Last year was monumental for the promotion, raking in a record-breaking $1.406 billion in revenue. Of that, a hefty $203 million was paid out to the fighters—a testament to the UFC’s booming business. With mega-events like UFC 300 and UFC 306 lighting up the calendar, the organization rode a wave of momentum that firmly cemented its place as a global combat sports powerhouse. Now, halfway through 2025, Dana White has already shelled out massive sums to the roster. Let’s take a look at the biggest winners of the year so far.
Despite allegations that this year has been disastrous for the promotion, Dana White has earned a significant amount for himself and his fighters. According to TKO’s quarterly report, the promotion generated $359.7 million in revenue in Q1 2025 — a 14.69% increase ($46.7 million more) compared to the $313 million from the same period in 2024. Well, UFC held some of the most anticipated fights this year, such as the battle between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov, as well as the light-heavyweight clash between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.
According to the data revealed by Fight Basics on their Instagram handle, Alex Pereira has earned the most among all fighters so far in 2025. Let’s have a look at the list:
Alex Pereira – $3,442,000
Dricus Du Plessis – $2,942,000
Zhang Weili – $2,541,000
Justin Gaethje – $1,661,000
Alexander Volkanovski – $1,481,000
Belal Muhammad – $1,346,000
Valentina Shevchenko – $1,048,000
Sean Strickland – $1,036,000
The post was captioned with a disclaimer that stated, “We used AI deep research for this report and calculated the average value based on 43 different sources.” Given the limited financial transparency in the UFC, official payouts reported by athletic commissions cover only “show” and “win” money, excluding pay-per-view points, discretionary bonuses, and private sponsorship agreements.
Thus, the figures presented in the post represent the comprehensive analysis of the disclosed earnings of the fighters. Well, the UFC might be performing better, but a concern might be looming over the promotion as the UFC CEO, Dana White, might retire from the sport forever.
UFC insiders double down on Dana White’s retirement rumors
There are rumors that UFC CEO Dana White might be stepping away from the organization and planning to hand over operations to his protégé, Hunter Campbell. This speculation began when White started missing several crucial PPV press conferences amid allegations of substandard fight cards. Adding fuel to the fire, Josh Thomson on the Weighing-In podcast stated that Dana White might be done with the UFC—for now.
“I do believe I read he [Dana White] is still part owner. Whether it’s 5%, 10% you know whatever it is. But he is still part owner, he got paid out on his ownership though from the first time, which gave him the $700 million or whatever that he made and he’s still part owner in this. Also, I think that he’s got—he’s got his kids getting older. I believe one of his sons plays football at Bishop Gorman, and there are commitments,” said Thomson.
He further added, “Like he said, and he’s talked about his staff as well. If you’ve got kids that have a performance or they’ve got a game that night, I better not get you at work. And that’s one thing I admire about Dana now. I don’t know—I would imagine it’s true.”
Its been more than two decades since Dana White took over the UFC and made it from the very scratch so is it time for him to say goodbye to the sport and enjoy his life? State your opinion in the comments below.
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