Ari Emanuel Made $67 Million in 2025 While UFC Fighters Still Need Side Hustles

An SEC filing dropped yesterday that should make every MMA fan sit with it for a minute. Ari Emanuel, the CEO of TKO Group Holdings, which is the parent company of the UFC, made $67.4 million in 2025. That's a 272% raise from the $18.1 million he made in 2024. His president Mark Shapiro pulled in $42.6 million. Between the two of them, that's $110 million in executive compensation in a single year.

Meanwhile, the reigning UFC middleweight champion just signed with a wrestling promotion on the side three weeks before his first title defense because his biggest money comes from outside the octagon.

Someone needs to talk about this so I guess I will.

The Numbers

Let me lay the receipts out for you because the breakdown is wild.

Ari Emanuel's $67.4 million package includes a $3 million base salary, an $11.88 million cash bonus, $43.9 million in stock awards, $8.12 million in non equity incentive plan compensation, and $365,519 for personal use of a private aircraft. That last number is just the cost of flying the man around on planes. Three hundred and sixty five thousand dollars. For flights.

His 2024 pay was $18.1 million. His 2023 pay was $64.9 million. So 2024 was actually the outlier year and $67 million is closer to what Emanuel considers normal. The man's baseline is eight figures and his ceiling is mid eight figures.

Mark Shapiro, TKO's president, made $42.6 million in 2025. That's the number two executive at the company pulling in more money than most UFC champions will see in their entire careers combined.

This is public information. It came from TKO's own SEC proxy filing ahead of their annual shareholders meeting. These aren't rumors. These aren't estimates. These are the numbers the company reported to the federal government.

Now Put It Next to the Fighters

This is where my head starts hurting.

Khamzat Chimaev is the UFC middleweight champion. 15-0. Undefeated. One of the biggest draws in the sport. And a few weeks ago he told the world that his biggest money comes from OUTSIDE the octagon. Not from fighting. Not from his UFC contract. From side deals, sponsorships, and now RAF wrestling matches.

Ronda Rousey went on camera and called the UFC one of the worst places to go if you want to make money in combat sports. This is the woman who built the entire women's division. The biggest female star the UFC has ever had. And she's saying fighters shouldn't go there if money is the goal.

Dana White admitted he doesn't even negotiate fighter contracts anymore because "it isn't fun." The CEO of the promotion told the world he handed off the part of his job that determines how much fighters get paid because he didn't enjoy doing it.

And now we find out the guy above Dana made $67 million last year. While the bonus structure that fighters rely on for their biggest paydays just got raised from $50K to $100K in January. The UFC treated that like a massive gesture. A hundred grand per bonus. Four bonuses per card. That's $400K in bonus money per event.

Ari Emanuel made $67.4 million. That's 168 Performance of the Night bonuses. One man's annual pay equals 168 of the biggest checks the UFC hands to fighters on any given night.

I'm not a math guy but that ratio is insane bro.

The Stock Awards Are the Real Story

Here's the part most people are gonna skip over but it actually matters the most. $43.9 million of Emanuel's pay came from stock awards. That's not cash. That's ownership stake in TKO Group Holdings, which means Emanuel's wealth is directly tied to the company's value going up.

You know what makes TKO's value go up? UFC events. UFC fighters putting their bodies on the line every Saturday night. UFC champions building storylines that drive Paramount+ subscriptions. UFC cards selling out arenas. UFC content generating clicks and views and social media engagement.

The fighters CREATE the value. The executive gets the stock. That's the system.

And look, I'm not sitting here pretending I don't understand how corporations work. CEOs of major entertainment companies make enormous money. That's how the game works in every industry. The NFL commissioner Roger Goodell makes over $60 million a year and NFL players complain about the revenue split too.

But the NFL players get roughly 48% of total revenue. UFC fighters get somewhere between 16 and 20% depending on which estimate you use. That gap is the whole conversation. It's not about whether Emanuel deserves to be rich. It's about the split between the people who run the show and the people who ARE the show.

The Timeline Nobody Is Connecting

I've been writing about fighter pay for months now and the timeline of 2026 alone tells the whole story if you line it up.

January 24: The UFC raises bonuses from $50K to $100K starting at UFC 324 and Dana calls it a "huge" move for the fighters.

March 10: Rousey goes public saying the UFC is one of the worst places to make money in fighting.

April 6: Dana admits on SPEED with Harvick that he doesn't negotiate contracts anymore because it isn't fun.

April 18: Chimaev signs with RAF because his biggest money comes from outside the octagon. Dana's response to the signing was "Who signed him to a deal?"

April 23: SEC filing reveals Emanuel made $67.4 million and Shapiro made $42.6 million. Combined executive pay is $110 million in a year where fighters are begging for better contracts.

That's not a coincidence that's a pattern. And I've been tracking it in real time.

Real Talk

I want to be careful here because this is a topic where it's easy to get preachy and I don't want to do that. Fighter pay is complicated. The UFC provides the platform, the marketing, the production, the global distribution, the brand recognition. Fighters benefit from being in the UFC in ways that go beyond their direct purse. The exposure alone has value.

But exposure doesn't pay mortgages. Exposure doesn't cover training camps. Exposure doesn't help when you're 35 years old with bad knees and CTE concerns and your biggest earning years are behind you.

When the CEO makes $67 million and the middleweight champion of the world is signing wrestling deals on the side to supplement his income, something in the system is broken. Not because the CEO shouldn't make money. But because the gap between the top of the corporate ladder and the top of the athletic ladder is too wide for anyone to look at it and say "yeah that seems fair."

The UFC just signed a $7.7 billion deal with Paramount. They're hosting an event at the White House. They're the biggest combat sports promotion in the history of the planet. And their own champions are publicly saying the money isn't enough.

I don't know what the answer is. I don't think anyone does. But I know the question isn't going away. And every time one of these SEC filings drops, the question gets louder.

$67.4 million for the man in the suit. Side hustles for the man in the cage. That's the UFC in 2026.

Thanks for riding with CageLore. Stay locked in!

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Ari Emanuel make in 2025?

Ari Emanuel earned $67.36 million in total compensation from TKO Group Holdings in 2025 according to the company's SEC proxy filing. The package included a $3 million base salary, $11.88 million cash bonus, $43.9 million in stock awards, $8.12 million in non equity incentive compensation, and $365,519 for personal aircraft use.

How much did Mark Shapiro make?

TKO President Mark Shapiro earned $42.6 million in total compensation in 2025. Between Emanuel and Shapiro, TKO's top two executives earned a combined $110 million in a single year.

How does Emanuel's 2025 pay compare to previous years?

Emanuel made $64.9 million in 2023 and $18.1 million in 2024. His 2025 pay represents a 272% increase from 2024 but is close to his 2023 level. The 2024 figure was the outlier, not the norm.

What percentage of revenue do UFC fighters receive?

Estimates vary but most analyses put the UFC's fighter pay share at roughly 16 to 20% of total revenue. For comparison, NFL players receive approximately 48% of league revenue through their collective bargaining agreement.

What is TKO Group Holdings?

TKO Group Holdings is the parent company that owns the UFC, WWE, IMG, and other entertainment properties. It was formed through the merger of UFC parent Endeavor and WWE in September 2023. Ari Emanuel serves as executive chairman and CEO.

Why are UFC fighters signing with other promotions?

Multiple UFC fighters have signed with Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling and other promotions to supplement their income. Middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev publicly stated his biggest money comes from outside the octagon, and former champion Ronda Rousey has called the UFC one of the worst places to make money in combat sports.