'They're the only one that makes money': Ex-UFC fighter Jon Fitch says other MMA companies are never profitable



Former UFC fighter Jon Fitch agrees that every mixed martial arts promotion other than the UFC has a bad business model.

Fitch fought with the UFC from 2005 to 2013 and was widely considered one of the best grapplers of all time despite never winning UFC gold. The 46-year-old has since retired but often uses his respected voice to give his opinion on fighting and fighter contracts.

'Bellator just died. Couldn't make money.'

Recently, Fitch stated what UFC President Dana White has long claimed: that the UFC is the only profitable MMA promotion currently putting on fights.

"UFC makes money. They're the only one that makes money," Fitch said in a clip from his podcast, "Jon Fitch Knows Nothing."

He immediately cited Singapore's MMA promotion One Championship, saying that "they've never turned a profit in their entire time."

While One Championship has been around for approximately 13 years, it has never been able to capture global audiences.

Fitch continued, even revealing that Bellator — where he had his final three fights — couldn't turn a profit, either.

"Bellator just died. Couldn't make money. Ownership changes got shut down by PFL. Now, PFL, they're not keeping guys active. They're not fighting guys. They're not resigning guys who had good contracts with Bellator. And now they're cutting their prize money in the tournament from $1,000,000 to $500 [thousand]."

Jon Fitch against UFC legend George St-Pierre at UFC 87 on August 9, 2008. Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Fitch then surprisingly indirectly agreed with the UFC president and said if it wasn't for money from Saudi Arabia, the PFL would have been closed already.

"It seems like they're struggling. They're not profitable. They probably would have closed down if it wasn't for the massive amount of Saudi Arabia money that they were given."

This echoed White's remarks from last October, when he answered questions about the profitability of MMA crossover fights into boxing.

"It's not really true. That's the bulls**t that the public believes, but that's not the truth. Total bulls**t. That’s that whole myth that makes everyone go, 'Ahh, let's f**king go to boxing.' It's f**king bulls**t. Boxing don't work," White exclaimed.

"It takes a f**king Saudi trillionaire to make boxing work," White declared. "Even Saudi trillionaires get tired of f**king bulls**t. It's all a myth. ... They all end up losing s**tloads of money."

Fitch went on to say that the UFC benefits from a "long-standing monopoly" in MMA by hoarding top talent. The former fighter theorized that having "one or two top-tier names" still isn't enough for new promotions to make money. Rather, there needs to be access to a large variety of fighters to make the industry flourish.

"You can't have restrictions to competition," Fitch argued. He added that one of the ways the UFC keeps fighters locked into lengthy contracts is with non-compete clauses and holding them to certain commitments such as a requirement to defend a championship if they win one.

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'I will be juiced up': Chael Sonnen says he will break every rule if 'stupid' Jorge Masvidal wants to fight him
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'I will be juiced up': Chael Sonnen says he will break every rule if 'stupid' Jorge Masvidal wants to fight him



Former UFC fighter and All-American wrestler Chael Sonnen went on a tirade about the sheer "stupidity" of an offer Jorge Masvidal made to him for a fight proposal.

Talking to host Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour," Sonnen was asked to comment on the upcoming boxing match between UFC legends Masvidal and Nate Diaz.

From the onset, Sonnen jokingly confessed that he supports "anything that Nate does" and at the same time hates "anything that Jorge does."

Sonnen remarked that he thought the event had been doomed from the start due to its poor timing and poor promotion.

"I remember thinking 'this thing is going to fall on its face,'" he told Helwani.

However, he admitted that the first press conference changed his mind when he saw it was packed and most certainly didn't "fall on its face."

Sonnen then revealed that he was contacted about being a backup fighter for the boxing match should one of the fighters not be able to show.

"Yeah, and I don’t like that [backup] word, they used a different word because there’s no scenario where I would fight with Nate, and they knew that," Sonnen stated. "It was a different word. But they meant if Nate can't do it, will you take on Masvidal? I said absolutely I will."

"He can use his right hand, he can kick me in the nuts, he can do anything he wants. I will be juiced up, and I will beat Jorge Masvidal anytime."

The now-analyst and commentator also remarked on an offer that Masvidal proposed about a possible fight in the future. Sonnen said that he has been trying to get Masvidal to keep his word about the "stupid" offer.

"You want to know what p***ed me off about that? First off, I never got the credit for it, and second, Masvidal came out and said he would do a contract to pay me my biggest bag and not throw his right hand. Now those are just stupid things to say."

"I told him, 'Put it in the contract,'" he ranted. Sonnen then asked where the "stupidity" ends with offers like this.

"Whatever he keeps on saying, I accept, Jorge. Keep limiting yourself. I’m going to do all those things and more, that's why they call me a cheater."

"I will fight Masvidal right now. He can use his right hand, he can kick me in the nuts, he can do anything he wants. I will be juiced up, and I will beat Jorge Masvidal anytime. But I won't take the fight from Nate, and this is exactly what I told these jabronis, word for word," he reiterated.


Masvidal and Diaz had recently moved their bout from June 1, 2024, to June 6 in order to prevent a head-to-head broadcast with UFC 302.

At the time of this publication, fight promoters Fanmio had yet to update the date on its website. This lends credibility to another remark Sonnen made in the interview, when he said "as soon as you move the date" it's going to fail.

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