For the first time since their inception, UFC performance bonuses are set to increase permanently. CEO Dana White confirmed the forthcoming change days after UFC 324 headliner Justin Gaethje called attention to the issue.
After keeping the UFC post-fight bonuses at $50,000 for years, White confirmed that he will finally increase them in 2026. Fighters will now earn $100,000 for Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses, White told Sports Business Journal.
Until 2025, the UFC has typically awarded four post-fight bonuses per event. The two fighters who engage in the best back-and-forth action are given a Fight of the Night bonus, while two others, whom the promotion deems had the best victories of the night, are awarded Performance of the Night. That structure will remain intact, with the bonus checks simply doubling.
However, White also claimed he will be adding two more post-fight bonuses. The UFC will pay $25,000 to another fighter who has an impressive victory but was not given a Performance of the Night bonus.
While the bonus structure increases, there has been no indication that base fight purses will change. Until that happens, expect every fighter to call for a $ 100,000 bonus after every win, instead of $50,000.
UFC bumps bonuses after Justin Gaethje's public complaint
The decision comes after Gaethje called out the UFC for not increasing fighter pay following the company's blockbuster deal with Paramount+. White sold the company's broadcast rights to CBS and Paramount+ for a whopping $7.7 billion across the next seven years.
Fighter pay has been an issue for a while, but fans took solace in Gaethje's complaint. His main issue was with the bonus structure, claiming that he had received 14 post-fight bonuses in his UFC career, but those did not even add up to $1 million.
Despite signing with the UFC later in his career, Gaethje is tied with Anderson Silva with the seventh-most Fight Night bonuses in promotional history. ‘The Highlight' has lived up to his nickname, earning a bonus in 12 of his 14 fights in the Octagon.
One of those bonuses, however, was more than $50,000. Gaethje received Fight of the Night for his legendary war with Max Holloway at UFC 300, an event for which White raised the bonuses to $300,000 in honor of the special occasion.
