UFC owners Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell earned a combined £330 million in 2021, but some of their top fighters such as Paddy Pimblett received just a fraction of that figure.
Emanuel is the executive of Endeavor, the parent company that purchased the UFC for £3billion in 2016. Filings from the SEC show that Emanuel earned almost £234million last year whilst Executive Chairman Whitesell was paid over £93million.
Three other Endeavour executives all received eight-figure paydays in 2021. According to Wall Street Journal, Emanuel’s payday is more than all other Hollywood executives and is the highest figure for any CEO in the S&P (Standard and Poor's) 500.
Fighter pay in the UFC has been a controversial topic for several years. The promotion has kept its percentage of revenue share with its fighters at around 17 per cent for the last decade, but that figure was bumped up to 20 per cent in 2021.
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Despite the jaw-dropping salary Emanuel received last year, the most basic salary for UFC fighters sits at £9,000 to show and £9,000 to win. This is the salary package UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett is on, despite being one of the promotion's main attractions.
Pimblett most recently competed at UFC London in March with his star power playing a large factor in the event drawing a record-breaking £3.4 million gate, the highest in O2 arena and Fight Night history. Before any sort of win and performance bonus, Pimblett was guaranteed just £9,000 for his appearance.
Emanuel said 2021 marked the UFC's best financial year since the promotion was founded. He defended fighter pay by stating it has increased by 600 per cent since 2005 and refused to discuss the matter when questioned about its growth in comparison overall revenue base.
"Well, I’m not commenting on that. I think we’ve done very well as it relates to the pay for the fighters," Emanuel said. Whilst fighter pay has increased by 600 per cent in the last 15 years, Bloody Elbow report that the UFC's revenue and profits have increased by 1700 and 6200 per cent respectively.
Pimblett admitted that he doesn't want to fight a top-ranked contender at 155-pounds until the UFC offers him a new contract. 'The Baddy' said he hopes the promotion can pay him more money after his next fight.
"Hopefully after this next fight they want to give me a new contract but we'll see," he said. That's the goal, more zeros on that bank balance."
