By 2025, a former UFC champion had stepped into a new arena, and the financial rewards were not hard to spot.
Arman Tsarukyan, who is set to headline this weekend’s UFC event in Qatar, recently admitted that he ends up losing money on fight nights if he doesn’t come away with the win bonus.
The lightweight contender explained that his $150,000 base pay disappears quickly once taxes and training camp costs are taken out of it.
Dana White has promised that fighter pay will improve once the promotion’s $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+ kicks in from 2026.
But for many of the fighters who laid the groundwork for today’s sport, those benefits came too late to make a difference in their own careers.
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson reveals his streaming career is more lucrative than fighting ever was
Before stepping into the Octagon, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson had already made a name for himself in Pride, and by 2007, he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the fastest UFC champions in history.
The former light heavyweight champion began his professional career in 1999 and continued fighting until his final appearance with Bellator in 2019.
Beyond fighting, Rampage was a huge personality within the sport, also crossing over into mainstream media with a major role in 2010’s “The A-Team,” where he starred alongside Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper.
In 2025, Jackson moved into streaming while also taking on hosting duties for the JAXXON Podcast. He has since been vocal about wanting UFC post-fight bonuses increased following the Paramount+ deal.
Jackson recently spoke out about how streaming has become more profitable for him than MMA ever was. The former light heavyweight champion’s words underscore how things have changed between UFC and financial stability for fighters from his era compared to now.
“I’ve only been streaming for eight months and I’ve made more from streaming in eight months than I did in fighting for 25 years. 100 percent. The sponsors f— with me way more on stream than my fighting. Y’all seen my streams, I’m the biggest degenerate there is. My streams, the clips, it gets more numbers than my fights,” said the UFC legend.
Fans have recently called Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson a ‘casual’
As already discussed, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson not only streams but also hosts the JAXXON Podcast, where he regularly discusses fights and interviews fighters.
On a recent episode, while recapping UFC 322, Jackson admitted that he was surprised by how good Islam Makhachev’s striking looked in the main event.
This admission came because it was the first time he had seen the pound-for-pound king fight live, which did not go unnoticed by fans, who quickly called him out for it.
Given what he has said about his earnings from streaming compared to fighting, though, it is unlikely that fan criticism will be much of a concern for him now.
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