Dana White has been under scrutiny for the UFC’s long-standing problem with fighter pay. The UFC CEO gets into a standoff with reporters whenever they raise the controversy. But the most interesting moment came at the UFC 334 pre-fight press conference, where White got heckled by a fan over the UFC’s fighters’ compensation issue. 

At first, a reporter asked Dana White at the presser for his thoughts on Josh Hokit challenging Ciryl Gane this weekend at Madison Square Garden, which abruptly ignited the issue.

“Am I surprised that he is here?” the UFC CEO said before continuing, “Listen, he made it. He… It’s one thing to talk..”

White couldn’t finish his thoughts about Hokit when someone from the crowd heckled him.

“Dana, pay your fighters!”

Visibly irritated by the interruption, the head honcho fired back with a curt response.

“Shut up.” 

White’s reaction drew laughter from Josh Hokit, who couldn’t stop laughing at his remark. But despite Dana White being quick to silence the heckler, the fighter pay controversy has reignited once again. 

The UFC’s issue with fighter pay is as old as it gets. The criticism stems from the fact that the promotion pays out approximately 20% of its revenue, while other major leagues like the NFL, NBA, and others share around half of their revenue with the athletes.

The UFC’s lucrative business model has made the promotion a revenue-generating machine. However, the fighters who make up its roster receive very little. Pay is especially low for lower and mid-tier fighters because their contracts typically follow a $10,000 to $20,000 show and win structure.

Under this system, if an athlete wins a fight, he gets both amounts, and if the result ends in a loss, the athlete gets paid only the show money and not the entire amount. That is where trouble comes in when fighters have to cover their expenses. However, besides tier three and tier two fighters, the complaints sometimes come from champions as well.

Former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has spoken out about the UFC not compensating him well as a champion. In fact, the promotion’s pay practices have also drawn lawsuits.

The most famous lawsuit to haunt Dana White and the UFC brass is the 2014 Le vs. Zuffa case. The plaintiffs challenged the promotion over its monopoly of the MMA market and also accused it of suppressing athletes’ earnings through restrictive contracts.

The UFC settled the case for $375 million in 2024, but the judge granted final approval in February 2025. However, two other separate lawsuits filed on similar grounds remain unresolved.

The fan who heckled Dana White reflects how deep the frustration over UFC fighter pay runs. Still, it seems to be the first time someone from the crowd confronted White, because mostly the reporters challenge the UFC head honcho.

In 2015, a reporter asked Jose Aldo about UFC fighter pay during the UFC 189 press conference. Dana White ended up deflecting the question and said, “He said you’re a d–k. Just translating for him.”

Evidently, the fighter pay controversy hasn’t faded away, with Sean Strickland going off on the promotion this year over the same topic. 

Sean Strickland raises alarm for UFC fighter pay issue 

Many fighters in the UFC, such as Aljamain Sterling, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and others, have been critical of the promotion’s practices when it comes to paying fighters. Out of all of them, Sean Strickland has been the most vocal about the issue this year.

Before fighting Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston in February, the Las Vegas-based fighter called the company’s treatment of fighter pay “predatory” in an interview with Complex. Later, the UFC middleweight champion once again lashed out at the UFC in July 2026 on Shawn Ryan’s show.

“When you’re a fighter, you’re so f—ing poor,” Strickland said. “Even in the UFC…. guys, they’re signing guys at like, 10 and 10, $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win, $20 grand. So then you pay off your manager, you pay taxes; if you lose, you only get like eight, seven grand.

“Now, say you go get injured or get locked out. The UFC is f—ing brutal. The UFC is so f—ing predatory.”

Strickland’s criticism also highlighted that fighters won’t make big money from their contract after paying their expenses. The only way a fighter can break through is by climbing up the ladder and building a name among the fans, which Strickland did. However, he still remained unhappy with his pay structure.

Strickland was rumored to defend his middleweight title against Nassourdine Imavov in December this year. However, he was utterly dissatisfied with the offer the UFC made for the fight.

‘Tarzan’ refused to budge and threatened to leave the promotion by fulfilling his contract with a fight at 205 lbs, eventually eyeing a money fight against Jake Paul.

In a surprising development, Strickland is now rumored to fight Imavov in February 2027 in Florida. With that, it seems they could have finally reached a settlement point.

Still, fighter pay remains a subject that continues to get a reaction out of Dana White.