Jack Della Maddalena is not here to echo the outrage. While critics attack the UFC’s compensation model as restricting, exploitative, and out of date, the newly crowned welterweight champion has thrown his support behind Dana White. And he didn’t make that declaration during a post-fight press conference or media tour. He did it using an Instagram Story that is now going viral for all the right—or wrong—reasons, depending on who you ask.

His message wasn’t cryptic or vague. It was as straightforward as they come: “I love this company and everything it stands for,” Maddalena wrote. According to the welterweight champion, the pay is as fair as it gets. In fact, it is the biggest motivation that fighters need to keep pushing forward.

“It has brang me joy since I was 12. If you don’t like the contract, don’t sign it. If the bottom guys get paid as much as the top guys, there would be no incentive to get to the top,” he added. Well, it was a rare moment of open praise for the Dana White-led promotion in the midst of a barrage of criticism, particularly in light of the Australian documentary The Dark Side of UFC.

That little piece of harmless entertainment openly accused the promotion of locking fighters into one-sided contracts and paying them significantly below their worth. Maddalena’s stance has some weight. After all, he worked his way up from obscurity in 2021 to a championship win in less than three years.

And it didn’t always go smoothly. His disclosed debut payout? Just $20,000. So, when the 28-year-old talks about starting at the bottom, he is referring to experience rather than theory. This could explain why he views the current compensation system as motivation rather than unfairness.

However, not everyone sees it this way. His comments stirred up the continuing rift between fighters who accept the UFC’s structure as part of the job and those who believe it urgently needs improvement. Critics claim that just because one fighter made it through the gauntlet does not mean the system created by Dana White is fair.

After all, the physical and financial toll on competitors who do not make it into the rankings is just as significant. And the key question remains: is the risk worthwhile for the vast majority who never reach the top tier? Well, the UFC’s recent payout for the last PPV card may help us answer that.

Does UFC 316’s payout back Jack Della Maddalena’s claim in favor of Dana White

If Jack Della Maddalena was looking for an opportunity to make his case, UFC 316 might have provided it for him. His statement about the incentive to rise to the top was more than just a personal belief; it reflected, in some ways, the numbers that followed.

While the debate over fighter pay is far from black and white, the UFC 316 payouts appeared to highlight his central point: there is a substantial payoff at the summit, even if the climb is unforgiving.

Three fighters surpassed the million-dollar mark: Merab Dvalishvili ($2.39 million), Sean O’Malley ($1.98 million), and Julianna Peña ($1.39 million). These weren’t just random numbers posted online. They created a clear picture of a two-tiered system in which the top names walk away with paychecks that validate their blood, sweat, and years of hard work.

Kayla Harrison, who was fighting for her first UFC title, earned $882,000, plus a performance bonus. These are not the “bottom guy” stats. These are star-affirming checks. But the real test of Maddalena’s theory is in the mid-card and rising talent pool. Mario Bautista earned $260,000, Kevin Holland made $471,000, and Joe Pyfer, despite being on the lower end, made $100,000.

The majority of them achieved their career-best numbers. It shows that the UFC pays, albeit not always fairly or publicly. Critics will continue to contend that pay-per-view points, secret bonuses, and a lack of transparency muddy the waters. But, for the time being, Dana White’s UFC 316 payoffs provided Jack Della Maddalena with an unusual advantage in an argument that typically goes the other way.