Conor Benn’s contract with Zuffa Boxing has been one of the biggest talking points in combat sports over the last week. It was surprising, grand, and controversial.

Benn, a British professional boxer, left Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing to sign with Dana White’s newly-formed Zuffa Boxing. The move was unexpected, as Benn had developed his career, through thick and thin, under Hearn. Then came the details of Benn’s deal, which brought a great deal of controversy. Benn reportedly signed a one-fight contract for $ 15 million – a sum rarely seen by the majority of UFC fighters.

TKO, parent company of both UFC and Zuffa Boxing, had a quarterly earnings call on Wednesday where Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of the company, addressed the controversy surrounding Benn’s deal, which confirmed and revealed further details on the matter.

“First off, this story has taken a life of its own, and that’s largely because Eddie Hearn is stirring the pot in a very fictional way,” Shapiro said. “So, as you know, our partner in Zuffa Boxing is Sela – they’re the financial backer entity. Beyond the year long series of fight cards that will appear exclusively on Paramount+, we’ve described again and again on these calls and conferences that we also plan to stage approximately two to four super fights per year – Canelo-Crawford being an example – some of which TKO will promote and or sell the media rights, or of course incremental fees.

“Us with TKO and Sela collectively identified Conor Benn, as someone we wanted to have for one of those super fights in 2026. That’s it. One fight in 2026. Conor was a free agent. Dana White and Nick Khan, in that order, went out and signed Conor. Now, let me be clear: we signed him for just one fight. That’s all we’re talking about here. Now, of course, we hope that eventually he’ll fight in our Zuffa Boxing series exclusively on Paramount+, but for now, this is just one fight. No different than what we did with Canelo (Alvarez) and (Terence) Crawford. No different than other super fights we’re planning with Sela. I would add to the reported purse, which was around $ 15 million, that the reported purse – I’m not confirming or denying – that Conor will be paid for this super fight in 2026, is not TKO going out of pocket. Sela, led by our great partner Turki Alalshikh, is covering the purse. Once again, no different than exactly what we did with the Canelo-Crawford fight.”

Benn’s $ 15 million purse caused quite the stir in the MMA community with fans, fighters, and media weighing in on the matter. UFC has long been criticized for underpaying its fighters and being a monopoly in MMA.

The UFC is currently fighting an antitrust lawsuit – Johnson vs. Zuffar – and recently paid $ 375 million in settlement of another antitrust lawsuit – Le vs. Zuffa. Both lawsuits allege that Zuffa has illegally suppressed compensation and maintained a monopsony for MMA.

Ex-UFC champion Sean O’Malley, who’s one of the bigger stars in the UFC, eclipses Benn in social media following. He was one of the fighters who were vocal and expressed disbelief and frustration at seeing Benn’s much larger compensation.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: TKO exec explains who is paying Conor Benn’s reported $ 15M purse