Dana White has enacted new formal incentives for UFC fighters to finish their matches before the decision reaches the judges.
UFC begins its seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount on Saturday night in Las Vegas, and White has taken steps to ratchet up the action inside the fights.
White told Sports Business Journal that he is doubling event bonuses from $50,000 to $100,000 for fighters who have what’s deemed to be the match of the night, which both people from one fight win, or the performance of the night, which two other individual fighters generally win. He has also initiated new $25,000 bonuses for fighters who knock out or submit their opponents who did not win the aforementioned honors.
The message is clear: White wants harder striking, more submission maneuvers, and less rolling around on the mat.
“At the end of the day, the UFC wants an easily consumable product for the fans which includes high action and finishes by KO or submission,” Erich Richter, who co-hosts the Against the Cage MMA podcast for the New York Post, told Front Office Sports about the changes. “The new bonus structure is a step toward incentivizing the fighters to chase finishes and less about chasing boring wins.”
Richter pointed to Saturday’s fight cards as evidence that more exciting fight style is superseding pure wins and losses. Paddy Pimblett (ranked No. 5) is fighting Justin Gaethje (No. 4) for the interim lightweight belt.
“Gaethje is 2-3 in his last five, while Arman Tsarukyan is ranked No. 1, but he’s not as ‘over with the fans’ nor has his style and demeanor made the promotion happy enough to give him a chance at the strap,” Richter said.
In another example, last year UFC opted not to re-sign the fighter Martin Buday, who had a 7-1 record in the promotion. Six of his seven victories had come from judge decisions as opposed to finishes.
White’s urgency has picked up in the last year-plus following a trend of fights going the full distance.
In 2024, just 43.7% of the promotion’s fights finished. This was partially attributable to new gloves that were introduced early in the year, before they switched the glove back in November. In 2025, 50.2% of fights finished, roughly in line with the metrics from 2023.
