Earlier during the Canelo-Crawfight fight week, Dana White gave an unassuming interview with PBS Nevada’s Amber Dixon about the fight. Little did he know, he was unprepared to answer some of the basic questions Dixon had on fighter pay and the Ali Act.
First off, White did not seemed prepared for some of the pushback Dixon had on questions about fighter pay and TKO’s support of the amendments to the Ali Act which would benefit Zuffa Boxing.
White plays coy with her about fighter pay. He also claims that Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey have made millions. “Eat what you kill,” is the term he used when describing how to make money in the UFC. Although not explained by White, I assume this means (similar to the term with law firms) that if you make money for the company, you will be paid for it. Here, fighters like McGregor and Rousey have drawn on PPV making millions for the UFC and as a result received a handsome reward.
When the reporter, Amber Dixon, asked about pay for Canelo-Crawford he was once again coy. He did not confirm but seemed to agree that both Canelo and Crawford would be making $100 million or more from Saturday’s fight. But, he would not discuss pay for Alex Pereira
She also asked about the Ali Act amendment to which White attempted to draw a correlation between how much Zuffa was purchased and how much the stock TKO is now. Of course, TKO is more than the UFC including multiple properties which also make money.
She also called out why there is no disclosure of pay purses by Nevada. White referred Dixon to a commissioner knowing full well that it was Zuffa that lobbied the commission to make pay disclosures private.
Dixon had did a piece in which she interviewed Stitch Duran and Nico Ali Walsh who oppose the amendments to the Ali Act.
Payout Perspective:
It’s interesting that White did not do a clean job of explaining the issues of fighter pay and why they are pressing for changes to the Ali Act. This is why White prefers podcasts. 100% they are with friends or White-friendly interviewers that want to maintain their access. Good
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