Dana White said that he would encourage UFC fighters to unionize as the topic of fighter pay once again reared its head.There's been many a high-profile name to come out of UFC negotiations and say they failed due to a disparity on financial terms, including the likes of Ronda Rousey for her comeback fight with Gina Carano, but also former UFC Heavyweight Champions Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou as they were the defending champions.The topic came up again when White, through Zuffa Boxing, signed Conor Benn to a one-fight $15 million deal, and when White appeared on "The Breakfast Club" he was quizzed by Charlamagne "Tha God.""How do you justify being worth millions of dollars, but some fighters still need second jobs?" Charlamagne asked.White said he was sure there were basketball and baseball players that still need second jobs, and explained that fighters are brought in on a $10,000 plus $10,000 or $15,000 plus $15,000 payscale."You might last one fight, you might not be great, but as you start to prove yourself and, you know, listen there's always going to be talk about fighter pay. I'm in boxing now and all these guys, these boxers are signing with us now too. So you're always going to be criticized about something."He was then pressed on why unionization is villainized by the promotion, to which White said it isn't."We don't act like it's the enemy," he said. "If the fighters wanted to unionize, that's up to them. It's not up to me."He was then asked point blank if he would encourage fighters to unionize."Sure," he said. "Listen, we always have to deal with somebody. Could be a manager, an agent, you know, everybody's gotten into this. Some of the biggest lawyers in the world have gotten into this."
