Cage Fighting Referee Salaries 2024 – How Much do UFC Refs Make?

Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, is one of the most popular and successful fighting sports today. Especially in the last ten years, it accumulated so much following that became of the most popular sports in the United States. As it is the case with other sports, UFC has its own professional referees, usually ex-fighters, who are checking if every rule is followed. We are going to shine a light on how much do UFC refs make in different categories.

Most Popular Referees and Their Salaries

UFC has many referees, but John McCarthy, Marc Goddard, and Herb Dean are the most popular ones. Surely, even a person who has watched at least a few matches saw them at least once. Their salaries differ in the type of matches that they are appearing as referees on. Their salaries were published in a certain, sport/economic magazine in the United States, back in 2016. For example, if they are working ordinary match their average salary is $300 per match.

When there is some match of high importance, their salaries can potentially reach $2,000 per match. Their salaries are paid monthly when all of their matches are counted. Also, some of the matches are scheduled at the weekend. Some sources say that their salaries could reach up to $5,000. However, this depends on the importance of a particular match. As we already said, UFC referees are mostly ex-fighters. So, this is the main reason they became very popular. Some of them are even more popular than fighters.

Women Referees and Their Salaries

Before the match, referees are chosen based on their credo, or more exactly, for their main cards. Entry-level referees are earning approximately $250-$550 per match. The first female judge in the history of UFC, Kim Winslow, makes around $400 per match. She is mostly selected for World Extreme Cage fighting and Strikeforce matches. She is considered as a pioneer of her job, due to being the first female to become a referee in UFC.

UFC Referees Salaries

• Professional Referee
  • Fee per match: $1,000
  • PPV`s fight fees: $5,000
  • Annual earnings: $250,000
• Entry Level Referees
  • Fee per match: $250
  • PPV`s fight fees: N/A
  • Annual earnings: $30,000
• Female Referees
  • Fee per match: $250
  • PPV`s fight fees: N/A
  • Annual earnings: $30,000

Highest Paid UFC and MMA Referees

• Herb Dean
  • Main Card Match Fee: $1,000
  • High Profile Match Fee: $7,000
  • Annual Earnings: $550,000
• John McCarthy
  • Main Card Match Fee: $1,000
  • High Profile Match Fee: $5,000
  • Annual Earnings: $350,000
• Marc Goddard
  • Main Card Match Fee: $700
  • High Profile Match Fee: $5,000
  • Annual Earnings: $270,000
• Josh Rosenthal
  • Main Card Match Fee: $700
  • High Profile Match Fee: $3,500
  • Annual Earnings: $270,000
• Mario Yamasaki
  • Main Card Match Fee: $700
  • High Profile Match Fee: $3,500
  • Annual Earnings: $270,000
• Kim Winslow
  • Main Card Match Fee: $250
  • High Profile Match Fee: $1,000
  • Annual Earnings: $50,000