There are reports that former and current fighters with the UFC are angry over the low pay there receive in comparison to the multimillion-dollar payments the organization’s rich investors receive.

Based on an article within The New York Post, the UFC paid one time dividends to multiple A-listers to the tune of nearly $300 million. Those A-listers include Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg amongst its beneficiaries. Dana White, the president of the UFC, is also slated to receive a windfall of over $3 million based on sources interviewed. White has been the recipient of hast comments over the last several years as a result of the low amounts paid to fighters.

UFC kingpin Dana White is on schedule to receive more than $3 million from the windfall according to sources. He has received harsh criticism in recent years from former fighters regarding low pay.

White Notorious for Tips that change lives

The flip side to White and comments made in respect to him is his notoriety for being a more than generous tipper. This is so much so that in some cases, it has changed the lives of those on the receiving end. Based on a report from The Las Vegas Review-Journal, White once tipped Vegas Palms Casino Resort dealers $100,000, and while generous, it angered r MMA retired fighter Kyle Kingsbury. Commenting, Kingsbury said; “I heard about Dana tipping a waitress $10,000 and that was my wage as a fighter. I lived in my mom’s garage and I had two jobs when I was fighting in the UFC. I was a personal trainer and a bouncer [and] bartender in a strip club.”

There are many others that have joined Kingsbury in an anti-trust lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the anti-competitive conduct in the UFC has created a systematic monopsony which controls that market, limits the salaries and stifles competition for its fighters. This, in return, brings down the salaries paid to those fighters and often pressures then into signing long-term exclusive contracts.

On the part of the UFC, it denies those claims levied against them and are insistent that fighters are paid competitively and fairly. Commenting, a UFC spokesperson stated; “UFC pays its fighters more than any other MMA promote. We are proud of the company we’ve built and we are confident in our legal position.”

In another report from earlier this month, it was stated that only 16% of the revenue taken in by the UFC is paid to its fighters. If compared to Major League Baseball, who as an organization pay between 48 and 50% of its revenue to players, it is a number that is remarkably low.