After signing the $7.7 billion deal, UFC is set to kick off the Paramount+ era this weekend. The promotion’s first numbered event of 2026 will feature Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje in the main event. During the buildup to UFC 324, multiple fighters called for an increase in pay with the new billion-dollar deal, and CEO Dana White finally has a positive update on bonuses.

The fighter pay in the UFC has always been one of the most talked-about topics. Amid that, the promotion always gave rewards to some fighters on the card for delivering top performances on the match cards, but the bonus figure remained unchanged for years. However, there were a few exceptional cases, including Max Holloway, who received $600,000 in bonuses for his performance against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Now, to further encourage such hard-fought bouts, White made changes to the system.

Dana White announces new bonus system

According to reports from Sports Business Journal, Dana White has informed that the promotion will start a new ‘bonus’ system from UFC 324. The promotion typically paid $200,000 as a total bonus in their last system. It was spread across two categories, where two of the fighters received ‘Performance of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses. But with the update, the UFC will add an additional bonus.

White told SBJ that the bonus outlay starting from UFC 324 will be $400,000. The payout for POTN and FOTN will be increased to $100,000. But here to further incentivize the fighters, the promotion will be adding a new bonus. And $25,000 is the amount that has been decided for that. It will be awarded to those fighters who knock out or submit their opponents, but are not selected for either the POTN or FOTN bonus.

This will surely build urgency in the fighter’s mind to finish off their opponent and get that extra reward. But that being said, the fighters featuring on the UFC 324 card will surely look to capitalize on that. While White has updated the bonus structure, the MMA community is also awaiting an update on an increase in fighter pay with the new deal.

Ariel Helwani drops an insider on UFC fighter purses

With the new broadcasting deal with Paramount, UFC has dropped its pay-per-view model in the US. And with that, a plethora of changes in their operations came in. While an additional bonus comes as massive news for the fighters, an MMA journalist is quite concerned about the fighters’ purses.

“Regarding purses and whether those have/will increase, I’ve spoken to a number of managers who all tell me there is no set structure in place so far. UFC is basically operating case by case at the moment. Meaning, not every veteran got a bump. Not every champ who was subjected to PPV points gets a bump. Some are and have but it hasn’t been an automatic wave, so to speak,” Ariel Helwani wrote on X.

It is something that even Justin Gaethje recently spoke about, how their payouts have been the same, even with the new deal, receiving a bizarre response from the UFC President. While the UFC President faces a lot of uncertainty and questions loom surrounding the UFC pay structure. But, with time, it is surely expected to get more clear more everyone.