CBS’s 60 Minutes unraveled an interesting conversation. Talking about UFC’s $7.7 billion deal with Paramount, eminent sports journalist L. Jonathan Wertheim asked Dana White, “Do you pay fighters a fair wage?” And the UFC president replied, “Absolutely. People don’t know how much a lot of these guys make.” While the latest reports suggest White’s Zuffa Boxing has also inked a deal with Paramount, the spotlight is back on the controversial subject of fighter pay.

From the CBS studio, it traveled to Joe Rogan‘s den. A conversation with one of MMA’s earliest pioneers, former UFC Heavyweight tournament champion Mark Kerr, who, after years in obscurity, is back in the news thanks to Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine – a biopic that chronicles his life and struggles – invariably touched base with the prize money issue.

From pennies to paydays: Joe Rogan and Mark Kerr on fighter pay

Halfway through the show, the discussion took an interesting turn when Kerr observed how financial benefits form a critical part of the equation. Fighters now see some point in toiling hard and making sacrifices. The former wrestler recalled how talented fighters took up the sport when the ‘financial piece started getting in there.’

“So that talent, it brings the level of everybody up. Yeah. And then all of a sudden it’s like a little bit more money. Talent that could have maybe gone and done something else, they’re going, “No, I’m going to go do this because I can make money.” Mark Kerr observed. Joe Rogan could barely disagree. He compared how a youngster would rather pick a sport like baseball or basketball and make more money rather than risk his life and limbs as a mixed martial artist, where the pay is low.

Kerr explained the sport should give ample space for an athlete to grow while still providing them appropriate financial benefits. It doesn’t mean they should expect a million-dollar check straightaway. Reflecting how the system would pay dividends where fighters are incentivized to set up better training camps. “Wouldn’t you think that for young struggling fighters, if they got paid more for fights, they could put together better camps?” he asked. “They could get better recovery and nutrition and have less stress. Yeah. And be able to perform better. So it would make the product better.”

Talking about the UFC payouts, Rogan drew a comparison with sister combat sport boxing.

Eyes on brighter days ahead

He acknowledged — just because fighters deserve better pay doesn’t mean they are the least paid either. “It’s way better in the UFC, by the way, than it is in boxing. When you watch a boxing card, most of the money’s at the top. There’s very little spread out. There are guys that fight in the UFC undercard that make excellent money, but when you first start, you don’t.”

As Rogan stated, big names in the UFC make a lot. But exact figures are seemingly kept secret. In the 60 Minutes program, it was mentioned that newcomers often get contracts of $12,000. So that’s the amount just for fighting and another $12,000 if they win. So if a fighter loses his first bout, he only gets $12,000.

When Jonathan Wertheim asked, “Your media rights deal basically doubled. Is fighter pay going to increase proportionally?” Dana White said, “I can’t sit here right now and tell you, you know, ‘It’s double. It’s one and a half. It’s triple. But yeah … fighter pay is—yeah, it’s going to be good.”

So in the wake of the $375 class action antitrust lawsuit, fans and fighters should hope to see a decent increment in their payouts.

Do you agree with Joe Rogan’s take on how better purses would benefit the sport overall?