idea of some fighters in the world's No.1 MMA organization struggling to get by is an issue.

Another UFC fighter saying they are broke… twitter.com/AlexBehunin/st…

There is an argument for both sides. The UFC has dominated the MMA industry for a reason, so it's hard to question their methods. Yet, studies over the past few years have shown that the organization gives its athletes a 19-20% revenue split, which is incredibly low compared to other sports.

During an interview with Pat McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show, White gave his latest statement on fighter pay:

"First of all, no promoter in the history of the world has done what we have done. And when you talk about fighter pay, we're the only promoter in the history of the world ever that pays people more than what they are contractually obligated to make. And that's every single fighter on the roster makes more than they are contracted to make. Fighter pay has gone up."

White then had this to say about hiding details from the media:

"What drives them crazy is they don't know. They don't like the fact that they don't know. They wanna know f***ing everything... I don't tell these f***ing people anything ever. You know what they know? When I tell them, and I tell them nothing because I can't stand them and I don't trust them."

Watch Dana White's interview with Pat McAfee below:

Dana White explains his reasoning for performance bonuses

White's reference to paying fighters more than contractually obligated likely relates to performance bonuses. The UFC offers a chance to make more money, usually $50k, based on your performance. During the same interview, the UFC president explained his point of view on these bonuses:

"To incentivize people to go out and perform. They're all there for one reason and one reason only. To achieve greatness, but to make money. We try to incentivize them to perform."

White gets a lot of backlash for his decisions, like the video of him giving a member of the Nelk Boys $250k. With that said, he's done tremendous things for MMA and deserves credit for building the UFC.

Dana White gives one of the Nelk Boys, Kyle Forgeard, $250K for his birthday. #FullSend https://t.co/UlPcfNWeZc