When the majority of the fighters who compete in the UFC sign a contract with the promotion, a clause in the contract would state that they get a specific amount of money, or a win bonus, if they emerge victorious in their Octagon encounter.
Joe Rogan is a color commentator with the UFC and he feels that it is time for the promotion to do away with the whole win bonus system.
“[Win bonuses are] to me is a real issue. I think a guy should be paid what they get paid. I think if you have a contract, the contract should be for ‘X’ amount of money [and] if you have points on the pay-per-view, that’s on top of that; but the idea that your win or loss could be in the hands of what we have deemed completely incompetent judges. . . [We see it] every week!,” Rogan said on The Joe Rogan MMA Show.
A win bonus is usually double the fighters show money, so if a fighter gets paid $10,000 to fight, a total of $20,000 would be paid to them for a win.
Rogan’s main argument is that a lot of MMA judges are incompetent, which can cost a fighter a lot of money.
“I’ve heard [criticism for calling out bad judging] from Athletic Commissions, but I say, ‘Go f**k yourself,’” Rogan said. “There’s guys in there that are fighting for their life. They literally guys train for months and months and someone who literally doesn’t understand martial arts is giving these guys a decision, a loss or a win and that’s 50 percent of their money. That’s crazy!”
The color commentator is back in the booth at UFC 223, which takes place on Saturday, April 7.
