Dana White used “journeyman” Jim Miller in his latest defense of UFC fighter pay.
The Las Vegas-based promotion has been under scrutiny for years as fans and fighters have spoken out about low wages, particularly when compared to other professional sports leagues like the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA. Comparatively, those organizations share roughly 50% of their revenue with the athletes they employ. The UFC hovers more in the range of 15%.
Despite that glaring statistic, White has remained adamant that fighters get paid what they’re worth. Speaking with Vivek Ramaswamy on the TRUTH podcast, the UFC CEO once again attempted to defend the amount of money he pays his fighters, using 19-year veteran Jim Miller as an example of how much a fighter can make without ever reaching the upper echelon of MMA superstardom.
“Whoever the champion is in boxing, gets the lion’s share of the revenue,” White said. “Here (in UFC) it’s dispersed across everyone. We got a guy right now who’s 40 years old, and he’s on this hot streak, man. His name’s Jim Miller. He’s been around forever. He’s been around since we bought the company, and he’s still fighting.
“He’s gonna fight on UFC 300 and this is a guy who’s been — I guess you could call him a journeyman in boxing [terms], right? If you ask most people, they wouldn’t know who Jim Miller is, and the guy’s made millions of dollars” (h/t Bloody Elbow).
“He’s never made it to that level [of UFC champion],” White continued. “Guys that would be considered journeymen in boxing never make that kind of money ever. It’s because we focus on building great fights with great fighters. If you can stay here for a certain amount of time, you make really good money.
“It supports your family, you can pay your house off. You’re not gonna have $30-40 million, but you’ll have $6, $7, $8 million. And most people wouldn’t even know who he was.”
Jim Miller, who made his promotional debut all the way back in 2008, has won five of his last six bouts and is scheduled to fight lightweight standout Bobby Green at UFC 300 on April 13. Whether ‘A-10’ wins or losses at the landmark event, Miller is set to make history by being the only fighter to compete at UFC 100, UFC 200, and UFC 300.