Joe Rogan criticizes UFC fighter pay structure during podcast

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 11: (L-R) Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier announce the fights during the UFC 329 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Joe Rogan is well-known as one of the faces of the UFC, but that doesn’t mean loves everything the promotion does, especially when it comes to fighter compensation. The UFC’s pay structure is well-documented, with the vast majority of its roster being signed to contracts in which the athlete receives a set amount of money to show for a fight and then another payment (typically equal to the show money) if you win. There are outliers, with champions receiving higher guarantees and other incentives, and longer tenured fighters also occasionally working out different deals; otherwise, the average fighter knows what they’re signing up for. That’s never sat well with Rogan. “That is the most bullshit part of the UFC, you get both your paychecks [only if you win],” Rogan said on his podcast. “F*ck off. F*ck off with that. I hate it. That drives me nuts.” Fans and media have long criticized UFC fighter pay, especially when taking into consideration the numerous ways a result can be taken out of an fighter’s hands. Poor officiating, questionable judging, and even freak injuries can cause a fighter to miss out on tens of thousands of dollars after spending months and months preparing to compete, not to mention what they endure during the fight itself. Were it up to Rogan, fighters would receive a higher guaranteed rate with their payouts not determined on a result-by-result basis. “I’ve said this a hundred times already,” Rogan said. “It should be you get paid what you get paid. First of all, if judges were perfect every time, maybe you could make an argument for that, but I still don’t think you should make an argument for that because I think guys fight as hard as they can to win. There’s no one who’s fighting harder because he you think you’re going to get a win bonus. You’re fighting as hard as you possibly can. “At the highest level, you’re not incentivizing people to fight harder, you’re just giving too much of their career, too much of their future, too much of their actual ‘How are they going to feed their family?’ to the whims of people that sometimes get it wrong.” Rogan added that sometimes the fighters, no matter how good they are, just can’t produce the outcome the fans and matchmakers want, which again could lead to them suffering financially unnecessarily. “People want exciting fights, everybody wants exciting fights, of course,” Rogan said. “But there is a reality to skillful guys going after each other and sometimes they’ll cancel each other out and make a boring fight. That shit happens.” TOP STORIES Furious. Herb Dean is messing up calls on THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER NOW??? Tease. Dana White says another mega-event could be in the cards. Decline. It’s getting dark out there for Patchy Mix following another loss at RIZIN 54. Halt. Matt Brown doesn’t think it’s Ian Machado Garry’s time to be champion just yet. Shame. Umar Nurmagomedov blames Merab Dvalishvili for recent brawl at RAF Georgia. VIDEO STEW UFC 330 media day. Anti-gravity GSP. Paddy Pimblett eats. KSI and MVP. Arnold Allen goes to Switzerland. UFC 330 Embedded. SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE The champ is here. Niagara Falls' Very Own 🇨🇦 We asked Gillian Robertson a few Canadian questions ahead of her strawweight title fight at #UFC330 🍁 📺: UFC 330 PPV on Saturday, August 15 at 9pm ET on Sportsnet+ pic.twitter.com/gO4k3ZvdJc — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 11, 2026 Close enough? THIS IS NOT Anthony Hernandez, UFC embedded editing team wtf lmao pic.twitter.com/90ZHqTny7S — Walnut (@WalnutMMA) August 10, 2026 Fighting words. Baysangur didn’t want the smoke so somebody else is gonna get it💨🥊 Just sign for what is next 👊🏾👊🏾 — Damian The BabaYaga Pinas (@PinasDamian1) August 11, 2026 Well, when you put it that way. Patchy Mix lost his fourth straight fight today at Rizin 54 against 38 year old Shoko Sato. He won two of the three rounds, but had been deducted two points for missing weight and dropped a 28-27 (x3) unanimous decision. — Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 11, 2026 Throwback. View this post on Instagram Hmm… Regarding our result for Patchy Mix vs. Shoko Sato: for several years, Tapology’s policy has been not to alter a fight result based on point deductions or penalties imposed for actions outside the fight itself. We record the result produced by the judges’ scorecards. This policy… — Tapology (@tapology) August 11, 2026 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Deiveson Figueiredo (25-7-1) vs. Payton Talbott (11-1); UFC 332, Oct. 3 Mandel Nallo (14-4, 1 NC) vs. Nate Landwehr (18-8); UFC Edmonton, Oct. 17 Marc-Andre Barriault (17-11, 1 NC) vs. Kyle Daukaus (17-5, 1 NC); UFC Edmonton, Oct. 17 Tanner Boser (22-11-1) vs. Jhonata Diniz (9-2); UFC Edmonton, Oct. 17 Jamey-Lyn Horth (9-3) vs. Katlyn Cerminara (18-6); UFC Edmonton, Oct. 17 Melissa Croden (8-3) vs. Chelsea Chandler (7-4); UFC Edmonton, Oct. 17 Louis Jourdain (9-3) vs. Timmy Cuamba (10-4); UFC Edmonton, Oct. 17 FEED ME MORE Love. FINAL THOUGHTS If you haven’t been watching The Ultimate Fighter 34, you’ve got to check it out just to see Herb Dean’s latest Adventure in Officiating. Somebody stop this man, please. EXIT POLL If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. 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