VIDEO | Joe Rogan is Not a Fan of The Win Bonus System

If you’re not familiar with how things usually go for most UFC fighters, you get money to show and money to win. Some fighters have negotiated flat rates for some fights, most notably fighters like Conor McGregor and Frankie Edgar. Joe Rogan isn’t a fan of the system and thinks it should be done away with, especially with the way fights are judged lately.

“I just don’t like the win bonus. I don’t think anybody fights harder for it. […] That to me is a real issue. I think a guy should be paid what they get paid. I think if you have a contract, that contract should be for ‘X’ amount of money. If you have points on the pay-per-view, that’s on top of that.”

Very true! Real competitors have never thought about “win money” @joerogan RT @benfowlkesMMA: I’m with Joe Rogan on this one. Fighters don’t need an extra incentive to want to win, and there are too many ways to get screwed out of your win money in MMA. https://t.co/zfOBo0vakj

— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) March 22, 2018

“[I don’t like] the idea that your win or loss has to be in the hands of what we have deemed completely incompetent judges. I’ve heard [blowback] from Athletic Commissions, but I say, ‘Go f-ck yourself.’ You have guys who train for months and months and months and someone who literally doesn’t understand martial arts is giving these guys a decision, a loss or a win. That’s 50-percent of their money. That’s crazy.” — Joe Rogan on his MMA Show.

While win bonuses or great when the fighters get them, Rogan not only believes it doesn’t incentivize the fighter to fight more aggressively, but also that too much money is then riding on a decision by officials who have been proven incompetent. As far as fighter pay goes, fighters should probably just be getting their flat rate with whatever the win bonus would be factored in already. Then we’d actually be closer to what the fighters actually deserve.

3/22/2018.