It’s the kind of idea that fight fans seem to mostly agree with once they hear it. It’s a simple idea, not so radical at all, really. It’s just that few people seem to think about it until someone else brings it up.
The idea goes like this: There should be some kind of pension fund for retired pro fighters.
It’s the kind of thing that exists, in one form or another, in most other major pro sports. Athletes create value that the league continues to profit from both directly and indirectly for years. They often sacrifice their bodies to do it. So why shouldn’t we take some of the money flowing in now and set it aside for later, when aging and retired pro fighters may need it most?
“I think it just makes sense,” said Andy Foster, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission. “We’ve had the boxing fund for a long time, but the MMA pension fund is new.”
The way it works is that, once they hit the age of 50, eligible fighters can receive payouts determined by a formula that takes into account the number of bouts they fought in the state of California, and the purses for those bouts. The boxing version of this fund has existed in California since 1982, but the MMA equivalent was only signed into law in 2023.
Currently, the MMA pension fund relies solely on a cut of live event ticket sales to fill its coffers. But soon there may be another revenue source: License plates. According to Foster, drivers in California can now reserve a “specialty combat sports” license plate, with the proceeds going directly to the pension fund for retired boxers and MMA fighters.
“It’s a slow go right now,” Foster said of the MMA side of the pension fund. “I mean, there’s money, but it’s only from ticket sales. It takes a long time when it’s just ticket revenue going into the fund. We’re trying to find new revenue streams to increase the pensions for the fighters, and the license plates are a big part of that.”
In order for the state to begin producing the plates, Foster said, he needs at least 7,500 orders in the first year. If he fails to hit that mark, he added, he can apply for an extension. But once at least 7,500 California drivers reserve a plate, these specialty plates will go into production and the money will begin flowing into the fund. (The cost of the plates begins at $50 and goes up to $103, depending on the type of vehicle and license plate. There are currently more than 36 million registered vehicles in the state of California.)
Foster is also working on a plan that would allow the commission to sell sponsorships, including logos on referees and other officials, with the revenue going to the fund. That effort got stuck in committee in the state legislature, Foster said, meaning it’s “essentially dead” for the year. He plans to renew those efforts soon, however, as part of the overall goal of increasing the number of revenue streams for the fund.
The California pension program is currently the only one of its kind for pro fighters. The question is, why? One state can only do so much in a sport where events travel all over the country and the world. Why haven’t other athletic commissions followed California’s example?
“I don’t know,” Foster said. “It’s just easier not to, I guess. Nobody’s making you do it. But I also think that somebody’s got to do it first. If we’re successful, I think other [state athletic commissions] will do it. But California has long led the country in things it does first, and we’re doing this first as well.”
Uncrowned reached out to Jeff Mullen, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, who said his state currently has no plans to create its own pension fund for retired fighters. But, Mullen added, “I think it’s a great idea.”
According to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, the fund has paid out more than $4 million to boxers since 1999, with almost $400,000 paid out in 2022. Boxers can become eligible for the fund by fighting at least 10 rounds per year for at least four years in California, with no more than a three-year break, and by fighting at least 75 total professional scheduled rounds in California, with no more than a three-year break.
Fighters are only eligible to receive payments after they turn 50 years old, but they do have the option to convert their pension funds into an educational fund once they hit 36 years old. If a fighter dies before receiving funds, that fighter’s beneficiaries can request their pension funds.
Since the fund only takes into account fights that take place in the state of California, it leaves a lot of fighters out of the eligibility range. While the state does play host to a wide range of MMA events, there are UFC champions who might go their entire careers without ever fighting in California.
In 2025, for instance, the UFC put on just one event in the state — UFC 311, at Inglewood’s Intuit Dome, which also played host to the MVP MMA event featuring Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano this past Saturday. The UFC hasn’t schedule more than two events in California in the same calendar year since 2019, and one of those events — UFC 233, originally slated for January of 2019 in Anaheim — was cancelled.
Still, Foster said, at least his state is trying. At least it’s thinking of new ways, such as the license plate initiative, to put money into the hands of retired fighters.
“Let’s get it off the ground first and we’ll see,” Foster said. “But the thing is, we’re trying. California is trying. A lot of times we’re successful and sometimes we’re not, but we are trying.”