Eating What They Kill: The Stark Reality of Athlete Compensation in Mixed Martial Arts and Potential Solutions

Authors

Christopher Piel

Keywords

Dana White, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, union, compensation, wages

Abstract

“They eat what they kill.” Dana White, President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) said this about the state of fighter pay in the organization. White, the voice of the company, holds firm that fighters are adequately compensated for their services. The reality is that UFC fighters are not paid what they deserve, and, one way or another, there are big changes coming to the organization and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (“MMA”) as a whole. In this Comment, I will discuss how the UFC has used its market power to suppress fighters’ wages and subject fighters to inequitable contract provisions. Further, I will argue that major changes are coming to the MMA industry and explore the UFC’s options in facilitating those changes. Finally, I will propose that a UFC fighter’s union is the best way to resolve the organization’s current mistreatment of their own athletes while still protecting the interests of the fans and the UFC itself. In Part I, I will discuss the origins of the UFC and its rise to market dominance in the MMA industry, and I will explain how the modern UFC’s status in the sport creates legal issues for the company. In Part II, I will discuss the two primary potential solutions to the UFC’s current legal issues and evaluate each of those solutions from the perspective of the UFC, the fighters, and the fans.

Recommended Citation

Christopher Piel, Eating What They Kill: The Stark Reality of Athlete Compensation in Mixed Martial Arts and Potential Solutions, 77 Ark. L. Rev. (2025).
Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/alr/vol77/iss4/7