How much do UFC referees get paid? Big John McCarthy reveals his highest-ever fee

Despite the magnitude of their job inside the cage, MMA referees are paid a fraction of what some of the top fighters in the sport are paid.

‘Big’ John McCarthy is widely known as one of the greatest MMA referees of all time, having played a role in some of the biggest fights in the sport’s history.

But despite being at the top of his field, McCarthy has revealed the most he was ever paid to officiate a show in the UFC was $2000 and that came back in 2017 in what turned out to be his final ever event.

The argument regarding whether the pay for UFC officials is too low comes after Dan Miragliotta finds himself in the firing line for his controversial officiating during Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 123.

McCarthy claimed that referees only earn around $1500 per event.

Joe Rogan criticized Miragliotta’s controversial decision to stand Moicano up while he was on Nolan’s back during their fight, claiming that it impacts the legitimacy of MMA as a whole. And although ‘Big’ John McCarthy hasn’t defended Miragliotta’s decision, he has opened up the debate whether MMA referees get paid enough to receive this level of criticism.

“I can’t tell you exactly, but Dan probably made $1600 for that (event),” McCarthy said during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show this Monday. “I’ll give you the truth, every fight I ever did in the UFC, the most I ever made was $2000. That was the last show I ever did in New York in 2017, I did two championship fights… I got $2000 for that show,” he continued.

Despite championship fighters in the UFC being paid more than other fighters, that is not the case in officiating. Whether or not an official is refereeing a title fight, they are paid the same fee, no matter what.

McCarthy went on to bring up the fact that the UFC is sponsored by several betting companies, and that even when referees make the correct decisions, they are accused of ‘corruption’. “Betting has become a huge part of the sport, and when people do things right, they’re still being called corrupt when they didn’t do anything wrong. They’re being abused, they have death threats, you can only take so much.

“Eventually when you’re making that kind of money and dealing with all of this, it absolutely has an effect. After a while, you start thinking, ‘This isn’t worth it.’”

Big John McCarthy opens up about how little UFC referees get paid, revealing the most he ever made for officiating an event was $2,000: “I can’t tell you exactly, but Dan probably made $1,600 for that fight. I’ll give you the truth. Every fight I ever did in the UFC, the most I ever made was $2,000. That was the last show I ever did in New York in 2017… I got $2,000 for that entire night. Betting has become a huge part of the sport, and when people do things right, they’re still being called corrupt when they didn’t do anything wrong. They’re being abused. They have death threats. You can only take so much. Eventually, when you’re making that kind of money and dealing with all of this, it absolutely has an effect. After a while, you start thinking, ‘This isn’t worth it.’”

UFC fighters who are on their first contracts in the promotion tend to be paid $12,000 to show and an additional $12,000 if they win their fight. Despite the fact that referees of course do not have to go to the extremities that fighters have to, officials still have to make split-second decisions, along with balancing fighter safety with allowing legitimate competition and handling scrutiny when a decision is deemed controversial.

Although Miragliotta and McCarthy are two of the most experienced referees in the sport, referees like Marc Goddard and Herb Dean will be paid the same amount as them, with it being the commissions who pay them their fees.