At the post-event press conference following MVP MMA’s debut on Netflix, MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian took direct aim at the UFC’s pay structure, drawing comparisons to other professional sports leagues, including the NBA and the WNBA.
The conversation was sparked by a question about the $40,000 floor that MVP MMA guaranteed every athlete on the card, a figure Bidarian framed as a direct response to the UFC’s widely criticized 12 and 12 pay structure. The show and win money arrangements of UFC have long drawn scrutiny from fighters and advocates alike.
“The 12 and 12 or the 12 and a half and 12 doesn’t make a lot of sense when you’re making it to the NBA of combat sports,” Bidarian said. “I heard someone do an interview and talk about basketball players having second jobs. There is no NBA player that has a second job. I can guarantee you that unequivocally. Now, the same for the WNBA. I can guarantee you that unequivocally.”
Bidarian acknowledged that the UFC could raise its minimum pay if it chose to, pointing to a years-old tweet from Jake Paul calling for a $50,000 minimum as a benchmark that remains unmet.
“Jake put out a tweet three years ago, four years ago now, saying make the minimum $50,000 and I’ll back off. And they could do that,” he said. “They should do that. I hope they do that because that’s good for the athletes. Makes it harder for us, right? We’re not capitalized like them. They’re worth 20, 30 billion.”
Jake Paul added his own perspective on the issue of contracts and freedom, expressing frustration over situations like that of Jon Jones, who Paul said spoke to him directly about being unable to control his own career.
“I feel bad when Jon Jones can’t get out of his contract to be a free agent to be able to provide for his family,” Paul said. “That’s the real meaning behind these things and these athletes being tied up and not being able to pick and choose what they want to do, get the pay that they deserve.”
Bidarian returned to the structural argument, making the case that long-term contracts are not inherently the problem, but rather the revenue share those contracts offer.
He said, “Long-term contracts are okay if they’re equitable, right? If they provide the appropriate revenue share. The reality is the UFC is now at a level of the ball and stick sports in terms of its revenue profile and its operational capability. So that’s what the sport needs.”
He also noted the self-defeating nature of the UFC’s current approach. “If they want to turn it on and actually pay the athletes the right way, it’s hard for anyone else to compete. That’s the truth. But they don’t feel they need to and they’re not going to because they’re a public company,” he stated.
