Showdown on UFC: Fighters’ pensions

Hot off the heals of Zuffa offering it’s roster of athletes health insurance, the next topic the organization was expected to answer was fighter pensions.

The UFC Connected team recently visited the Zuffa Head Offices in Las Vegas, where we had the chance to sit down with organizational president Dana White, to get his thoughts on this very topic.

“Let’s say you did a typical 401K that you would do in any type of business, you take some money out of their (fighters) cheques, and some companies match it, however it works,” White said. “Fighters don’t want you taking a nickel out of their cheques, no matter what they think it’s for.”

With many of the athletes on entry level contracts, taking away any funds from what little they earn is a difficult pill to swallow. When some are making $3,000 to show and $3,000 to win, a loss will only give them their show money.

Throw in a potential 8-12 week training camp, that’s a very small amount of money to take home to your family, after 2-3 months of work.

While there are those who earn bonuses, be it locker room or public ones, many of them would rather choose to invest it on their own, or at the very least, pay off their debts/mortgage, etc.

While the UFC may not provide a pension for fighters today, their may be one in the future.

“It’s fun to talk about and I think it’s ‘cool things’ for the media to come up with and say, pulling these things off are very difficult,” White said.

In the meantime, the promotion is doing what it can to educate it’s fighters on the importance of saving their money, investing their funds accordingly, and to always be aware of the taxman.

Most recently, in May, they held their second Fighter Summit, where the importance of personal banking was brought to the forefront.

“These guys are sub-contractors,” stated White. “They are responsible for their own taxes.”

The theory: save before you spend. Know your limits and do not exceed it.

“We like to educate them, and all you need to do is get a good tax guy,” White said. “Pay your estimated quarterly taxes.”

Trying to prevent and eliminate the problems that plagued boxing is an unfortunate reality that continues to rear its ugly head, most recently with pugilist legends Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins.

So what does White have to say about the fighters that may not make millions in the sport?

And those that have and one day, will earn a seven digit income?

Find out by watching the full video.