Dana White Makes Controversial UFC Fighter Pay Claim and Why It's Not Public

Dana White has made a controversial claim about UFC fighter pay and explained to fans why it's not public.

The UFC President, who has an estimated net worth of $500 million, avoided giving details about the career earnings of the sport's biggest stars.

Earnings for UFC fighters vary significantly. Those at the start of their careers are estimated to earn between $10,000 and $30,000 per fight.

But the sport's biggest stars such as Conor McGregor have used their success within MMA to build immense personal fortunes. White, who is currently promoting this weekend's blockbuster boxing fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, was asked about fighter pay, but he remained coy.

He said: "There's no gag order on any of these fighters. They could all sit down and do full interviews on how much they make and what they were paid.

"They don't want to because they don't want you to know what they got paid. When people find out what you made, it makes life a lot tougher.

"There are a lot of people sitting around looking for handouts when they find out you made millions of dollars."

Dana White promoting Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford fight. Image: David Becker / Stringer via Getty

Who are the best paid fighters in UFC?

The legendary Irishman McGregor remains the highest-paid UFC fighter in history, with career earnings of more than $39 million.

Having started his professional career in 2008, McGregor became the first UFC athlete to hold championships in two weight classes simultaneously and has played a part in some of the biggest fights.

His defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 generated a record number of pay per views for an MMA fight with 2.4 million buys.

McGregor also tried his hand at boxing in 2017, facing the legendary Floyd Mayweather in what became second biggest pay per view event in history.

Irish UFC figher Conor McGregor. Image: Leonardo Fernandez / Contributor via Getty

The Irishman has used his UFC earnings to pursue business ventures.

In 2018, he launched Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey, before selling his stake for hundreds of millions just three years later.

Nurmagomedov is the second-highest earner in UFC history, with nearly $23 million collected during his career.

His first million-dollar fight in his famous victory over McGregor, and he later boosted his wealth by defeating Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

Alistair Overeem also made huge earnings from the sport, taking home more than $15 million.

Having famously defeated Brock Lesnar on his UFC debut, he had several million-dollar purses, including his fight with Francis Ngannou.