The UFC’s revamped bonus structure for its Paramount+ era has been clarified, and fighters will not be stacking finish and performance bonuses under the new system.
As part of the changes, Fight of the Night bonuses have been doubled from $50,000 to $100,000 per athlete, and the two performance bonuses for best finishes have also increased from $50,000 to $100,000 each. In addition, every fighter who scores a finish now receives a blanket $25,000 bonus.
However, Ariel Helwani says the bonuses do not stack. “After speaking to multiple sources here’s clarity on the bonuses,” he wrote. “If you score a finish (worth $25k) and, say, a performance bonus (worth $100k), you get $100k not $125k. I think many of us, including me, assumed the latter. It’s basically the greater of two bonuses.” Another example given: “If you win a fight of the night bonus (worth $100k) and score a finish and earn a performance bonus, too, you get $200k not $225.”
Fighters who miss weight are not eligible for the $25,000 finish bonus or a performance bonus. The revamped bonuses arrive as the UFC’s broadcast deal jumps from $550 million per year with ESPN to $1.1 billion annually with Paramount/CBS. The article states that fighters make 15% of all UFC company revenue, and notes that bonuses had remained at $50,000 since 2013, with some athletes previously on $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win contracts.
