![\"\"](\"https:\/\/platform.mmafighting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-11-at-10.26.34-PM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWith Strickland\u2019s recent remarks about the UFC not paying enough for fighters to walk away it got me thinking. It took the UFC a while to break down and provide their fighters with health insurance. Do you ever foresee them eventually breaking down and setting up a retirement fund\/pension for tenured UFC fighters (10 or more fights in the UFC or something like that)? They make enough $ to set up something if they chose to.<\/p>\n
This is a fair question, but unfortunately, I think the answer is simple: no. I do not think there is anything any single fighter could do that would substantively change how the UFC operates.<\/p>\n
First, let\u2019s discuss Strickland specifically. While Strickland is not everyone\u2019s cup of tea, the man undeniably has a point about fighter pay. We don\u2019t have to rehash the whole argument, but it\u2019s pretty simple: the UFC pays fighters around 18-20 percent of revenue, which is a pittance compared to most other major sports leagues. Considering the product literally doesn\u2019t exist without them, only the most ardent capitalist could view that as equitable.<\/p>\n
But what can Strickland do? The answer is nothing. UFC contracts and business practices are extremely restrictive. Allegedly, the promotion would only allow Strickland to fight for the title if he signed a new six-fight contract, which he did. That means Strickland is locked in for five more bouts, and those contracts are ironclad. His only way out is to fight, and when the promotion controls who, when, and where you fight, they can make it hurt. The only option he has is to not fight, or to just say yes, and neither is appealing.<\/p>\n
So for as much as Strickland may buck, it won\u2019t get him anywhere. Even if he goes through with the plan he teased and simply tries to make things too ugly for the UFC to want to deal with him, I\u2019m skeptical that will work. The UFC has ZERO interest in letting Strickland go box or fight Jake Paul. And besides, if Strickland could just get on a mic and say something terrible and he got fired over it, that sets the precedent. Next thing you know, Paulo Costa and every other fighter who has pay issues follows suit.<\/p>\n
And from a macro sense, I think there\u2019s no chance this changes anything, because if the UFC wanted to pay fighters more, or provide pensions, or anything else, they\u2019d do it. This is not a company that lacks for funds. They could start a pension program tomorrow, and it would barely register on the bottom line, but that\u2019s not where their interests lie.<\/p>\n
For one, fighters are \u201cprivate contractors,\u201d and the UFC is deeply interested in keeping things that way, for myriad reasons. For another, why do companies offer benefits to employees? It\u2019s to attract high-quality people to come work for them. The UFC already owns MMA; almost all the best fighters already want to compete there. There\u2019s no reason to offer fighters a pension other than basic empathy, and frankly, that\u2019s not in the business model.<\/p>\n
So, should the UFC do this? Of course. Dana White often says that the UFC isn\u2019t competing with other MMA orgs, it\u2019s competing with the NBA, the NFL, and other leagues, so it would be nice if the UFC made any attempt to operate like those leagues when it comes to athlete welfare, but that\u2019s just not who they are. Pensions will only be added to the UFC when the fighters organize and demand it, which means it\u2019s never going to happen.<\/p>\n